Tour pros and specific iron yardages on approaches??

[Blades4me]

iacas or anyone else, quick question (seriously)... I don't yet have a handicap as I'm still picking things up (hence the 28.0 maximum handicap in my signature) and have not yet joined a club, but I would logically imagine that if a player could hit it within a couple of yards of the pin "quite often" surely he'd be a + handicap, like +2 to +5? (Assuming he could drive straight, as he'd obviously have good iron play to be able to hit such accurate yardages)?

LOL, it depends on how well one putts and of course how cool you can stay under great pressue. Its one thing to play and putt good when just out there with your buddies and another when its the club championship. Or for the pro's, big money.

I've golfed Pro Am's and play money games, but for me the most pressure is the club championship. I can usually do good in the net catagory, but still working on placing in the gross catagory. And of course this is just me; other answers may vary

[tourpro990]

Its all a fad. The average tour pro approach from 100 yards is 20 feet (shotlink). What you see on TV is highlights of players who are playing very well on a particular day. That way the producers create a wow factor ( something an average man cannot do consistently) . Tour pros struggle with distance just like average players. Its just that they have a more consistent swing and therefore hit the green more often therefore more pars, less bogeys and lower scores. Notice that on TV they only show you the top 5-6 players on a particular day- look very closely. The rest hardly get any coverage ( even Tiger when he is out of the top 15 on the last day).

[Zeph]

How many approaches does they have from 100 yards really? Mostly a long par 5 or short par 4. Around 150 is where they have to be good.

[KwSipp]

No one has taken into account the distances that tour pros hit there irons, I mean these guys are as accurate with a 7 iron as we are with a 60*, with that being said most guys on tour hit there 7i about 175ish. Most par 4 holes for the average golfer is driver 5i 6i depending on the tee box and length of the course, for pros its driver 7i 8i, makes a huge difference in ability to score low.

[Wazzer]

Actually guys, take it from someone who spends a lot of time with touring pros all across europe on the European Tour. The difference is the strike and contact that the pros get with the ball. Because they don't have to worry about what happens if they thin it or fat it or catch it slightly out the heel, they only have to focus on the bare minimum. And also guys, when I'm with a lot of them, they don't hit as many balls for practice as people make out, the difference is, it is REAL practice, putting themselves in many different types of situations for EVERY shot and after EVERY shot, they make a full analysis of that one shot, (why it went there, what was the flight like, how can I control that next time, what was the shot shape, how smooth was the divot, how balanced was I after impact...) all of these are just a few of what occurs to them every time they hit a ball. And lastly, they DON'T experiment, they do make minor changes in their swing but they do not experiment with different ball positions, grip pressure, knee flex, stance width... this is because they KNOW that it will all be pretty much perfect for their specific swing and that comes to the average golfer the more time they spend playing. For instance, as you can see I'm a pretty handy golfer but I don't experiment with anything when I practice, it is purely the mistakles that you make during a round that spoil it however far to many golfer blame the whole round for the score when in fact it was only probably 4 or 5 shots which could have cost them 10 in return for the average golfer. Think about it guys! And YES, they can hit pretty much the exact yardage but again, another difference is that EVERY shot they hit is normally straight down the line of the pin and this automatically make it seem much closer, but yes, most of the tour players hit a specific yardage from 155 ish inwards within 2 yards, and that is the fact.

[kleraudio]

Great replies everyone, thanks a lot! Actually, Ive been working VERY hard on my approaches and you are all right, they can hit the yardages they need, as Im starting to be able to do that now with some consistency....

This is one great game...

Some low handicaps on these boards huh! +7? Thats sick.

[Leftygolfer]

+7.......Sure. You are top 125 on the PGA tour.

[Wazzer]

Actually if you knew anything about golf, you would know that because I play off of +7, I am an ameteur and therefore I am not on any tour! Just because I'm a good ametuer doesn't mean I have to turn pro.

[kleraudio]

Your telling me that the pros on the PGA tour are better than +7??

If someone told me they were a +7 I would absolutely positively for sure think the dude was a pro.... I would NEVER be like "oh your a +7, still an amateur, but keep playing and you'll get better"...

Unless you mean -7, then I understand.

Jim

[iacas]

I don't believe the guy's a +7 either, particularly since he lists "Tour Player" in his signature, but let's stick to the topic, please.

[wedstuntpuller]

iacas or anyone else, quick question (seriously)... I don't yet have a handicap as I'm still picking things up (hence the 28.0 maximum handicap in my signature) and have not yet joined a club, but I would logically imagine that if a player could hit it within a couple of yards of the pin "quite often" surely he'd be a + handicap, like +2 to +5? (Assuming he could drive straight, as he'd obviously have good iron play to be able to hit such accurate yardages)?

6 yard putt is a gimme half the time?? You realize that is an 18 foot putt... and i dont think EVER a gimme. Even good putters will only hit an 18 foot putt maybe 2 or 3 out of 10 times. This is also assuming you can put your drive within 120 yards on every single par 4, which is also a bit of a stretch.

[kleraudio]

He probably meant 6 feet... I hope

[Zeph]

6 feet is no gimmie either.

[Leftygolfer]

Neither is 3.

[iammpspeer]

To be a good golfer, 3-6 foot putts better be pretty easy, maybe not a "gimmie", but pretty damn close.

[kleraudio]

Yea 6 footers arent gimme's I know that, but Youve got to be confident in making that 6 footer, every time. Yea, you probably wont make it everytime, but you need the confidence to say you'll make it.

[Leftygolfer]

I don't know how this thread turned to what is a gimme or an easy putt but 3 feet is no gimme. There is a reason pros and good ametuers work on this. I expect to make every putt inside of 6 feet but I miss a bunch.

If I am not mistaking, the average on tour is about 65% from 6 feet. These are perfect greens and the best in the world.

[WUTiger]

I walked along on a couple of practice rounds at the 2004 U.S. Senior Open at Bellerive in St. Louis. The players spent lots of time hitting chips and pitches around the green after putting out. Also, some players had data on popular pin placements for the holes.

Others would try putts the length of the green, seeing where the dips and rolls actually channel the balls. Greens that had been rebuilt since the last major tourney got extra scrutiny.

During the tournament rounds, the caddies often gave the players a "situation report" on each tee box, especially on Par 3 holes. "... The pin was 10 yards farther back Friday, today's cup is at the top of a rise, not much wind... your new 7-wood bites more than your old three iron..."

Caddies do a lot managing this info. Our electric carts, unless they have GPS, don't tell us much.

Basically, they process lots of info quickly before making shots, and it's much better info than us everyday amateurs have. Guess that's why we call them pros.