Shooting at the middle of the green?

[Lefty-Golfer]

I think it depends on the course. My home course very small greens by todays standards. They are a defense of the course, fast and never flat. When i play there I am typically looking at the center.

When playing some other courses I think you would foolish to only look at the center. If the green is 35 yards deep and the pin is back why play a shot that if hit well could still be 12 yards short? Part of it is course knowledge and where you want to miss but I still want to hit enough stick to be around the pin if i hit it well. Maybe this comes from playing so many rounds on my home course but I think don't think you always have to hit to the middle on modern courses.

[sean_miller]

I think it depends on the course. My home course very small greens by todays standards. They are a defense of the course, fast and never flat. When i play there I am typically looking at the center.

Pin high, but on the fat side of the pin is probably good. I find easier putts after being on line and a bit short. More straight uphill putts that way.

[saevel25]

I say go at them. Really, i have no issues with playing aggressive, unless its something that can really get me in trouble, ie water hazard. But bunkers and rough don't bother me much. Even if the pins back right i will play the draw off the right edge of the green. But what i do concern myself with is keeping the ball below the hole majority of the time. I like to have as many up hill putts as possible. Left to right or right to left, doesn't matter, but uphill is a huge advantage.

[Ktrap]

Most golfers I know can't even drop balls on the 100 marker at the range, let alone aim for a pin. I notice most people at the driving range just spray balls left and right all day, and don't even worry about where they land. When you get them on the course, of course, they have no idea where the ball is going, but they aim at the pin anyway. Obviously, they spray it, miss the green, chip, 2 putt, bogey. Stupid way to play golf. On the other hand, I score better not because I have a better swing, but because I pay close attention to where the ball goes, and aim accordingly, then try for the center of the green, and aim away from hazards. I would rather have a 50 foot putt than a 20 foot chip.

So true, it just makes me laugh watching guys hit ball after ball not even barly letting it land be for bangging another one out there..!! For you higher handicapers it is a must that you pick a target when at the range, weather it be a flag, yardage sign or even a patch of grass thats different color. Know where you miss is most likely to be and then play for it.

[i-Guy]

Center of the green, all the time, no exceptions.

Ditto...could not have said it better

iacas ! However, I would like to add that this saying “Shooting at the middle of the green” is easier said then done. I suppose from a cognitive approach this makes sense and is easy to comprehend…but in reality it is not very easy to hit your irons to the middle of the green on every approach shot or the average handicap would be a lot less. Try it and prove me wrong …if you keep your stats then you know on the avg how many GIR you have per round…now for the next 5 rounds go play your favorite course…on every hole with your approach shot forget about the pin and just shoot for the middle of the green…keep track of you avg GIR during those five rounds and unless you have reached a new level “all of sudden” with your iron game there will not be much of a change. Heck let me blow your minds with this concept… your avg GIR’s will increase when your short game gets better? WHAT? Has “i-Guy” lost his mind? I don’t think so…think about it like this. You are in the middle of the fairway with a 9 iron in your hand and you are staring at the middle of the green (following the advice above) but as you go to start your backswing a thought goes through your mind that “My short game sucks and if I don’t hit the green I will at best make a bogey”. What happens next is that you get tense…you grip the club a little tighter because of your fear and you make a bad swing and miss the green. It happens probably more then you realize. Have you ever heard of the concept of playing the game backwards (from green to tee)…that is how you should develop and practice your game as follows: 1) As your short game (chipping and putting) get better your short to mid iron game improves (see explanation above) 2) As you short to mid irons improve so will your tee game (driver) as you will put less pressure on this part of your game for results Make sense? Well it does to me and since changing to this philosophy I have dipped into the single handicap range…I still see way to many Amateurs at the driving range pounding buckets of balls while the chipping and putting areas are empty…and if these Amateurs do make their way over to the chipping and putting area it is not for very long...just my 2 cents!!!

