What would you DO?

[TomDonS]

Not a doubter. But I hit the ball 300+ and it took me 12 years of competitve golf and swing power work to get there. Plus I am 225 lbs. Maybe you should stop swinging so hard because it doesnt sound like it is benefiting you. I would give up yards to hit every fairway. And if you are swinging 117+ and not breaking the 300 mark you arent hitting it solid to begin with.

Not doubters.....realists!

[TheNatural]

nevermind why bother...just asked to see if I should try "going for It"
on par 4's

[TomDonS]

  TheNatural said:

nevermind why bother...just asked to see if I should try "going for It"

You should only go for it on par 4's if you can without a doubt say the majority of the time you will be on or close and not in any trouble. Play the percentages. You can lay up and get a 4 on a Par 5 and you can go for it in 2 and get a 7. Course management will improve your game drastically don't over look it. If you have the swing you say you do work on CM, and play with some "players" to watch them and ask questions.

It's fun to go for it but it more fun to score well.

[TheNatural]

true ..swing and grip are not perfect. launch angle much too low. but the distance has still been there since i picked up a driver

[TomDonS]

  TheNatural said:

true ..swing and grip are not perfect. launch angle much too low. but the distance has still been there since i picked up a driver

then definately look at my previous posting you would be amazed. There is a 325 yd par 4 on my home course that I can put on 9/10 times but that 1/10 makes me hit a hybrid down the gut. I birdie that hole on a regular basis.

I'm not discrediting you in any way but if you want to improve your "GAME" not just the oohs and ahhs as you long drive 5 it all over the place, then work on playing misses, percentages, and work on playing the course, not the 19th hole. Good Luck

[TheNatural]

focus is the enemy,,,,,its a matter of putting it all together in one round....35 putts along with the GIR and no blow ups.



for example I foolishly tried to drive an approach with a 280 yd carry over water....hit it too low and went in water. = a 6.

That I will not do when a lay up is the smarter play....I was just hitting well off the range that morn and thought I'd give it a go. I will move the tee forward a bit.

[Zeph]

Impressive driving, no doubt about that, do you have a video of the swing?

When it comes to your question, then no, I would not advice you drive short par 4's. In fact I would rather you play irons on the par 5's. First of all you'll have to max your distance to get close, secondly you'd have a short pitch which is possibly more difficult than one from 100+ yards. Secondly, a small mishit can, as someone else pointed out, give you a bogie or worse rather than an eagle.

I would also say that your question should not be asked at your skill level. It won't help you get better and post lower scores. You can't drive yourself all over the course. You would also benefit from playing more irons since you obviously struggle with them. I can only assume you are tempted to drive the short par 4's to post lower scores, which is true, if you can do it consistently, but from what you tell I don't see why you would want try scoring eagles and birdies instead of focusing on playing bogie and par first. At your handicap you are supposed to hit 14 bogies and 4 double bogies on a course which give you a course hcp of +22 shots.

Driving it long is great, but it's not where you lower your scores. That is done on the approach shots, short game and putting. Here is a challenge for you; play the course you normally do and leave the driver at home, see how you do. You can't rely on the driver to score your points, you absolutely have to work on irons and approach shots. Once you manage to hit your irons consistently and know their distances, then you get start lowering your scores dramatically.

[TomDonS]

  TheNatural said:

focus is the enemy,,,,,its a matter of putting it all together in one round....35 putts along with the GIR and no blow ups.

And you know what.....were you in a tourney? If not who cares.... You only live once, push your limitations it helps you gain confidence but learn the finer points of the game as well. It feels good to go for it and if you are playing for fun Why Not go for it. If you will be stewing about "if I just went for it" then just do it. I am contradicting myself here but both of my statements are totally valid.

Tournaments- Play golf, smart, concise, high percentages, if you are going to be playing in a lot of tourneys, Practice how you play. but....... For fun- HAVE FUN! Go for it. See what you got!

[TheNatural]

  Zeph said:

Impressive driving, no doubt about that, do you have a video of the swing?

Excellent advice thank you....my favorite club is a *60 and I am not bad with it, I will even use it from 100 out and it is still not bad. The iron from tee... advise is really really good. considering this is my kryptonite..I have a 1 in 4 chance of hitting a clean iron off a tee.,,ughh. Dont laugh but i even used a driver on a 230 par 3 with a high tee and short grip and iron swing....lol it was no worse than the usual result...! got a DB but mostly due to duffin a chip. I know this is crazy, but If I can hone this driver to a consistent 275-300 every drive, I can get home with high irons or... like sunday,,, get on in 2 for short par5s with a 5 iron. This way,,, my biggest weakness low irons and frway woods will never be needed ....and the par 4's can be played with pw or *60...I am average from 50 yds since i use it in my backyard most often the 60 that is ...its all about bakswing...half backswing i get 50 yds full i get 100 and when im 10 -20yds from green i use a putting stroke with my *60 to lob it on and eliminate wrist movement..im 6-3 and when putting or chipping i look like arnold palmer...crouched over close to ball...it works for me.. I think ill stick with my normal ss and Driver and hopefully just get lucky and hit one well to 290- 320 for a nice loft shot in 2.., but knowing I have the ability to put it on ...is soooo hard to resist that full bore drive.,,but its time to play smarter i guess to break 90.

