GO FOR IT or Play it Smart?

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by iacas

It depends on the trouble for me.

This. If we're talking about sticking a green surrounded by water, I'm laying up. If the worst case scenario is some deep rough or a bunker that looks easy to get out of, I will go for it.

I would venture to say that 75% of the time I am going to lay up and have Birdie on my mind, or a safe Par. The 25% differential depends on the type of trouble between myself and the green and how well I am playing that day.

[k-troop]

Most of my rounds are casual with friends; in this case I'll nearly always go for it--unless it would require a best-ever shot.

If the round means something, then I'll so a more risk-reward analysis based on the consequences of a miss.  If I need eagle to break par, then I'm probably going for it.  If I've got a lead, I'll probably play safe.

If a normal good shot gets me home, I'm probably going for it.  I guess I've got a "go for it" bias.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Kapanda

Depends on situation, of course... is it in competition, am I behind, way ahead...? Am I playing by myself?

Wow - you just started playing very recently and initially "hated the sport" but now you'e playing competitions and stuff. Kudos!!

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by MEfree

Play it safe or go for the glory?

Personally, I hate to lay up on a par 5 when I know I can reach it in 2.  On 18 yesterday, for the first time all day, all 4 of us hit good drives and had 200 to 225 in to a front pin with water right and a bunker left.  The other 3 guys had played poorly all day and I was surprised when I was the only one who went for the green.

Do you go for it whenever you get a chance or play it safe if there is trouble?

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but I didn`t see an exact match when I did a search.

......sometimes going for a par5 in 2 is the smart shot.  You just need to know your game and it's limitations. IE..if the chance of a good result is 1-in-10...then maybe a layup is the play!!  I couldn't vote in the poll because I didn't see an option I liked.

[WUTiger]

Because the ground is so hard this summer, about once a month I end up with a chance to get home in two.

It depends a lot on what's around the green. If there's steep bunkers, I would lay up unless I could fly the ball onto the green. On two Par 5s I play regularly, people who try to roll the ball on usually ricochet into deeeeeep sand pit.

[Kapanda]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Wow - you just started playing very recently and initially "hated the sport" but now you'e playing competitions and stuff. Kudos!!

Well, I'm not, but it's not too hard to imagine the situation.

[backspasm]

Personally when playing par 5s is going for the green in 3. I play with many people who try and go for eagle, it never works out for them. I would rather play it safe and par then end up in the hazard, trees or wahtever obstacles are in defending the hole.

[Paradox]

on my home course...three of the four par 5's will make you play them traditionally unless you are a LONG hitter.

The first one is only 500 yards but after the tee shot, the rest of the hole plays blind and is a pretty good dogleg up  and down a hill.  Beyond the green and left of it is a steep slope..bunker on the right and also trees...I don't think I've ever gone for it in two or even thought about it.

Second one is gettable if you hit a great drive.  Gotta get the drive out to 275-280 to really have a good go.  On top of that you really have to be on the correct side of the fairway to not have tree trouble.  In front of the green runs a creek and any shot long will find the water or tall grass, anything short will come back into the creek.  If I'm outside of 160..I won't go for it.

Third one is just a straight up 3 shot par 5..its 580 and its a slightly uphill tee shot..then a layup down to a flat portion of the fairway about 150-120 yards out.  If you were to go for it in two, there is a steep hill up the green so if you come up short, you're gonna have a tough pitch..beyond the green is more hill so you're gonna be chipping off a downhill lie to a very narrow green.  Left is lost and you have a chance to lose your ball if you're wide right, as well.

THe last one is the only one thats always a go.  Pretty easy to reach the 200 yard mark from the tee and from there its downhill and always plays much shorter...up to two clubs depending on the wind.  The green is small and there is a large bunker with a steep face in front but if you play it smart you can avoid that.  The rough between the fairway and green creates kind of a funneling effect onto the green so you can play it over there and let it run on or if it stops short its a standard pitch shot.

I seem to always play more "conservatively" than I do aggressively.  I suppose I learned my lesson from when I first started that its a lot easier to lose strokes going for big shots than it is to lose strokes playing it safe.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

......sometimes going for a par5 in 2 is the smart shot.  You just need to know your game and it's limitations. IE..if the chance of a good result is 1-in-10...then maybe a layup is the play!!  I couldn't vote in the poll because I didn't see an option I liked.

Agree that going for it can be the smart shot, but when that is the case there is really nothing to discuss.  I wanted to know what people do when going for it is NOT the smart shot, but there is still some chance of making it.  What option would you have liked to see in the poll?