[laconic517]

id say go after a pin with a wedge but try to err on the fat side of green (unless the putt from there is horrible)

[sean_miller]

id say go after a pin with a wedge but try to err on the fat side of green (unless the putt from there is horrible)

Exactly.

I also think being pin high or just short is good advice as people begin to improve. The mantra, "take enough club" ruined many rounds for me over the years - a lot of doubles of worse after being over the flag and over the green.

[mdl]

I go either for the center of the green or towards the side opposite the trouble side for me that day. So if I'm hitting it pretty straight and my misses are left or right, I go middle. If I'm pulling or over-drawing/hooking my irons that day (more usual for me than push, except with the 4i, which does both), I'll aim for the right side of the green.

It helps me feel like I'm not playing too safe to remember than I'm only gonna hit a couple irons absolutely perfect, on the exact line a want, in any given round. On a day when my misses are sprayed, I'd rather half my slight misses be right at the pin and half with 50 foot putts than half with 25 foot putts and half short sided.

[SpringBokVol]

For me it is the center of the green.

The only thing I add to it is depth. Long center or short center.

Remember K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid

[Lefty-Golfer]

For me it is the center of the green.

This I can pretty much agree with and IMO it is quite a bit different then shooting just to the center. I was in Myrtle a few weeks ago and if you just shot center all the time you may have had nothing but 40' putts. i should be clear here though for me this is ony with a scoring iron. 7 and down...i pretty much just look at the center from there out.

[ericstamper]

I disagree with all..........if you slice aim left side of green......if you draw aim at right side of green......play for your strengths also.........distance control is as good as line.......right distance=closer putt, chip..............whats better? 30 ft putt or 15 yrd chip/pitch? control distance and you will hit more greens

[westcyderydin]

I say go at them. Really, i have no issues with playing aggressive, unless its something that can really get me in trouble, ie water hazard. But bunkers and rough don't bother me much. Even if the pins back right i will play the draw off the right edge of the green. But what i do concern myself with is keeping the ball below the hole majority of the time. I like to have as many up hill putts as possible. Left to right or right to left, doesn't matter, but uphill is a huge advantage.

wow we agree on a lot of things.

i usually aim part way between the pin and the middle of the green, but am pretty aggressive most of the time. i am not really afraid to miss the green cuz i can usually rely on my chipping to get up and down unless its a obviously tough shot. also remember when aiming for the green you arent just aiming side to side. you are also aiming for a distance. i would say this is the most important part of an approach shot, you should work to have good distance control. so if you are at the 150 mark, dont just pull your 150 club and go, notice how far forward or back the pin is. this is especially important at the course that i usually play at. most of the greens are sloped mostly back to forward. this means that you do not want to be past the hole cuz you will have tough down hill putts. so i find myself aiming short of the pin a lot. so dont just mindlessly hit into the center of the green all of the time. think of your strengths and the circumstances. such as... i would rather have a short sided chip than a long down hill putt. so i play accordingly.

[Chilli Dipper]

A critical point that no one has mentioned so far: Learn the green contours at the course you are playing. If you play at a course regularly, take notes or commit the slopes and ridges to memory; if a course has a yardage guide that includes diagrams of the greens, shell out the $6 or $7, buy it, and use it.

[shortstop20]

I think there's some confusion in this thread. Is anybody argueing that a player should aim for the center of the green from a front to back perspective? I know I'm certainly not, I was talking about a horizontal or left to right perspective.

I don't see the point of aiming for dead center(Y and X axis) of the green.

[Shanks A Million]

I think there's some confusion in this thread. Is anybody argueing that a player should aim for the center of the green from a front to back perspective? I know I'm certainly not, I was talking about a horizontal or left to right perspective.

