bad shot good result, or good shot, fair result

[clearwaterms]

I am a bogey golfer. I generally shoot below 100 and play pretty consistant mix of pars, bogeys and doubles. To me a par is an accomplishment, and a bogey is acceptable.

last tuesday I hit my first birdie of the year. On a 500 yard par 5, I hit a nice drive that left me in the first cut on the left, followed up with a nice lay up that left me a perfect pitching wedge away (about 120) I proceeded to hit a gopher killing worm burner that shot along the ground, bounced off the edge of the trap and came to a rest 5' from the pin, I sunk the putt and got the birdie.

Later in the round, on a medium length par 4, I had a very similar shot to get another GIR. a 120 yard pitching wedge. I proceeded to hit what felt like one of the purest pitching wedges of the round. The ball flew very high and landed very soft. Unfortinatly I didn't enough adjustment for the wind and my ball came to rest just off the green to the left. I proceeded to get up and down and save par.

So my question to everybody on the forum is; Do you prefer a perfectly struck ball that doesn't land exactly where you thought (bad bounce, gust of wind, bad aim, etc) or do you prefer the worm burner, hosel rocket, etc that has the better result?

To me, i didn't really feel good about the thinned pitching wedge, but I felt great about the birdie. However, when I hit that perfect PW into the green, and then hit a nice bump and run with my PW to leave it 6' and sink the putt for par, it felt like, hey that is how you play the game. I felt just as good about that par as I did about the birdie.

Thoughts? Comments, suggestions?

[DavidFehertysBike]

Thin to win! Bur seriosuly, the scorecard only knows numbers. It doesnt care about how you got it. You stuck that PW to 5 feet.

[Par Fore]

Great question....

Personally, I prefer the well struck shot, especially early in the season when the goal is to get consistent and grooved....

Mid summer, it's score.....I don't care if I shank it off a tree, roll down the cart path, and up on the green.....birdies are a thing of beauty....

Kudos to you for making that birdie putt.....too many people are apt to miss it, thinking they didn't "earn it"......I get plenty of bad bounces on the golf course - reward yourself when you get the good ones

[Dave H]

I achieved a birdie last season with a very similar sounding shot except that my worm-burner came to rest about 3" from the pin. I wasn't happy about the poorly struck shot, but for that hole I was way more happy with the result and that certainly over-ruled the feeling of a poor shot. That being said, had I hit a well struck shot and put it that closet to the hole, I would have been in heaven or close to it!

[James_Black]

my first eagle was a low hook into wind on a par 4, somehow the ball went in. I was pretty happy, I didn't care if it was a shit shot. The ball went in the hole that's all I care about

[Fourputt]

For scoring, I'll take either one. For consistency, I'll take the well struck ball, because that one is more dependable.

Certainly I much prefer hitting that shot where you can barely feel the club make contact with the ball. That is pure golfing ecstasy. But I will never refuse a gift from the golf gods.

[A_Duke]

being a high handicap, I tend to have many bad shots, I much rather prefer a good shot because it inspires confidence that I can go to the next hole and try that again. A bad shot good result is all luck, and even if it results in a birdie, I will go to the next hole with all new swing thoughts..

[Fairway_CY]

I agree with many who have posted before... I WANT to hit the perfect shot... but I'll take the 'oops' shot that ends up perfect, too and I WON'T feel bad about it because I've been burned by bad bounces plenty of times. I had this discussion last night with my wife.

I made my first ace on Sunday (no - I can't tell enough people) and it was on a PERFECTLY struck shot... I didn't feel it and it went EXACTLY as I'd imagined it. I was talking to some guys in my group about it during the rest of the round and many of them had stories of witnessing aces that kicked off a bunker rake, cart path, etc. I told them... an ace is an ace. In reality... I'd be happy to have one either way, but I MUCH prefer the way I got mine.

CY

[Zeph]

Only I care about is the perfect shot. A thin shot may give me birdie when the moons align, but it won't happen anytime soon again. I'm never satisfied with a poor shot, no matter what the result. If I hit a good shot and landed on the green, OK, with a bit better alignment I might make it closer to the pin the next time. I don't care that much about scoring really, I just want to hit one good shot after the other. I may shoot double bogey on a hole and what I'm taking from it is the good drive I hit.

I'm playing against myself all the time, wanting to get better, to get rid of all flaws and errors. Of course my scores will drop as I improve, but I would rather shoot 90 and feel I hit it very good than shoot 80 with a lot of luck.

[jamo]

If I am competing, I will take the crappy birdie everyday, but when I am just playing to play, I would much rather have the intrinsic satisfaction of the pured shot.

[dzdncfsd]

I agree with many who have posted before... I WANT to hit the perfect shot... but I'll take the 'oops' shot that ends up perfect, too and I WON'T feel bad about it because I've been burned by bad bounces plenty of times. I had this discussion last night with my wife.

I completely agree with you on several things.

I hit my first ace last Sunday as well. 147 yd playing more like 135 and hit a perfect PW that took one hop and trickled in. If it would have been a terrible shot and gone in I'd still count it and be excited but since it was absolutely a thing of beauty I'm just all that more excited. Good shots can be repeated lucky shots cannot. Don't forget to contact the manufacturer of the ball and clubs you use. I've already recieved a sleeve of burner balls and a hole in one divot tool from taylormade. Expecting my hole in one pewter bag tag from titlest in a couple of weeks.

[James_Black]

I completely agree with you on several things.

you get stuff if you get a hole in one?

[goblue107501]

Thin to win! Bur seriosuly, the scorecard only knows numbers. It doesnt care about how you got it. You stuck that PW to 5 feet.

+1 for me. I don't care how I get the result just that I got the best result possible. I remember hitting a very thin shot into a par three. Over water, I didn't even know if it would clear it. It hit just over the water, hopped up on the green and nestled about a foot from the hole. I have hit shots I thought were perfect into that hole, but didn't end up with a great result. Over time, I prefer the perfect shot, it is going to be more consistent, but I will never turn down a crap shop that ends up great.

[golfro]

To this day, one of the more memorable driver shots I've made is a giant slice that blasted off, strong slice to the right, smacked right into a tree, bounced off cart path and put me smack dab in the middle of the fairway.

I'll take it :)

[Fairway_CY]

I hit my first ace last Sunday as well. 147 yd playing more like 135 and hit a perfect PW that took one hop and trickled in.

Awesome! Congrats! Mine was a 120 yard hole... same club as you and same result... one hop, a little run to the left and dropped! I contacted Callaway (Warbird Plus Ball) but I can't seem to find WHERE to contact Nike (Slingshot PW). Still waiting to see what it is Callaway sends. Their website said a plaque... their customer service department said 'a small token of' their appreciation.

CY

[dzdncfsd]

Congrats to you as well. It's such an awesome feeling.

I don't think Nike has a program in place from what i've heard. It's worth a try though.

The gift from taylormade was nice. They also sent a nice printed letter congratulating me on the shot.

[Rexx]

No doubt I would rather hit a good shot that turns out poorly. If I hit a lucky shot... I'll probably shake my head, roll my eyes and sigh. I may even apologize to my opponent (and mean it) if we're playing some kind of match. Of course, I'll take it, just like I take all my shots. But I don't gripe about my "bad luck" or my opponent's "good luck"... I analyze it and move on.

This reminds me of the old "Would you rather play good and lose or play bad and win?" I'm definitely in the former category.