A Poll on "Strategy" and "Advice"

[mvmac]

To be clear, this is NOT about the Rules of Golf.

Read this passage:

The design is as simple as can be. The fairway tilts from left to right and runs on a left-to-right diagonal from the tee. The green is oriented in the opposing direction—right to left—and a Muirfield-inspired doughnut bunker guards its front left edge. If you bail out to the forgiving left half of the fairway, you’ll have a dicey approach to a shallow target between the bunker in front and a fierce runoff behind. If you find the right side of the fairway while avoiding the hillside and grove of trees to the right, you’ll have more room for error.

This is Strategy 101. Any halfway-decent architect could conceive of a hole like it. But what makes No. 2 at Laurelwood stand out is that the angles actually work. The fairway is the right width, and the green complex correctly sized and oriented, for the approach to be substantially tougher from the left than from the right. I should know. After a conservative tee shot to the left side of the fairway, I dumped a pitching wedge in the bunker.

Having read that, please answer the poll, and then discuss below.

 

 

 

 

 

Please answer the poll before reading any further.

Thank you!

[Vinsk]

I read this as both options being presented ( fairway left or right) and the benefits and precautions of each choice. There is a slight bias in playing the right side but I wouldn’t say it’s directly saying take the right side for your best score.

[Hardspoon]

I don’t love the wording of these answers, but clearly it’s about scoring - “more room for error”, “substantially tougher” are both about the effect of strategy on the resultant score. 

I don’t think the second one is really true either, since I don’t think the author is taking a position on which is better overall. But I guess it’s less wrong. 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Hardspoon

[DeadMan]

I voted number 2. I think it’s pretty clearly implied how to strategize for the best score on the hole. 

[phillyk]

At the simplest level, we know GIR is the most significant when it comes to scoring. The post describes the approach as dicey versus more room for error. 
 

1 hour ago, mvmac said:

If you bail out to the forgiving left half of the fairway, you’ll have a dicey approach to a shallow target between the bunker in front and a fierce runoff behind. If you find the right side of the fairway while avoiding the hillside and grove of trees to the right, you’ll have more room for error.

More room means a likely higher percentage GIR and lower scores. 

[cedrictheo]

The way I read it, the following underlined words imply where one should aim to lower one’s score.

“If you bail out to the forgiving left half of the fairway, you’ll have a dicey approach to a shallow target between the bunker in front and a fierce runoff behind. If you find the right side of the fairway while avoiding the hillside and grove of trees to the right, you’ll have more room for error.”

And it sounds like poor advice on top of it. That right side with the grove of trees sounds like a crap place to be. Doesn’t usually help the score when you have to use a stroke punching out of the trees.

[saevel25]

I voted #1. 

I do not think the passage does well enough to describe the hole, the difficulty of the approach shots from the left or right side of the fairway. Being that the approach is with a pitching wedge, I do not believe the angle to the green matters all that much. Especially if the golfer just misses the green entirely. A proper shot zone would just take that bunker out of play, and assume a somewhat tougher (longer) putt. The passage does not speak on how the shape of the fairway might benefit the 2nd shot. Being the fairway goes from left to right, for a right handed golfer, this will promote a fade. Which will have the ball land into the slope of the green, and also help keep the golf ball away from the bunker being it is on the left side of the green. The passage is assuming a certain level of competency as well. For majority of golfers, this level of detail is not worth considering. If you play the hole with shot zones in consideration, pending pin locations, your average leave might be like 5-FT when playing from one side of the fairway versus the other. 

 

[StuM]

I voted #1.

both left & right side of fairway present risk reward choices.  Lest side is easier off the tee but risky into the green.  Right side is risk of trees off the tee but if you avoid them then you have an easier shot to the green.  Which you should choose would be based on your comfort with the shots involved.

[iacas]

Just now, StuM said:

both left & right side of fairway present risk reward choices.

Which is about scoring. Risk of what? Being eaten by a bear? No - risk of making a higher score.

You and Matt answered it incorrectly given your typed out text.

"Strategy" is navigating the course to shoot the best score.

[StuM]

10 minutes ago, iacas said:

"Strategy" is navigating the course to shoot the best score.

maybe I am missing the point.

if you have confidence off the tee hit right for the easier approach if you struggle off the tee and are confident with the approach go left.

the strategy will depend on YOUR game.

The passage just gave you the pros & cons of each choice

[iacas]

12 minutes ago, StuM said:

the strategy will depend on YOUR game.

And what is strategy except how the shots result in scores?

The second choice says only: "The passage implies or states that where the golfer hits their tee shot will affect their score for the hole."

Do you think it's just describing the scenery or which is closer to a great taco stand or something?

[saevel25]

29 minutes ago, iacas said:

Which is about scoring. Risk of what? Being eaten by a bear? No - risk of making a higher score.

You and Matt answered it incorrectly given your typed out text.

"Strategy" is navigating the course to shoot the best score.

Yep, I was wrong. 

So, what is the point of this thread? To just test people's ability to see if they can follow the directions of a poll? 

I feel like there is no thing to discuss here then. 

[iacas]

Just now, saevel25 said:

Yep, I was wrong. 

You can change your vote.

Just now, saevel25 said:

So, what is the point of this thread? To just test people's ability to see if they can follow the directions of a poll?

Because I was told by someone that the only people who think that "strategy" or "strategic design" is not at all about scoring, and I don't think that's accurate.

Among other things.

If someone were ever to write "play from the right side of the fairway gives the player the best view of the gorgeous river valley to the south" then that might not be a "strategic" comment, but saying "players will face an easier approach shot from the right" is about strategy, which is in turn about scoring.

[saevel25]

Ok, then yea reading that post as is, yea vote #2. 

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Ok, then yea reading that post as is, yea vote #2. 

Another way of putting it: having read that passage, does it make you think that you should try to play toward the left or right side?

Because as many of us here know, the answer is that you should play toward the middle, and sometimes you'll wind up right and have a "better angle" and sometimes you'll wind up left and have to carry the bunker to a small green. And sometimes, even aiming at the middle, you'll end up in the rough or even the trees.

But if in reading the passage, it makes you think about going either right or left, then it's talking about strategy and thus scoring.

IMO.

[StuM]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

And what is strategy except how the shots result in scores?

The second choice says only: "The passage implies or states that where the golfer hits their tee shot will affect their score for the hole."

Do you think it's just describing the scenery or which is closer to a great taco stand or something?

Got it, but a great taco would be a nice change from all the turkey I’ve eaten the last couple days.

[boogielicious]

I voted 2 for couple of reasons. Thinking about shot zones, hitting the middle of the fairway will likely have my ball end up right side due to the slope of the fairway. I can hit a safer shot and still end up in a good position. The bunker is a gray zone, so approaching from the right allows me more error to get a GIR and avoid the bunker. So this is a strategy for scoring.   

[iacas]

3 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

I voted 2 for couple of reasons. Thinking about shot zones, hitting the middle of the fairway will likely have my ball end up right side due to the slope of the fairway.

You're just reading the passage and voting on what it says, not filtering it through what you know about Shot Zones, etc.

4 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

So this is a strategy for scoring.   

Yep.