Because we're mere mortals. Even the tour pros don't generally shoot at flags. The center of the green allows you the most room for error. It's not that we're aiming for the center of the green, it's that we're trying to land it there. Anyone here who claims they try to aim for the flag is under some serious delusions. Who of us can actually hit it that accurately? I'm trying to get the ball onto the green so I have a putt. Too many 15 handicaps stupidly aim for the flag, expecting some miracle shot. Sure, they can't even come near the par for the course, but they still shoot like idiots at the flag, then take two chips, and two putts for double. Not too smart. What do you think would equal a better score, 5 greens in regulation with easy birdie putts and 13 others with difficult chips, or 18 greens in regulation with 20 footers for birdie?

[zeg]

Because we're mere mortals. Even the tour pros don't generally shoot at flags. The center of the green allows you the most room for error. It's not that we're aiming for the center of the green, it's that we're trying to land it there. Anyone here who claims they try to aim for the flag is under some serious delusions. Who of us can actually hit it that accurately? I'm trying to get the ball onto the green so I have a putt. Too many 15 handicaps stupidly aim for the flag, expecting some miracle shot. Sure, they can't even come near the par for the course, but they still shoot like idiots at the flag, then take two chips, and two putts for double. Not too smart. What do you think would equal a better score, 5 greens in regulation with easy birdie putts and 13 others with difficult chips, or 18 greens in regulation with 20 footers for birdie?

You're speaking in far too strong an absolute here. As a general principle, yes, the center is safer. But it's not uncommon for a large green to be big enough that the center is absurdly far from the flag, likely to set up a very difficult breaking putt that's more difficult than a chip from near the green on the other side, on the wrong tier, etc. I'm not even approaching a 15 handicap, yet especially with short irons it's worth biasing toward the flag if there's either no reason to fear the area near the green. With anything below a 9 or 8, then sure, even pretending that aiming at the center is distinguishable from the right or left edge of the green is sort of a joke.

I also think it's more reasonable to aim toward the front or back by club selection than to fine-tune left and right aiming. I have a pretty good idea of how far a good shot will go with each club without having to try to fine-tune it like you do for aiming. Sure, I might not hit it well, but when that happens it's like sweating the difference between missing 20 yards short and 30 yards short. I'll always use something that'll at least get on, but if I can use either, say, a 6 or a 7 and expect to get on, I'll tend to favor the club that'll put me closer to the pin. My chips from a clean lie are good enough that I don't sweat the difference between a 40 foot putt and a 40 foot chip, so there's not much reason to prefer flying past the pin. Obviously if there's specific trouble, that changes the decision, but it's not always true that being on the green is the best outcome.

[sean_miller]

You guys are too funny - we're not all playing in tournaments where a single lost stroke can mean not collecting a paycheck. Golf is our hobby - albeit an expensive one - so why not try and hole the short ones?

If I'm playing a familiar course, from the apron out to 120 yards I'm typically trying to hole it (not jar it - you still gotta play the breaks) even though there's no guarantee it'll even hit the green. From 125 to 170 - trying to get within 20 feet. From 175 to 200 - just trying to get it on, and from 205 to 240 it's all about managing the misses.

There are no absolutes in golf, but if my target is never the pin, then a hole-out or a tap-in is likely the result of a missed shot.

[shortstop20]

Because we're mere mortals. Even the tour pros don't generally shoot at flags. The center of the green allows you the most room for error. It's not that we're aiming for the center of the green, it's that we're trying to land it there. Anyone here who claims they try to aim for the flag is under some serious delusions. Who of us can actually hit it that accurately? I'm trying to get the ball onto the green so I have a putt. Too many 15 handicaps stupidly aim for the flag, expecting some miracle shot. Sure, they can't even come near the par for the course, but they still shoot like idiots at the flag, then take two chips, and two putts for double. Not too smart. What do you think would equal a better score, 5 greens in regulation with easy birdie putts and 13 others with difficult chips, or 18 greens in regulation with 20 footers for birdie?

Considering most players end up short of the hole already, aiming for the center of the green(from front to back) in situations where the flag is in the back of the green and quite accessible seems counter-intuitive.