Ridiculous

[FortAsel]

Here's a good story for ya'll:

Last thursday through sunday (april 22-25), in Portugal, the Federation organized they're national amateur championship.
4 day's, with a cut in the end of the 3rd day with 50% of the field playing in the last day.

You know how everybody tells you that your short game is the most important part of your game right? WROOOOOOOOONG!

This golf course we played is like a linksy Augusta National. Very exposed to the Atlantic Ocean winds plus the fw's are surrounded by tall Pine Trees.

I was getting around the green in 4 shots (I usually drove the ball in those damned trees and then I tried to punch out but it either went through the fw to the trees on the other side or it would hit a tree and I'd have to repeat the preocess). Then I was making up-and-downs 95.62% of the time, so I was constantly chipping and making the putt for bogeys and doubles.

May this be a lesson to you, don't pay that much attention to the short game, because it is overrated...

PS: needless to say that I didn't play all 4 days

[Zeph]

Ball striking will always be more important than the short game.

[sean_miller]

Here's a good story for ya'll:

Just think of how badly you'd have soiled the bed with a 3-putt on every hole!!

[FortAsel]

I'd have a chance at making the cut though...

[sean_miller]

I'd have a chance at making the cut though...

Four on and three in is better how?

[groovezilla79]

ALL of the greats in the game have placed a huge emphasys and spent A LOT of their time working on thir short game. Just because you had a bad day on the course doesn't mean it's the most overrated aspect of the game.

[Leer_Dayne]

May this be a lesson to you, don't pay that much attention to the short game, because it is overrated...

I'm not sure that this is the lesson to take away. I think the lesson is that ALL aspects of the game are important.

[saevel25]

Golf is a complete game, but putting is the absolute thing people need to practice. IF you hit a drive into the trees you can get up and down for par. If you hit a bad approach you can get up and down for par, if you miss a par putt you are going to get a bogey. So the dynamic of golf is that all other shots are equal, but putting has no leeway for mistakes, you miss a shot you got no chance to save it.

But i will say this, this guy i played with thursday, he sculded at least 5 chip shots, one went over the green and into the trees, lost ball. BAsically to me ball striking is anything but putting. You got to be able to club to ball at all aspects of the game.

[zeg]

I think the reason for emphasis on short game is that it's not as obvious that you need to practice it. It's not really MORE important---every stroke counts the same, after all---it's just more important to teach people to practice it. Everyone more or less automatically goes out to practice the full swings.

Also what saevel25 said. You can sometimes hide a bad day with the big sticks through some miraculous putting. It's a lot easier to make par by getting on in GIR+1 and 1-putting than by getting on in GIR-1 and 3-putting (reaching those par 3s in 0 is tough!). In the end, of course, your whole game has to be balanced to get the most out of any one part of it.