Where do you place the most value in your golf game?

[Hairy Feet]

Practice?! I don't practice because the body can't take the hammering - old age and arthritis.

From your game, what part of it is waning? For me it has been distance in the last 15 years. As it started to go I did loads of short game practice to compensate - as I'd got shorter off the tee it led to missing more greens. I wasn't going to regain the distance, so the only thing to do was strengthen another area of the game. My handicap is unlikely to go low again but I've managed to bounce between 5 & 6 for the last 14 years.

Good luck.

[inthehole]

I see a pattern here ... the higher hc guys (like me) practice their long game more & the lower hc guys put more time into their short game (largely because they have their long game figured out).    Makes perfect sense in both cases ...

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by johnclayton1982

Could you post one of the studies (or a link thereto)?  I've always thought wedge play was the difference maker for touring professionals (120 or so and in).  I've read Pelz's study, which is pretty convincing.  I'd like to take a look at the other side of the argument.

Have you read Moneygolf? http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/moneygolf/2010/08/moneygolf.html

[xxsoultonesxx]

These answers are all over the board, which surprises me.

In other threads I've seen most people focus on the short game, this thread is 50/50ish.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by xxsoultonesxx

These answers are all over the board, which surprises me.

In other threads I've seen most people focus on the short game, this thread is 50/50ish.

I think people are learning and not just taking the old "advice." Numbers, science, facts, data... they go a long way.

[B-Con]

Have you read Moneygolf? [URL=http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/moneygolf/2010/08/moneygolf.html]http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/moneygolf/2010/08/moneygolf.html[/URL]

The page [url=http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/moneygolf/2010/08/why_you_arent_a_pro_golfer.html]why you don't play like a pro[/url] is supposed to have a slideshow that has the most interesting amateur vs pro content in the article, but the slideshow doesn't exist anymore. Anyone know of someplace to find it? It seems that you can get the article as an ebook, I'd think it is in there.

[Jmdmbike]

Probably mid and short irons to try and get my ball striking better. Not a lot with driver or fairways and they feel ok most of the time. I definitely need to spend more practice time chipping and putting.

[bogey joe]

I can see the writing on the wall for me and my distance as well.  My golf was built on and largely is still based on 2 major componets, power and solid ball striking.  My power for now is still there, I consistently move it from 290 to 320 depending on conditions and it takes a real miss to fall under 280.  However for me to get and maintain that distance it takes everything I have.  In fact I had one person describe my driver swing as "more akin to an act of violence than a golf swing."  That act of violence is starting to catch up with me physically.  If you want to see what I'm talking about search youtube for Golf Soup and you can see first hand what I am talking about.  Anyway, though I still have my power I am seing my solid ball striking starting to wain a bit.  Use to I felt like 95 to 98% of all my iron shots were dead solid I now feel like I am at 90 to 95%.  And then comes the real problem, it starts to get into your head.  As to where I used to know I was going to hit a solid shot, suddenly I'm thinking if I don't hit this club solid bogey in on the table and that kind of thinking can sometimes infect my entire game.  So I have began placing more emphisis on my putter, the theory being if I have confidence in my putter, I won't be afraid or timid on my chips, and with confidence in my wedge, I'm not afraid to hit a bad iron shot and that frees me up to make more confident and aggressive swings at the ball.  Maybe I am way off base but it is working very well for me right now.  Thanks for the post.

[x129]

As far as I know the definitive paper on PGA tour performance is http://www.columbia.edu/~mnb2/broadie/Assets/strokes_gained_pga_broadie_20110408.pdf .  A guy like tiger gained 2 of his 3 shots on the field from the long game. A guy like Donald was 1.5 strokes better than the field and gained 2/3s of that from short game and putting.

Things to remember. These guys are pros and are being compared to pros. The worst putter on the PGA is still pretty good. They also don't hit a noticeable amount of OOB shots, whiffs, bladed chips, and the other really horrible shots that 90+ golfers hit.

