What do you consider a "good" shot?

**SoundandFury** · June 6, 2015

I was playing a long par 3 the other day; pin was tucked back right with a bunker guarding the front right side of the green. I can't fade the ball consistently for the life of me, so I planned to hit my stock draw to the center and hope for a two putt. Hit a very solid 4 iron that started straight at the center and faded towards the pin. Ended up less than 2' for birdie. Playing partners said "great shot!", etc.

I didn't necessarily agree. Contact was great, but the ball turned the opposite way I intended, which means I didn't do what I was trying to do. To me, that was a lucky break, not a great shot.

This got me thinking: do you consider a shot "good/great" based purely on the result or based on executing what you intended to do?

**Scotsclaff** · June 6, 2015

I get more satisfaction if the shot is what I meant it to be.

**mvmac** · June 6, 2015

Better to be lucky than good

It was a good shot, you hit a solid 4 iron onto the green on a long par 3. GIR is King. Even though the shot faded, it didn't curve so much that you missed the green. Your shot is also a good example of why you want to basically ignore where the flag is and play for the center or the "smart" part of the green. Good shots don't mean "perfect" shots.

I get more satisfaction if the shot is what I meant it to be.

I get more satisfaction when I shoot lower scores

**SavvySwede** · June 6, 2015

I was playing a long par 3 the other day; pin was tucked back right with a bunker guarding the front right side of the green. I can't fade the ball consistently for the life of me, so I planned to hit my stock draw to the center and hope for a two putt. Hit a very solid 4 iron that started straight at the center and faded towards the pin. Ended up less than 2' for birdie. Playing partners said "great shot!", etc.

I didn't necessarily agree. Contact was great, but the ball turned the opposite way I intended, which means I didn't do what I was trying to do. To me, that was a lucky break, not a great shot.

This got me thinking: do you consider a shot "good/great" based purely on the result or based on executing what you intended to do?

It is going to be a little bit of both. A few degrees off line and good distance is usually a good shot. A fade and a draw are not so fundamentally different that you should consider the other a failure. Good course management pays out

**Ernest Jones** · June 6, 2015

At my level I'm happy if it's within 10 yards of my intended line (provided it doesn't result in penalty of course). But I hate bad contact even if the result is ok. Just hate the clanky feel of a thinned or toed shot. I've hit some shots that landed in a good spot but felt like crap and I'll take the result but still don't feel I hit a good shot.

**Abu3baid** · June 6, 2015

I only consider my shots good if they do exactly or very close to what I intended.. If I start doing it more often then my scores will start rolling in.. It is much different than my playing buddy who once skilled his pitch badly and it hit the flag and stopped.. I was shaking my head and he thought it was a great shot.. What ever floats his boat!

**AntiTankNinja** · June 6, 2015

I have mixed emotions about this, and never really thought too much about it before reading this. You make a very valid point. Luck is part of game. You have to weigh the outcome along with your intentions. Sometimes we hit our intended shots and they don't work out as well as we thought, so I'll take any lucky break I get. But it's hard to say that a shot like that wasn't a good shot.

**oregongolfguy** · June 6, 2015

Well, as a 7.8 if i am on the dance floor with 4 iron i am happy. Thats a long shot. It may not have been a perfectly exacuted shot. But it was definitely a good shot. I cant think of many amatuers who wouldnt consider 4 iron on the green a good shot.

**Jakester23** · June 6, 2015

Solid contact that starts on my intended target. Curve either way doesn't bother unless it's a huge amount of curve.

**k-troop** · June 6, 2015

Anything 185+ I'm happy to be on the green. I remember watching a playing lesson with Freddie Couples where he had a 220-yd shot and they asked him what he was trying to do. His response: "with a 3i I'm just trying to get it on the green." For me, I guess with any club it's good contact, starting close to the intended line, and curving in the direction I expected, and flying approx the distance I intended. If I execute that and my aim was proper I should be GIR or nGIR on just about every shot. Of course, that only happens about 1/2 to 2/3ds of the time.