[wadesworld]

Depends on the trouble.  If there's what I call "death trouble" (water, waist-high junk, OB) in play, then typically I will not go for it.  However, if they only trouble is sand and there's a generous amount of short grass around the green, I'll often give it a shot, as I'm pretty confident out of the sand.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by wadesworld

Depends on the trouble.  If there's what I call "death trouble" (water, waist-high junk, OB) in play, then typically I will not go for it.  However, if they only trouble is sand and there's a generous amount of short grass around the green, I'll often give it a shot, as I'm pretty confident out of the sand.

Are you likely to make a similar score from short grass around the green or a green side bunker as a lay-up?  If so, then it sounds like the only time you are going to go for it is when it is the smart thing to do (aka your average score will be lower by going for it compared to laying up).

[wadesworld]

Originally Posted by MEfree

Are you likely to make a similar score from short grass around the green or a green side bunker as a lay-up?  If so, then it sounds like the only time you are going to go for it is when it is the smart thing to do (aka your average score will be lower by going for it compared to laying up).

Probably true.  Honestly though, being a high-handicapper (though improving!), laying up is no guarantee of success.  I've certainly blown my share of easy 100-yard wedge shots, and can just as easily do that as mess up a chip or sand shot around the green.  Thus, if it truly is a forgiving approach, might as well go for it.

[Stewie007]

I will go for it every time; well most of the time. It allows me to practice with my woods and hybrids that I otherwise get little course time with which to practice them.

If I miss, which is usually the case, with various factors of miss distance... I am pretty comfortable making the shot from there. <-Lie.....  Sometimes the miss drops in the sand... In the past I hit the sand a lot more, and as a result I have had a 90% success rate in the sand this year near the green... Less so with distance, but I might as well aim for the sand... If I miss (which happens a lot) I have a higher likelihood of dropping it closer to the pin from the sand than from the turf.... I know..... that's weird....

Of course, it is frustrating when I go for it and botch it completely...... Its improving though.... hehe So go for it still I will!

[njcl13]

I go for it 100% of the time,if i'm short its just a pitch anyway,if theres bunkers then good,i love landing in them.j/k,i just go for it whatever the situation and it usually never comes good

[sean_miller]

At my course, most high handicappers I've played with seem to "go for it" on every shot with little to no strategy. Once they get better (although experienced aging players are usually getting a little worse every season) and can actually hit the proper distances more often than not (once playing off ~ 18 or less), going for it 100% of the time is a very poor strategy, but while they still routinely flub far more long shots than they hit well, the results typically end up looking like a layup anyway.

[Dave2512]

I wished I had gone for it last night. Twice I shanked a ball trying to play it safe under tree branches. Wasn't under the trees but both had branches that extended into the fairway. Old course with huge trees, made for lots of tricky approach shots. Both times I was just inches into the first cut.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

At my course, most high handicappers I've played with seem to "go for it" on every shot with little to no strategy. Once they get better (although experienced aging players are usually getting a little worse every season) and can actually hit the proper distances more often than not (once playing off ~ 18 or less), going for it 100% of the time is a very poor strategy, but while they still routinely flub far more long shots than they hit well, the results typically end up looking like a layup anyway.

I tend to agree.  The experienced player usually takes a moment to at least consider his options.  He may still decide to have a go, but he thinks it over first.  The beginner or high handicapper often just pulls the longest club in his bag and whacks away at it without even thinking about the consequences.

By the way, that's one of the reasons why they are still high handicappers.

[Stewie007]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

At my course, most high handicappers I've played with seem to "go for it" on every shot with little to no strategy. Once they get better (although experienced aging players are usually getting a little worse every season) and can actually hit the proper distances more often than not (once playing off ~ 18 or less), going for it 100% of the time is a very poor strategy, but while they still routinely flub far more long shots than they hit well, the results typically end up looking like a layup anyway.

I see what you're saying and I do actually agree with it quite a lot. It also made me rethink my exaggeration, as I am ignoring places where you obviously can't go for it; regarding heavily protected greens where losing a ball and taking a penalty is pretty much guaranteed... So 100% is an exaggeration. But you are most correct, it is a very poor strategy. :)

I mostly enjoy the opportunity to practice a long shot that I have little chance to practice on the course. :)

Although, I'll admit, that perhaps the fact that I don't take the game as seriously as others while I play is the reason why I can't strike the ball as well on the course as I can at the range. That doesn't mean I'd be a low handicapper, but I've seen signs in my game recently that bogey golf isn't far away. I'm getting more pars, and more single bogeys instead of lots of doubles and singles. 8s are becoming much more rare. :)

So in conclusion..... perhaps after considering your post I may wind up going for it less. :)