Here is a great article for mid to high handicappers

[sean_miller]

i don't think the author was suggesting that people go out and actually hit the ball 120 yards at a time. the point he's trying to get across is to for mid to high handicappers to stop being so obsessed with distance. having reliable shots in your bag and using them is a big key to scoring better. if i'm 230 out on a par 5, my chances of being on in two as a higher handicapper are better if i just hit 2 full pitching wedges. it's not as sexy as pulling out the 3 wood and going for it but then my odds of a mishit, lost ball, leaving an awkward pitch from the rough or sand shot are going up.

I think your odds of getting on in two would be better if you hit the 230 club. Hit two short irons and best case scenario, you're on in 3. Just sayin'.

[mcgriff]

Awesome article and thanks for the link.

[soloredd]

I can speak from experience that this article is dead-on. I shot my lowest score ever, 84, by using my driver less and putting myself in the fairway with a 4 or 5 iron off the tee. Of course, it helps that you can hit these clubs confidently and consistently but still. In the article he uses a par 4 410 yard hole as an example. We have the same thing on our course, a dogleg left to boot. I hit 4 iron off the tee that left me 210, hit 5 iron to 30 yards and short pitch up. I 2-putted for bogey but I've done a lot worse on that hole with the driver.

If I have a par 5 less than 500 yards, more often than not now I use 4 iron. Same with par 4 that is 360 or less. Why? Because my chances of being in the fairway off tee increase a ton and I'm comfortable with all my irons that if I do have a 170-180 left I don't mind it. What I hate is shooting a tee shot off into the woods or duck hooking one and leaving me a punch out (which you might as well have gone with a iron off the tee if you're going to waste shots like that).

[$2 Nassau]

Interesting, but the putts related to distance metrics confused me.

Find ways to hit more greens to break 90. That's different for everyone, play to your strengths- whatever it takes, whether it's hitting a SW off the tee and then hitting driver off the deck, if that gets you on the green more often than not, then fine. Okay, that example was a little looney but you get what I'm saying.

[Hackforfun]

I'm probably the ideal candidate for this kind of article I have broken 90 4 times and am trying to figure out how to do it regularly instead of once in a blue moon.

The general message of play within yourself is a good one but there's one snag. I'm just as likely to put a horrible swing on my 5 iron off the tee as my driver. It's a lot less daunting to be in trouble closer to the hole. For players who have a "go to club" the article makes a lot of sense.

I really think that at my level you have to accept that you are likely to hit a bad shot at least every second hole on a good day and much more often when you are playing badly. I am trying to work on making sure I make my poor swings less damaging. It makes my misses a lot less penal when my miss is fat or thin causing a distance error rather than hooks and slices which cause a direction error.

[andemw01]

I think your odds of getting on in two would be better if you hit the 230 club. Hit two short irons and best case scenario, you're on in 3. Just sayin'.

Well I cannot hit my driver 230 from the deck ;) I drive about 230, but then next club I hit fairly good everytime would by the 2 hybrid which goes about 200 yards.

[sean_miller]

Well I cannot hit my driver 230 from the deck ;) I drive about 230, but then next club I hit fairly good everytime would by the 2 hybrid which goes about 200 yards.

So, by your own calculations, you can't reach a hole longer than 430 in two.

[epper]

Great article, makes a lot of sense. I find myself using my 3-hybrid off the tee and taking the shorter (but straighter) drives rather than my inconsistent driver, I guess I'm not the only one!

[Boyder]

So, by your own calculations, you can't reach a hole longer than 430 in two.

That's basically the point of the article ... If you are playing a 450 yd par 4 then consider playing it like a par 5 - Driver = 230, then a couple short irons/wedges in ... if you 1 putt then great - otherwise take the 2-putt bogey and be happy and move on. Many of us higher-handicappers play this way. It beats trying to over swing the driver, or a long iron/hybrid/fairway wood and putting ourselves in so much trouble that we'd be lucky to get out with anything better than a 7.

