What's your more important scoring shot?

[Fat Slice]

I am sure it will be different for different index levels, etc., but here's mine:

I miss the green in regulation, but I am not too far away (
The goal for this shot is to get it somewhere on the green. I am not Phil Mickelson (hell, sometimes Phil Mickelson is not Phil Mickelson). When I try and sneak it up there right next to the pin...well...



When I get better and start hitting greens, then maybe my approach shot will be the most important scoring shot. And if I get better at that, then maybe the GIR first putt will be the one...but for me, now, it's the chip/pitch after the missed GIR that does more to control how I will score on a hole than anything else.

You?

[sean_miller]

Holing out from the fairway - or at least getting it to tap-in range - and lag putting when that fails.

[Zeph]

Tee shots, I waste so many shots hitting woods, water, rough and god knows what.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Whenever I go low (for me) I'm hitting my irons very straight and getting approach putts tap-in close. So I'd say those two. When my irons are off, it's the 20-yard chip/pitch. When my approach putting is off, it comes down the all the practice I do from 4-5 feet. When those are off, I just enjoy the fresh air.

[golfro]

my 2nd shot is my important scoring shot. the second shot will determine if I get a birdie, par, or bogey.

My driver shots are relatively stable, excluding a bad shot here and there but I'm usually on the fairway. On a standard par 4, my second shot is my approach shot and good case scenario, i get it within 10 ft of pin which gives me the opportunity to birdie. Acceptable scenario is if I get it on the green but it'll often be a 2 putt or worst case, 3 putt. I'll also take a chip shot as well. I can usually get a short chip close enough to the pin where I can 1 or 2 putt.
Worst case scenario is if I'm far off from the green or if I'm in bunker. My worst shots are roughly 30-50yard wedge shots. All kinds of things happen in this scenario. Similar to bunker shots. I hate the sand.

Now on a standard par 5, my second shot determines if my third shot is a relatively easy approach shot or not. I can hit a driver, then take a 3 wood, I can often get it on the green but I don't always have the confidence to do so. If I'm not playing my FW very well, I'll take a second shot and get it relatively near the green for my approach shot. Problem with this is again, the dreaded 30-50 yard wedge shot.

[marrsh28]

Getting the ball on the fairway. I've not had a bad round yet where I was hitting fairways.

[nuck81]

The Putt that goes in the hole....

[zeg]

For me it's either my first or second shot, which on my course means essentially any full swing. Probably it's the tee shot that makes the most difference---if it's in play (I don't particularly mind if it's in the rough, as long as it's got a clear look forward), I'm likely to shoot bogey or better. However just being in/near the fairway isn't enough to guarantee I'm not going to flub (usually hit fat) my second shot. Once I'm within about 100 yards, I'm in wedge country, and it's quite rare for me to miss the green from there, despite what you may guess from my handicap.

[pherg]

Tee shot, sets up my entire hole. Very hard on the courses I play where a wayward shot off the tee is inevitably a lost ball. It's impossible to make a decent score hitting your 3rd off the tee.

[sean_miller]

Holing out from the fairway - or at least getting it to tap-in range - and lag putting when that fails.

A ball in play after teeing off is taken for granted - hiting OB or into the weeds is a round killer, but hitting one in play is sorta automatic these days, even if I have to play two 3-irons.

[saevel25]

Putting is the most important shot. Taking away lost ball, penalties, and water hazard, if you hit a bad drive you can still make par. If you hit a bad second shot you can still make par, if you make a bad chip you can still make par, you miss your par putt you will not make par. Thats why putting is the most important stroke in golf. 3 bad shots and one good shot and you can still make par, Walter Hagen made a living on it this way.

[senorchipotle]

my happy place is within 150 yards. i'm pretty deadly with a 9 iron or wedge in my hand. i practice about an hour a day hitting shots with my 60* within about 40 yards, so i expect to get up and down within that distance. the thing that messes me up is my long irons, which is ironic because i used to be really good at hitting them. i think i'm coming in too steep with them.

[Fairway_CY]

Right now... my most important shots per hole:

Par 3 - Initial chip or putt after my tee shot. If I'm off the green, I'm trying to get to 5 feet or better. If I'm on the green but outside 30 feet, I'm trying to get to 5 feet or better. If I'm on the green and inside 20 feet, I'm trying to make it.

Par 4 - Tee shot. On most holes I play... a drive of 250 will leave me between 110 and 170 to the hole. If I end up OB or short and in the rough... I kill my shot to reach the green or even get around it. Since I try to play bogey golf... my goal on each hole is to be NEAR the green in regulation.

Par 5 - Approach shot. I always try to leave myself about 70 yards (unless I'm going for the green) for my approach shot on par 5 holes. It's the distance I'm most comfortable at right now. If I can get to 70 yards, I know my sand wedge is going to give me a GOOD shot to set up a birdie opportunity because it's the shot I practice the most. From 70 yards, I'm about 75% of getting to within 25 feet. I'm trying to get that number to be better... but - for now, I know if I've got 70 yards to the hole... it's a GOOD chance I'm going to do no worse than 3 shots from there.

CY

[microcrayfish]

I feel for me it's the pitch shot, I'm not very consistent at my level of play so scoring for me is more about managing my bad holes than taking advantage of the good ones. I can live with either my tee shots or my iron shots being off on any given day (if they're both off it gets a bit dicey), but it's pitching from within 100 yards when I do mess up that generally determines if I'm going to get out of a hole with a par or bogey, or end up with a big number. If I can stick it on the green or close to the pin then I'm either going to walk away with a par or at worst a bogey but if I miss the green then that's usually when I post big numbers.

When I develop more consistency in my game I think it'll be approach shots that start to become the big factor in whether or not I score well, turning pars into birdies instead of scrambling for par instead of bogey.

[B-Con]

Tee shots, no question about it. Distance and accuracy are the difference between 1 and 3 shots to get 210 yards down the fairway.

[out_in_30]

10-15 foot putts and if missed the green; the third shot which leads straight into 3-5 foot putts for par. those are the most crucial shots for score; can be so difficult at times tho.

[rebby]

This year it's a shot between 90 and 105 yards. It's nearly a full SW but not quite. I just had Lasik surgery not long ago and I'm still struggling with my depth perception (scientifically it has to do with the major shift in my focal plane, I guess it can take up to a year for your brain to fully adjust to this). Even when I know the yardage (via laser), I still need to get a feel for the shot. How deep the pin is, how much room is in front of or behind it. Details like that. I used to take it for granted, just looking at a shot and having a feel for it. Other partial wedges have been a challenge but not nearly as much as these. I have shots in the 96-102 yard range quite a few times during every round at my home course. Over the course of a round, I used to play these holes about 2-3 under, now I'm playing them at about even par. That's a lot of strokes to give up over 18 holes. It's frustrating but I'm working at it. Right now I'm hitting most of them about 5 yards deep but it's starting to come around... Ask me this question in another month and hopefully I'll have a different answer.

ETA: I wish that it was as simple as hitting the ball 10-20 yards shorter leaving me with 110+ into the green. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work out either. I just need to adjust...

[ks8829]

Putting is the most important shot for me its helps with saving bogies, pars and making birdies. The putter is the greatest way to score low and win tournaments.