Whats the most important part of the game?

[Rafcin]

I voted "Solid, Consistant Ball striking" over course management. You can manage your way around a course all day but if you're not hitting your shots where you intend all the management in the world isn't going to help.

that's true, but what good is it sold strike and being on and around the greens, if you can't get up and in... let's say on a avg. par 4 it will get you 2 strokes to get to(or around) the green and 3 strokes into the cup. What's more important - sold strike or short game/putting

Dave (NCGolfer) did whole series of articles on the main sandtrap.com site taking the PGA Tour apart in the "The Numbers Game" section to find the "important" part of the game. Read up. It wasn't that straight forward to draw any conclusions...

[SubPar]

Pavin last week was a good example. And Tiger the week before. Figure out what you need to do to beat the course and the field.

Pavin's performance whould teach us all a lesson. He probably would not have won if a few of the top 10 players were in the field, but the important thing for the average duffer to note is that Pavin would only rank 14th in driving distance on the LPGA Tour and he shot -20 over four days.

His driving average is 264.5 as of today and he averaged scoring -5 a round Thursday through Sunday, hitting 100% of the greens on Sunday. Distance-obsessed 12 handicappers should take note.

[cdriver]

I have taken note... Now, hand me that depleted uranium, titanium, composite topped, graphite shafted 460cc monster with the guaranteed explosive tip so I can unlace my shoes swinging for the bleachers on my next tee shot.....

[Lefty2380]

wow, its good ot see this type fo response for less than a day's long post...


i went with short game because you cant go wrong with it...if you can put the ball within 6 -10 feet every time (hence the title Perfect Short Game) you will score better than any player who can drive the ball 300+ yards 95% of the time, if not 100%

golf is indeed a game of percentages. I have a home-made yardage book that is filled with stuff like what to hit from where, where to land the ball, where to go for it vs. where not to, stuff like that. I went out for a week straight and placed 30 balls in each relative area and hit away in groups of ten and did an average of the percentages. over 75%, its a definite go...50%-75% depends on the situation and under 50%, dont risk the game...

its a lot of work but i dropped 3 strokes off the handicap within a month, now i carry it with me each time i play (so everyday). If you have the time, give it a try, it helps a TON with both managment and recovery...

nobody thinks cheating is important?

---mike---

[LarryK]

what good is it sold strike and being on and around the greens, if you can't get up and in... let's say on a avg. par 4 it will get you 2 strokes to get to(or around) the green and 3 strokes into the cup. What's more important - sold strike or short game/putting

There is no doubt about it. Short game and putting is the most important part of

the game, but I am in full agreement with Ghost Runner that solid, consistent ball striking is the most important part of my game, because it is what I do so poorly. Your hypothetical example implies that just about any weekend sod cutter can get somewhere around the green in only (on average) two strokes. Define "around". My short game is fair. I love to chip. If I am just short of or roll through the green, I like my chances to get up and down for par. But if I spray a wedge 20 yards wide in the short side rough, "around" isn't helping me much. I lose way too many strokes between tee and green. I would love to play golf with a high degree of confidence that I actually knew where the ball was about to go. Solid, consistent ball striking is my holy grail.

[Konrad]

I voted for perfect distance control.

Think about it. If you hit every single putt, chip, iron shot or drive the same distance from the hole/fairway every time, you're done with half of the battle. All you must do is have proper mechanics to get the line of your shots to your target.

Example: Tiger Woods 2006 British Open

[allin]

I chose unwavering mental control and stability. I chose this because it is the hardest to improve. All facets of the game are based on execution. If you are not mentally in control you will be unable to execute consistently,

[Rafcin]

Pavin last week was a good example. And Tiger the week before. Figure out what you need to do to beat the course and the field.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here... yeah, he's a short hitter - are you saying it is a good thing? He pretty much stunk off the tee. Beyond this pathetic (for PGA standards) distance (he'd rank 14th on the LPGA driving distance list! ), his accuracy was pretty bad too - 65.4% fairways - only 41st in the field! It's not "safe driving" what won him this tournament.

1.59 putt average and 75% GIR did it.

[thehillgolfer]

as the saying goes...every shot is important.


if you cant hit a good drive you can be in position to hit the green. if you cant hit a good iron you cant be on the green to putt. and if you have a bad short game you can score low. so all the aspects of the game are important. On the PGA tour the most important is putting, personally. Take Joe Durant for example. One of the best ballstrikers on tour, if you dont believe me look it up. the problem for him is that he isnt an exceptional putter. He is probably a better putter than most every other golfer in the world. but you have to make those 30 foot birdie putts to win on the pga tour and he doesnt make those very often.


personally i would be absolutely tickled if i could be a pure consistent ball striker. If i hit 14 greens in regulation per round and had so so putting and recovery i would be fine. but i still voted that a perfect short game is the most important

[Rafcin]

...if you have a bad short game you can score low....

I personally count putting under "short game" -around AND on the green is short game for me. putting alone wasn't a option in the poll

[Jeepthrills]

I said short game, but I will say that my best rounds have come when I'm hitting the ball well off the tee. If you are hitting the ball out of bounds or into unplayable lies all day, the short game will only help so much. However, a mediocre long game and killer short game will beat a bomber that can't hit the green.

[RX Phoenix]

Confidence
Which starts with driving the ball.
If you are in the middle of the fairway, you've got time to focus on your approach and likely hit a good one, which means your short game is now optimally relevant. And you aren't looking ahead with concern about what might happen on the next drive so your focus will be better . . .

Good drives stabilize your round like nothing else.

If you're looking for your drive in the rough, you will be hurried, uncertain, face a difficult approach, put more pressure on the short game, and in the back of your mind will be thinking ahead a bit and wondering if you are going to be in for a struggle that day off the tee. You get tense and start to steer the ball, lose your confidence and go downhill.

Driving the ball in the fairway with authority is the most important part of the game.

[Phil-GTC]

I really believe that Solid consistent ball striking and a good short game together are the most imortant factors. If you can't hit the ball consistantly then it's going to put the rest of your game out. Putting is extremely important because you can easily add strokes to your game if your putting is wrong on the day.

Phil.C

[waynem80]

Ya left out one to me....

"Integrity"

wayne

[ipark1303]

For me... short game.

The days I post good scores... it all goes back to how I chipped/putted well... and recently there aren't so many good rounds... C'est la vie!

[BritBoy]

Confidence.........

You dont realize how important it is until you start to lose it

[niblick]

i voted for ball striking. to me, that encompasses accuracy and distance control. If your ball striking is great, that means fairways and greens all day, and the game becomes alot easier.

[MdGolfer1982]

Looks like I went with the crowd on this one. If you have a good short game- you will be in business.