[Brakkus]

I have reached a plateau with scoring now for going on 18 months.I started scoring in the 115-120 range 3 years ago got down to 100-105 in less than 2 years.I really believe that it's not just my practice time but my club selection that is having a more detrimental effect on my scores.I hit it way better than I did 2 years ago but my scores are the same.
We have a 4700 yd course near us that has half it's holes set into the side of a steep rise.I kid you not a senior playing pro I know said it was harder to play than most 6000 yd plus tracks.
It has small greens,it's a seaside course very links like conditions.Elevated greens,uphill fairways,sidehill lies.It's tough to play.

It plays to a SSS 66.The best I have shot for 18 is 92.For 9 the best is 44,so I'm 11 over par for 9.I always score between 44-49 for as long as I can remember.Something must be wrong with the way I approach it.For instance there is a 407 dogleg left par 4.It bends at about 190 so for those of you that own a 250 draw shot you would shoot over the corner flirting with disaster OB.A straight shot would have you in the right rough with a horrible sidehill lie.In fact the whole section of fairway for about 100 yds past the corner is sloping away.

Finally I stopped hitting past the dogleg and layed up at the marker post where it's flat.Took a 4 iron,then a hybrid,and PW into the green,took a 5.If I go for it then it's almost certainly at least a 6.

Iacas says to work on ballstriking and I would agree but so much of golf is about confidence so while I practice longer irons and such with my range time,at the course surely yes I will make mistakes but surely I will make less if I'm hitting a 5 iron or an 8 iron as opposed to a Driver or 4 iron trying to hit a green from 190 out.That's the point the more sucess hitting a club you hit well will surely build confidence and swing consistency.

I think the reason most golfers never break 90 is because they started trying to hit the most difficult shots first because it draws the most praise from playing partners.I have fallen into this trap and overestimated my ability and I am sure this has kept my scores higher.I have reviewed the whole way I am playing golf and have decided that the reason for playing is the same as the reason I have played all ball sports,the feeling of a purely struck shot.

It's not fun for me to go round hitting duffs,snap hooks,slices into OB,worm burners.So I'm playing to forget the score and focus on a solid strike,if that means playing nothing higher than a 5 iron then so be it.

[StricklandPropane]

It's not fun for me to go round hitting duffs,snap hooks,slices into OB,worm burners.So I'm playing to forget the score and focus on a solid strike,if that means playing nothing higher than a 5 iron then so be it.

And to me, this is the main reason I don't work on short game that much. If I 3 putt now and then (maybe once or twice a round) or chip and miss the green (once or twice a round), it's not that big a deal to me.....but I hate the frigging shanks, duffs, and tops I'll have. It makes the game less fun. Until I get those under control, I'd rather focus on long game. If my ballstriking was good, I'd have more fun even if my scores would be higher than if my short game was excellent.

[golfro]

And to me, this is the main reason I don't work on short game that much. If I 3 putt now and then (maybe once or twice a round) or chip and miss the green (once or twice a round), it's not that big a deal to me.....but I hate the frigging shanks, duffs, and tops I'll have. It makes the game less fun. Until I get those under control, I'd rather focus on long game. If my ballstriking was good, I'd have more fun even if my scores would be higher than if my short game was excellent.

thats the point of short game. those shanks and duffs add strokes to your game but you can still save for par or bogey by 1 or 2 putting. Avoiding 3 putts shaves off a lot of strokes.

its the entire game that brings your handicap down. Get rid of those shanks and duffs and start 3 putting or blading chips around green and you're still not dropping your handicap. Now if you start making some putts and can hit the ball solid, then you've got a good game going for you. But i do agree that most high handicappers are high handicappers because they can't strike the ball well. However, there are people, such as my father, who are terrible off tee and his iron shots can definitely improve, however, he makes putts left and right and can stick a chip next to pin on many situations. point being - both are very important!

[StricklandPropane]

thats the point of short game. those shanks and duffs add strokes to your game but you can still save for par or bogey by 1 or 2 putting. Avoiding 3 putts shaves off a lot of strokes.

Don't think I was clear. I don't care about my handicap. I want the game to be more fun. To me that's less tops, duffs, and shanks.

I'd rather shoot 100 with 18 3 putts and no tops, duffs, or shanks than 100 with 1.75 putts and a bunch of those shots. That's just me.

[golfro]

i see... well fair enough then lol.