**bwdial** · June 6, 2015

Anything 185+ I'm happy to be on the green. I remember watching a playing lesson with Freddie Couples where he had a 220-yd shot and they asked him what he was trying to do. His response: "with a 3i I'm just trying to get it on the green."

This. If I get a 4 or 5 iron on the green - or even close by - I'm happy as a shit eatin' dog in a barnyard.

**billchao** · June 6, 2015

I was playing a long par 3 the other day; pin was tucked back right with a bunker guarding the front right side of the green. I can't fade the ball consistently for the life of me, so I planned to hit my stock draw to the center and hope for a two putt. Hit a very solid 4 iron that started straight at the center and faded towards the pin. Ended up less than 2' for birdie. Playing partners said "great shot!", etc.

I didn't necessarily agree. Contact was great, but the ball turned the opposite way I intended, which means I didn't do what I was trying to do. To me, that was a lucky break, not a great shot.

This got me thinking: do you consider a shot "good/great" based purely on the result or based on executing what you intended to do?

Yea, that's a good shot. It's not a perfect shot, but it stayed within your shot zone, you got solid contact, and the start line was good. It's a tough game and if you're going to be that hard on yourself, it's not going to be a whole lot of fun.

A lucky break would be completely thinning the shot and still making the green or having the ball ricochet off a tree and stay in play or something.

**dfreuter415** · June 6, 2015

Back in 2006 I played my regular track on a sunny day. Here were my results on the par 3's.

Hole # 4: 160 - hit a 6 iron to the middle of the green, two putt for par

Hole #13: 165 - hit a 5 iron to the middle of the green, two putt for par

Hole # 17: 135 - faded an 8 iron to 8 feet, two putt for par

Hole # 8: uphill 155 - pulled a 5 iron, hit off the side of a bunker, bounced right and into the hole for an ace

Which shot do you think was better? The three well struck tee shots for pars, or the pulled shot for a hole-in-one?

**jamo** · June 6, 2015

I just like that feeling you get when you hit a full iron shot that just hit the green and stops. Some days I'm almost more satisfied simply hitting good shots than I am scoring well.

**Mac62** · June 6, 2015

Better to be lucky than good

.....

I get more satisfaction when I shoot lower scores

Back in 2006 I played my regular track on a sunny day. Here were my results on the par 3's.

Hole # 4: 160 - hit a 6 iron to the middle of the green, two putt for par

Hole #13: 165 - hit a 5 iron to the middle of the green, two putt for par

Hole # 17: 135 - faded an 8 iron to 8 feet, two putt for par

Hole # 8: uphill 155 - pulled a 5 iron, hit off the side of a bunker, bounced right and into the hole for an ace

Which shot do you think was better? The three well struck tee shots for pars, or the pulled shot for a hole-in-one?

As we often say - "There's no picture on the scorecard!"

I hit a lousy tee shot on a par 3 which kicked off a hill to the left of the green and rolled to within 10 feet of the pin. Ended up with a par and my playing partner said "Nice par" as we walked off the green, to which I muttered "More like a lucky par". He grabbed the scorecard when we got in the cart and was staring at it as we drove to the next tee box. I asked him what he was doing and he replied "Looking for where you mark down 'lucky' on the scorecard....all I see is a place for your par".

**CR McDivot** · June 6, 2015

Lucky shots that result in a good score are nice... but that is not a "good" shot in my mind.

I'd rather have good contact, have the ball flight I pictured, and end up close to where I intended the ball to stop. If I could do this on a more consistent basis I could consider myself a better player.

Luck is chance, good is on purpose.

**Pretzel** · June 7, 2015

To me a good shot is one that ends up in a nice spot.

A great shot is one that takes the desired path to get there to boot!

***iacas*** · June 7, 2015

Solid contact, reasonable start line/curve. The first matters a lot more because I rarely hit a solid shot that's really far offline.

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