And finally lets say that the long game is the #1 factor. That doesn't mean that is where you should spend your most of practice time. If you have already spent a ton of time on it, you might get better results working on something else. Then in 6 months you situation hopefully has changed and it becomes time to work on something else.

Originally Posted by johnclayton1982

Could you post one of the studies (or a link thereto)?  I've always thought wedge play was the difference maker for touring professionals (120 or so and in).  I've read Pelz's study, which is pretty convincing.  I'd like to take a look at the other side of the argument.

As to the original post, i think the best way to do it is to track your rounds and practice what is giving you higher scores.  Right now, for me, its driver.  For a while it was the putter.  Hopefully when some stuff gets figured out on the driver, my score will go down, and something else will be my worst.

[coxy53]

Hi

I find that the most important part of my game is around the green, short play, whether it be just shorts chips or bunker play. Now bunker play is where my game suffers, I really struggle getting out of them. I have praticed constantly and still cant get it right. More lessons required I feel.

[Fourputt]

For me, it's always been chipping and putting.  But frankly, I don't really practice anything much any more.  I still keep my handicap in the 12-13 range, which is only slightly higher than my best which was 10-11.  During the season I've been playing around 3 times a week, and that's enough to keep that part of my game as sharp as I need it to be.  For me, competition is only Men's Club tournaments, so I don't worry about a slight slippage as get older (I'll be 65 tomorrow).  I'm starting to become one of those old guys I used to be amazed at who only hit the ball 200 yards or less, but they were straight and seemed to be able to get up and down about 75% of the time.  I still hit the ball farther than that, though not as straight, and my percentage isn't that good, but I can see that day coming.

[Merfal]

I go back and forth between short game and full swing, but I put in equal time to both. I also do much of my short game practicing on the course because there are many situations that can only be found on the course.

[TourSpoon]

The value of my game is just being able to go out and play once a week and having an all around game to have a scoring average right at 80.  None of my stats really stand out, except my bunker shots averaging 10 feet to the pin.  My biggest area of opportunity is to hit more greens and to make more u/ds.

[AccessRx Rich]

Good Thread! Interesting to see where handicaps are spending time on the Golf Course at.

My Breakdown is about this:

30% Irons
25% Wedges
25% Putting
20% Drivers

[BigBird]

I seem to be pretty good out of the bunkers. Of course it's not great to be in them which I tend to be quite a bit lately, hence the practice.

But yea, I'd say bunkers are my strength at the moment. Always good to be able to get up and down from the sand. That's how the pros roll it.

[UNDERGROUND GW]

For me its putting and around the green shots, bunkers etc!

Here is my breakdown:

PUTTING-25%

CHIPPING-30%

IRONS-25%

DRIVER/FAIRWAY/HYBRID-20%

Sometimes this can shift...but this is pretty typical for me.

Matt

[Stretch]

I'm a shockingly poor putter for my handicap so I focus on that the most. Making slow progress.

PPGIR stats:

Last 50 rounds -- 2.03

Last 20 rounds -- 2.00

Last 10 rounds -- 1.97

Last 05 rounds -- 1.94

But I also at least think seriously about my full swing (and where I'm trying to go with it) every single day. If I don't hit balls, I will do some slow-mo work in front of the mirror or practice small segments like P1 to P2 or whatever.

GIR stats:

Last 50 rounds -- 54.2%

Last 20 rounds -- 55.8%

Last 10 rounds -- 60.6%

Last 05 rounds -- 66.7%*

(* Skewed by one glorious day I hit 16 greens. If only this was the new default state!)

Improvement is motivational. I love practicing.

[Elvisliveson]

Even though putting is my favorite and best part of my game, I have always put the most value on the ability to hit a tee shot with length and accuracy. This sets the tone for everything else and, if you play strict rules of golf, surely is the area which costs you the most strokes when executed improperly.