Distance or Accuracy

[x129]

This is a slightly different question in my mind.  The initial thought is accuracy is #1 by far (i.e. if I could hit every shot 150 yards exactly where I needed it, I would be the number one player in the world since I would never hit worse than par and would birdie 4+ holes a round). The question should probably be rephrased along the lines of would you rather hit 300 yards+=15 yards (5%) in any direction or 250 yards+-6.25yards (2.5%). The second guy is twice as accurate but the first guy might score better. The key isn't too be super accurate on the first shot. It is to be on the shot to the green. Hitting a PW when your opponent is hitting  a 6 iron is a huge advantage as accuracy improves significantly as the club length shrinks.  Maybe the 300 yard is accurate to 2% with his 100 yard wedge while the 250 guy is accurate to 2% with 150 yard 6 iron so now even though the first player is less accurate, he is getting the ball closer to the hole since he is hitting a more accurate club a shorter distance. Obviously all these numbers are made up but you get the idea. Figuring out where the balance lies is debatable and depends a bit on the course.

Originally Posted by akabilk

"Drive for show and putt for dough" is the obvious response, but there could be an entrapment in the original question "Accuracy or distance" (?)

Nah, I'll go with the short game every time. It's 80% of our shots.

[CG031]

Yeah, first of all, I thought we were talking about off the tee. Off the tee, I'd definitely take distance. Of course, I'm assuming that the player is hitting it somewhere a just off the fairway...and keeping it in play.

Obviously on iron shots accuracy is far more important - but when it comes to tee shots, having distance is huge. I'm going to score a lot better hitting a 9 iron out of the rough then hitting a 6 iron from the middle of the fairway...