Length ain't everything

[NM Golf]

You know what's really cool though? Being able to bomb it AND having a short game!

[MackJL06]

Originally Posted by Goonsidious

So why bring up his weight etc?  Wouldn't it be just fine to explain how you faced a guy who could get on the green with birdie chances all day.. yet couldn't putt worth a damn?

I'm trying to find the connection between describing this gent.. and his short game.

ahhhh i was so close. the touchy people were commenting on weight this month, not race. so close.

[dak4n6]

Originally Posted by Goonsidious

So why bring up his weight etc?  Wouldn't it be just fine to explain how you faced a guy who could get on the green with birdie chances all day.. yet couldn't putt worth a damn?

I'm trying to find the connection between describing this gent.. and his short game.

The relevence of weight, I'm guessing, is that smaller people are not generally the ones who bomb it, but rather make up for a lack of distance with the short game. e.g., almost all LPGA pros, Corey Pavin, Justin Leonard, etc. OK, so Woosie was an anomaly..

[MajorSlice]

I can out drive the majority of people I play with.  I can hit the hell out of the ball.  I still shoot in the 90's though, because I end up in the rough  or shank the ball, hit it fat or thin.  I think I pressure myself after hitting a nice tee shot to hit an equally nice second shot. My putting isnt that bad.  I will still three putt sometimes, but it is typically a two putt.  Every now and then I get the dreaded 4 putt and want to break my putter and shove the sharp end though my face, but not often.  I put a lot of pressure on myself on the greens, because, I used to be able to walk onto the green and feel how the green would react to the ball with my feet and see the line without bending down.  I stopped doing that in favor of actually bending down to read the green.  It hasnt worked so well for me.  A long drive isnt that important to me.  Even when I hit them 300+ yards, I still have between 50 and 150 yards to go.  if I only hit it 200 yards I would still be getting there in 2 with my iron.  Short game is way more important than the drive distance.

[Jimdangles]

Originally Posted by MajorSlice

I can out drive the majority of people I play with.  I can hit the hell out of the ball.  I still shoot in the 90's though, because I end up in the rough  or shank the ball, hit it fat or thin.  I think I pressure myself after hitting a nice tee shot to hit an equally nice second shot. My putting isnt that bad.  I will still three putt sometimes, but it is typically a two putt.  Every now and then I get the dreaded 4 putt and want to break my putter and shove the sharp end though my face, but not often.  I put a lot of pressure on myself on the greens, because, I used to be able to walk onto the green and feel how the green would react to the ball with my feet and see the line without bending down.  I stopped doing that in favor of actually bending down to read the green.  It hasnt worked so well for me.  A long drive isnt that important to me.  Even when I hit them 300+ yards, I still have between 50 and 150 yards to go.  if I only hit it 200 yards I would still be getting there in 2 with my iron.  Short game is way more important than the drive distance.

Ya I dont think the long ball is as important as accuracy and some distance. I played the other day  with the wind into my face on every hole. Going driver 5 iron on every par 4 gets exhausting. I do enjoy driver wedge combo. Its also nice to get comfortable in the cart knowing that you outhit all your friends and dont have to get up for a while.

[hendog]

No doubt accuracy is more important but having some distance with "reasonable" accuracy (talking about with the driver) is huge. The game gets MUCH easier. When I recently started getting 15-20 more yards out of my driver (now average about 275-280) after some swing changes my handicap plummeted. Granted I have a pretty solid short game but all of the sudden I was hitting at greens with wedges and short irons and that is going to lead to more pars and birdies for most people.

I certainly am not promoting swinging out of your shoes but you should try to get as much as you can given your body type, strength etc. I'm 5'9" and about 205 and pretty strong but I think I am at my maximum. I get a hold of one now and then and send it 290+ but those are usually thanks to wind or firm fairways and favorable slopes. I am focusing now on shaping shots off the tee to improve my position rather than going for raw distance. Hitting a nice cut around a dogleg is more satisfying than bombing one over the trees for me.... Unless there are hot chicks watching. Then I'm bombing it and showing them the guns!!!

[jmorg19]

My whole frame of mind is I would rather have the distance to get it around the green and have a short chip than lay back and have a 100 yd shot from the middle of the fairway. Short of playing the US Open, it seems that this approach would work well (at least for me) in any other situation.

[ApocG10]

Originally Posted by jmorg19

My whole frame of mind is I would rather have the distance to get it around the green and have a short chip than lay back and have a 100 yd shot from the middle of the fairway. Short of playing the US Open, it seems that this approach would work well (at least for me) in any other situation.

I would much rather have a 100 yard full wedge than 20 yard chip shot, almost any day of the week. Not that im bad around the green, but I know exactly how far a full swing wedge goes, and it lands where I want it more often than not.

[Leftygolfer]

Originally Posted by ApocG10

I would much rather have a 100 yard full wedge than 20 yard chip shot, almost any day of the week. Not that im bad around the green, but I know exactly how far a full swing wedge goes, and it lands where I want it more often than not.

I don't see how this can be true for anyone.  A good shot from 100 is 10 feet, a bad shot from 20 yards is 10 feet.  If you can put 8 out 10 inside of 5 feet from a 100, geez that is just crazy better than pga tour good.  From 20 yards that is doable even for a hack like me.  I'm by no means a great player and I know for a fact I can get 10 out 10 from a decent lie inside of 10 with 3-5 within 5.

[Jimdangles]

Originally Posted by ApocG10

I would much rather have a 100 yard full wedge than 20 yard chip shot, almost any day of the week. Not that im bad around the green, but I know exactly how far a full swing wedge goes, and it lands where I want it more often than not.

Ill take inside of 30 yards first then a full shot. It is trying to make a 50-80 percent shots that get me

[VMAN]

We got and play nine sometimes with only two clubs. 8 or 7 and a putter, usually within a couple strokes of my avg. add a wedge and things get a lot better. Good practice for course strategy and patience