Par 5 into the wind (how would you play it?)

[ZeroTaylor]

O.K. so here's the situation. I was out playing "club loss" match play (winner of the hole can remove a club from opponents bag or take a club back if they have lost a club already after winning a hole). We got to the tee box of a 550 yard straight and flat par 5, the wind was dead in our faces probably about 10-15 mph. I had been hitting my driver decent so far so I pulled it out again on this hole, teed the ball low to try and keep it down a bit but that mother licker was ready to climb and peel to the right. I scrambled to tie him on the hole to keep all my clubs with a bogey but I really feel I should have pulled my 3 iron.

How would you all handle this situation in a competitive setting?

[LuciusWooding]

I'd have hit an iron off the tee but I think I'd have a bit of mind games with my opponent. If I was hitting second, I'd be making practice swings with the opposite of what he was hitting. If he had his driver, I'd grab an iron and make sure he knew it. If he had an iron, I'd smirk and swing my driver a few times. If you hit first, then address the ball with the driver but back off and pull the iron. Might make him think twice about his choice, especially if you're not a conservative player normally. Plus if you hit that 3 iron 2 or 3 times on a hole and beat him, he might take it out of your bag for revenge when it won't really cost you much.

In stroke play, I'd probably hit driver hard and just swing hard at a long iron on the second shot. Being in moderate rough won't hurt too bad if the wind won't let you control the ball anyway and a bit of a flyer would help on such a long hole. If I'm anywhere within 120 yards in 2, I'd punch a wedge and take my chances putting. But into the wind is tough, especially on such a long hole. Normally I'd be able to hit a pair of long irons and reach in regulation, no problem, but wind in your face means you'd be hitting more than a 7 iron on approach and the wind isn't helping.

You played it reasonably I guess for a straight and long hole. Pull driver if you're confident only, avoid hitting lumber off the deck, and be prepared to scramble. I'd say most tour players would be reasonably happy with par on that hole. No real angles, requires too much distance to reasonably reach in 2 with the wind, and the nuisance wind preventing an aggressive drive. That same hole with no wind should have gone something like 3 iron, 5 iron, gap wedge for me on a good day, maybe hit 3 wood off the tee if that's your thing.

One question: how many putts on that hole?

[ZeroTaylor]

I had 2 putt he had 1, Driver was a bad choice as I had to punch out from under trees for my second and that left me with a 4 iron into the wind for my 3rd that I missed about 10 yards right from 180ish out chipped up for my 4th and left it about an inch outside the cup on my par putt

[Zeph]

If it's unreachable in two, and the driver could be a liability, I'll hit a wood or even iron.

[LuciusWooding]

The only thing you did wrong was fail to get up and down; that seems like it should have been doable. The rest of the hole I don't see what you could've done much differently. Even so, you made the tying putt and your opponent had just as bad a hole. Sometimes you get a hole that plays hard enough that your opponent is almost guaranteed to make a mistake, even if you make one of your own. I don't think you played it badly, but you did have an opportunity when you were chipping to make par that you didn't convert. That's golf.

[ZeroTaylor]

It was a VERY makeable putt indeed. I have taken about 3 years off the game until this summer (left the game at a 2 handi) and I'm currently building my game again. LOTS of chipping and putting drills are built into my weekly schedule as my goal is to get back into tournament golf. My speeds have been GREAT my last few rounds and my read are getting better and better so before long It will all come back together.

As long as I get my driver issue figured out as I'm hitting a draw with 3-PW but my driver is HIGH and getting a block out fade quite a bit

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by Zeph

If it's unreachable in two, and the driver could be a liability, I'll hit a wood or even iron.

This is sound advice for all amateurs.

Taken a step further, if your second shot to a par 5 isn't going to be within chipping distance, why hit 3 wood (as most hackers do) and take a chance of hitting into trouble instead of laying back to your favorite club's distance? I'll stand a better chance of hitting it close from 120 yards (PW) than from 40-60 yards.