[TheNatural]

  TomDonS said:

And you know what.....were you in a tourney? If not who cares.... You only live once, push your limitations it helps you gain confidence but learn the finer points of the game as well. It feels good to go for it and if you are playing for fun Why Not go for it. If you will be stewing about "if I just went for it" then just do it. I am contradicting myself here but both of my statements are totally valid.

Damn dude your a bad influence...I like it...what if I start smoting the ball to the end of a fairway everytime,,even the adjacent fairwaysLOL..it might be fun to have that ability... I used wilson tx4 pro's sunday, I think im gonna try the Pinnacle Gold FX long...see how they do.

[TheNatural]

[QUOTE=TomDonS;273534]And you know what.....were you in a tourney? If not who cares.... You only live once, push your limitations it helps you gain confidence but



I did on the par 5 ystrday i was cutting a dog leg that put a 160 yd carry hazrd 200 yds wide into play.....i went for it and landed the collar..2 putt birdie...yes birdie drought ENDED!

[DKunks]

  TheNatural said:

The 250's are when I launch low first of all and dont land in frway...or land in sand, rough or worse. The ss was 118 at golfsmith 2 mnths ago. since then SS is only increasing, but i try not to overswing, but sunday , i tried to hammer a few and could get the 275+ but due to low launch only cleared 300 a fewX.

It seems like your really just need to work on ball striking. Its the worst feeling to stripe a drive and then duff the 80 yarder. forget the diriver for a while - shots get harder as you get closer to the green, practice those. or, if you are satisfied shooting 100, just keep bombing it for fun.

[Rob]

I would suggest learning "course managment".Unless you want to be a "scramble player" for your drives,tone it down and learn the rest of the game.I really doubt you hit it 350-360,but if you do,great!But,I`ll take my 53 year old 240 in play,and I`ll wear you out!!!I love to play "long drivers" for $$$! Worry less about distance,and more about A to B to C.

[TomDonS]

  Rob said:

I would suggest learning "course managment".Unless you want to be a "scramble player" for your drives,tone it down and learn the rest of the game.I really doubt you hit it 350-360,but if you do,great!But,I`ll take my 53 year old 240 in play,and I`ll wear you out!!!I love to play "long drivers" for $$$! Worry less about distance,and more about A to B to C.

NICE....wear you out!!! I love it. So true!! Grindin'

[alcorn]

Sorry but I don't understand how you can supposedly hit the ball 350 yards and have a 25 handicap. If it were me I'd first play next few rounds keeping track of the following
1. Approximate Drive Distance
2. Fairway Drives
3. Greens in Regulation
4. Number of Chips
5. Number of Putts
I usually start this way for the first few rounds so I have an idea of where I'm at and then I start the real work. I usually spend time everyday practicing chipping and putting (approx. 40-60min) and then every few days I'll go to the driving range to try to get consistent trajectories with all my irons and fairway woods. Then I focus on my driver. So in short, if you are accurate about your 350yd drives then put the drive down and focus on your second shots and shortgame. Also read up on playing stratageys.

[Pat007]

is your teebox on the moon???

[flopdarock]

dude... seriously...
id work on course management and lowering the good ole handicap before even thinking of "going for it" on anything except the range...
my brother was just like you... he murdered balls with his driver... but would shoot in the hundreds cuz he had absolutely no course management...
i would dink an dunk up an down the course and beat him every time... he's been taking alot of lessons trying to tame his beastly ball striking... now he's long and deadly... aside from being a weak green reader and a 3-4 putt now and then... he went from a 22hcp to a 9 hcp in one season... now he's kicking my ass up an down the course

[TheNatural]

there were only 5 or so in that range ..im too irregular...i only remember one particular one that impressed me..it was dangersly close to a lake but nontheless was long and i google mapped it and measured with the ruler etc. i had a easy point of reference it had gone past a cart path by 30 yrds wich cut this par 5 dog leg...so it was in the range of 350 by %5, it hit a hard rough area and bounced in summer cond.... the other ones i had to ask my buddy which balls he has seen me hit the longest cuz when i began playing i was like an ADD kid at the tee and also when i began playing i would ride to the ball and never quite realize how far i was from the tee...those carts diminish the distance....It really dawned on me when he brought to me to play w his 12 hc buds...they would give me grief over the duffs. but i was 2yrs new....and i drove one hole at 340 to the approach..albeit she was downhill...

that day off first tee..i topped a ball that bounced off the ladies tee...then landed in fairway and rolled to 220ish..off a 15 yard carry! the starter just shook his head ....i outdrove the 4some with that crap..1st hole jitters i guess.

mY bud has played w me about 30 times...and I always pay for both of us...hes about a 14 hc but had me by only 1 stroke front nine Sunday...hes taught me a good bit..but the driver issue is my grip...im not changing it ...Yet. He said my longest hes seen was this one par 5 and jogged my memory to tell me when where which hole etc..hell maybe i got some sprinkler head that time...but i doubt it..Sunday felt really good...I just have no time to play..and the 6hr round #$@% up my back nine on Sunday...imagine sitting still for 15 minutes at every tee....talk about getting cold...it caused many duffs...