Would You Rather…?

[Bonvivant]

Just now, dagolfer18 said:

I know it’s a poor question. I even admitted that last night. I think the question would have been better if I said the best driving, and left out iron play altogether, implying that your iron play in both scenarios is neither good nor bad, just okay.

I would still not play golf if I was the worst golfer at anything. I know there has to be someone that is the worst at everything, but it sure wouldn't be me when it comes to golf.

[dennyjones]

52 minutes ago, dagolfer18 said:

I know it’s a poor question. I even admitted that last night. I think the question would have been better if I said the best driving, and left out iron play altogether, implying that your iron play in both scenarios is neither good nor bad, just okay.

The responses still would have been the same.   Close to 100% would take the best drive over the best putt without question.   There are numerous studies in strokes gained to prove the point including @iacas's book "Lowest Score Wins". 

[Patch]

On 12/13/2019 at 2:08 PM, dagolfer18 said:

Would You Rather... #9

Would you rather have the worst putting and short game in the world, but the best driving/iron game in the world, or have the worst driving/iron game in the world, but the best putting/short game in the world?

Personally, I’d prefer option #2. Short game and putting saves you more strokes than the long game. As my grandpa says, “It’s not how you drive, it’s how you arrive.”

I'd take the better putting/short game since my driving/long iron game is no longer long enough to save me strokes. 

The better putting/short game would help me make up for "some" of the shots lost in my my shorter, long game. 

[klineka]

3 minutes ago, Patch said:

I'd take the better putting/short game since my driving/long iron game is no longer long enough to save me strokes. 

So if you currently aren't saving any strokes with your long game, why wouldnt you choose to make your long game significantly better than it currently is?

[dennyjones]

Let's give this question an 18 hour rest so we can proceed to something relevant.

[The Flush]

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

 

 

[mcanadiens]

6 minutes ago, The Flush said:

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

 

 

That's a lot of different qualifiers, but not even the one most central to me, which is cost.

Supposing first, that cost is the same, the deciding factor for me would probably be whether or not a riding cart is included in the membership. If so, I'd take the local one. 20 minutes here and 20 minutes there adds up, but I'm not walking a hilly course. If not, we'll take the drive and save $14 per round on cart rental (and get a bit of exercise in the process).

 

 

 

[The Flush]

13 minutes ago, The Flush said:

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

 

 

I am waffling between these 2 options for my son for next season.  This year it was convenience and it probably will be next year too. More play is better. As for me, I can't see playing enough to justify a membership. So I will pay the daily rate wherever I want to play.

Edited December 16, 2019 by The Flush

[The Flush]

5 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

That's a lot of different qualifiers, but not even the one most central to me, which is cost.

Supposing first, that cost is the same, the deciding factor for me would probably be whether or not a riding cart is included in the membership. If so, I'd take the local one. 20 minutes here and 20 minutes there adds up, but I'm not walking a hilly course. If not, we'll take the drive and save $14 per round on cart rental (and get a bit of exercise in the process).

 

 

 

I completely understand the cost part.  Most courses that I am familiar with don't include a cart in the annual rate. I also completely understand the not wanting to walk up and down a lot of hills. The value proposition probably depends on whether or not you plan to ride the nice flat course.

For the courses that I am considering, the youth membership for my son is a better deal at the nicer course, but the adult price is better at the local course. I think I will buy him a pass for Christmas again this year and want him to get my money's worth out of it by playing a lot. 

If it was just me, I might pick the nicer course, but it throws another variable into the equation because it is close to where I work. Of course there is another course 200 yards from my office door. It doesn't have annual rates and is not as nice for the most part (crappy greens with a few bunkers but they are maintained and it is flat as a pancake.)

[Darkfrog]

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

I have two young kids that demand a lot of time and attention, so finding space to play a round golf can be a real challenge. Easy access is the most important thing for me, so I'd choose the first option. If I want to play a nicer course, I usually do it with some advanced coordination to set up child care.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, The Flush said:

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

I'd drive the extra distance if the costs were the same and I was looking to play more often. 20 minutes isn't terrible. It can add up, though, and if the club routinely doesn't have the capacity to get you out when you show up… then it's a wasted 20 minutes.

But, all else equal… the extra drive is likely worth the added quality of the course.

[pganapathy]

1 hour ago, The Flush said:

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

If cost isn't a consideration, the better course for sure.  Hilly and not walker friendly are not issues for me.  Badly maintained is though.  Not to say I don't play badly maintained courses, but I avoid them if possible.  It tends to breed bad habits in me and my golf swing because a lot of badly maintained courses let you pick and place, and that makes it difficult when I can't do that on a better course.

[dagolfer18]

27 minutes ago, Darkfrog said:

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

I wouldn’t really mind driving a half hour to a nice course a few times a week, so I’d have to go with option #2.

[David in FL]

 

1 hour ago, The Flush said:

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

 

 

Really not enough information, but all things being equal, I’ll drive an extra 20 minutes to play a better course.  
 

The ability to walk is of no concern to me at all.  My only concern there is whether the majority of those walkers could/would maintain their pace of play to the level I enjoy.

[gbogey]

1 hour ago, The Flush said:

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)? 

Totally unable to pick here: the two courses I play the most are the worst maintained of the ones I like locally but they are 15-25 minutes closer to home/work and they are the most walkable.  Not sure what I would do in this case.

I've played over 80 rounds this year with another 30 or so 9 holes after work.  An extra 40 minutes round trip is something like 70 hours over the course of a year.

[CarlSpackler]

1 hour ago, The Flush said:

#10

Would you rather buy an annual pass or membership at the more conveniently located , but not as nice course (15 minute drive, bunkers not maintained, hilly and not walker friendly) or the less convenient but nicer course (35 minute drive, maintained bunkers, relatively flat and easy to walk)?

For years, I have opted for the former which is less than 10 minutes from my house. It's not the worst course I have played but certainly not what I would call a nice course. The greens are usually nice other than the masses that don't repair pitch marks. The bunkers are AWFUL, and the fairways and tee boxes are weedy. There is another course about 30 minutes away that is much nicer and similarly priced, but it is only 18 holes, where the closer one has 36 regulation holes + an 18 hole par 3 course. I also have access to 2 other city courses that are pretty decent. They are raising their prices for 2020, so I might be reconsidering.

[Double Mocha Man]

19 minutes ago, gbogey said:

An extra 40 minutes round trip is something like 70 hours over the course of a year.

That's 1/9385th of your lifetime!

[iacas]

23 minutes ago, gbogey said:

I've played over 80 rounds this year with another 30 or so 9 holes after work.  An extra 40 minutes round trip is something like 70 hours over the course of a year.

If you play 105 rounds, yeah.

But you can get things done in those 40 minutes. Listen to podcasts. Converse with your kid or spouse. Make work calls. Relax.