What is your Game Importance?

[TomDonS]

I want to get a poll to see how people look at the importance of certain facets of the game. Whats the most important in your eyes?

[bogeyhitter25]

I picked short game. But I'd rather have a solid all-around game, rather than a poor driving game and a brilliant putter.

[Fourputt]

Short game here too, which for me includes the putter. I can usually get near most greens in regulation, but it's what I do from that point on that determines the quality of my round.

Today my short game was on, with 8 one putts, a zero putt, and the rest 2 putts for 26 total. I only hit 5 greens in regulation but still shot a 7 over par 79.

[MGP]

I have about a 12 handicap. If it wasn't for chipping and putting it would be 20+.

[Seven Iron]

I have always emphasized the importance of the short game but very often we overlook the importance of the driver. It's very hard to make part (almost impossible to make birdie) when you are in the lumberyard.

[JetFan1983]

I went with iron play. It helps to just stay out of trouble in the 1st place and having 3-4 footers for birdie, I would imagine. Correct answer is putting though.

[Big_M]

The reality is it is ALL important...

Good drives build confidence... and good luck saving par when you are constantly hooking or slicing the ball into the woods or what have you.

Iron game is important because most approaches will be hit with irons... don't hit them well and you'll have less looks at birdies and always be struggling to save par.

A solid short game helps for those occassions when irons miss or when you hit a long drive or 2nd into a par 5. w/o a solid short game you'll give strokes back with every mistake.

Putting is obviously important since it is 26-40 shots per round, being 10 ft for bird all day does no good if you can't sink a couple, or if you constantly 3-jack.

[Brakkus]

Well the no brainer answer is easy,the short game,but I personally think it's the second shot from the fairway with the mid irons.Fluff that approach or lay up and I don't care if you are Seve with the wedge and Tiger with the putter you ain't going to shoot pars and bogies on the round it's doubles for you.

This is the problem with the stock answer of short game,you got to hang flesh off a skeleton not the other way around.You can't hit up and downs or nail the green from 100 yds if you have wasted strokes getting there,you will still shoot higher scores which is why it slightly irritates me that high handicaps suffer because they are apparently not good at the short game,it's much more deeper than that.You can lose strokes in every facet of the game,therefore ranking them in importance makes no sense to me.

[lumpuckeroo]

For me, I have to get off to a good start, that means driving the ball. That being said if anyone would ask me how to lower thier score, I would say improve you short game If I spray the ball all over the course off the tee no matter how good my short game is that day, chances are I will not score well.

My short game is usually pretty stelar, so getting a decent drive, hitting my next shot around the green and letting my short game take over, that is when I play well and usually score well.

They say you can't birdie all 18 holes if you don't birdie the first one, well, I can't get to my short game if I don't get off the tee.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Id rather be a great putter than a good ballstriker. Im hitting the ball better than i have in a couple of years right now, but my putting probably costs me 2 to 4 strokes a round. I three putted 4 times the last time i went out. Its frustrating.

[jorruss]

It's a no brainer. Short game. It's a proven fact that no matter what your ability level, somewhere between 55% and 65% of your score is shots inside 125 yards. You do the math. If you shoot 90, figure on at least 45 (but probably more) of those shots to be wedges, chips and putts. Just keep track the next time you play and you'll see for yourself.

Driving is important, but on courses with 4 par threes you'll hit no more than 14 drives. Without a short game you won't break 80. Good players spend most of their practice time with wedges, chipping and putting. It's important not to neglect the driver, but if you split your practice time accordingly you will develop a good short game and your scores will go down.

[David in FL]

I've got to agree with Big_M........I just can't pick one any more.

A stroke is a stroke. If I lose a stroke because I miss a fairway, hit an indifferent iron shot, or miss a putt, it's still an extra stroke on the scorecard. The best drive does me no good if I can't putt, and being able to drain everything I look at does me no good if I can't get to the green in regulation in the first place. If I want to improve from where I am now, I just can't afford to focus on a single aspect of my game more than any other.

[kingofcars08]

For a lot of guys it will be short game and putting, but for me, its driving. If I hit 10+ fairways, Ill shoot in the 70's everytime, gauranteed, but if I am spraying off the tee, who knows how many trees or OB stakes Im going to find. My Iron play will get me on the green from 200 yards and closer in 85% of the time, so a 2-putt for par is pretty easy, or a 10-15 yard up and down is all too easy. But 180 out behind two trees to an uphill green with two bunkers short right and left, good luck saving par with a good "short game"

[Cody]

Honestly with the level my driving is at, its going to have to be driving. When I'm on with my drives I'll shoot good. I'm normally pretty consistent with my short game, so when Im out in no mans land with my drive its hard to score well.

[jorruss]

Many instructors in the past have stated that the 3 most important clubs in the bag are the driver, wedge and putter. Harvey Penick used to say a good putter is a match for anybody, and I tend to agree.

I've played plenty of rounds where I've hit 16 or 17 greens and shot 74 because of poor putting. Conversely, my two best scores ever had me hitting only 11 and 13 greens, respectively. Driving is important in terms of putting the ball in play, but only accounts for ~20% of your score if you are a scratch golfer, and that percentage goes down as your handicap goes up. Obviously if you hit the ball OB or in the woods every time you are going to struggle.

How many times have you hit a bad drive, crappy iron shot, sculled a chip and drained a 30 footer for par, or hit two fantastic, solid shots and jacked up the 3 footer, only to settle for par? Either way a par is a par.

I love it when I see my competitors hitting driver all day at the range. I know when it comes to crunch time and the pressure is on that 4 footer is going to get longer and longer...

[Big_M]

I've got to agree with Big_M........I just can't pick one any more.

Despite what I said... all being of equal importance...

I can practice very little and still drive the ball well I need to practice a little more to keep the iron game sharp Short game requires the most work to stay real sharp I would say my most beneficial practice regimen would be 70% putting, chipping, and bunker play; and 30% irons and driving.

[blackxpress]

I went with iron play, mostly because I had to cast a vote to see the results of the poll. In actual fact, it's hard to say which facet is the most important. Everyone knows a good short game is important. Mine's pretty good. Probably the weakest part of my game right now is the Driver. I hit it good and straight but not very long (a really great drive for me is about 220). Consequently I need a really good iron game to get me in scoring range. I don't hit very many greens in regulation because my driver tends to leave me short.

Now, if I could improve my driver distance so that I was averaging, let's say, 250, that would change things a good bit. I am working on that and my driver distance is improving gradually but, at age 51 I doubt if I'll ever be a long ball hitter off the tee. I do just fine on Par 5's and the shorter par 4's. It's the long par 4's that get me. Thankfully, the lessons I'm taking are improving my iron game dramatically and I'm really starting to see a big difference on the score card. Even if I can't reach a long par 4 in 2 I'm able to lay up to wedge distance and my short game's good enough to where I can usually get up and down for at least a bogey on those holes. Many times I can pitch it close enough for a 1 putt par.

The trouble is, I'm still putting a lot of pressure on my short game. In other words, a good drive is good for more than just show. When I hit one of my good drives that goes 220+ I have a much better chance of hitting the green with a mid iron than I would if I had to try and reach it with a long iron or a fairway wood. If my drive comes up short the smart play is to lay up with a mid iron and then try to chip it up close.

Oh well, the point of all this rambling is that you need to be strong in all facets of the game if you really want to play well. A good short game won't do you much good if it takes you 2 or 3 strokes to get into wedge range.

[TomDonS]

Short game here too, which for me includes the putter. I can usually get near most greens in regulation, but it's what I do from that point on that determines the quality of my round.

Short game doesn't include putting in this poll. As it has it's own category.