The Curse of the long ball

[phillyk]

There have been a lot of threads recently on hitting the ball far. Well, in my experience doing so has been a curse to improving my game!

Starting in high school, freshman year I was already building my reputation for hitting the ball 280 or so, which at the time was a big drive!  Everybody on my team would always tease me for trying to go for the greens since I our home course was a shorty.  The next four years, my game certainly improved, but not nearly what it could've been.  I focused on trying to improve my drive and hit the ball further and further, because i always felt the pressure to be the longest driver on my team.  My freshman year scores were ~100 and by senior year, I was shooting mid 70's.  Looking back, I should've been lower by senior year.

The problem: trying to hit the ball further and further.  I gained little consistency over those years.  I had to rebuild my swing every year.  I was on my varsity squad in sophomore year and didn't improve my position on the team throughout the next 2 years because I didn't focus on my whole game and trying to gain consistency rather than distance.

I feel the same pressure when I golf today.  It comes to me these days, that its not that I have an inconsistent swing, it's that its easy to get into my head.  When I play with people I don't know at my home course it takes 4 or 5 holes before i take out my driver, because I use my irons on the tee a lot.  But, for the older folks I play with, they love the fact that I hit the ball far and want to see me do well and keep blasting it.  THIS IS A CURSE! I don't want to hit my driver all the time, but it gets in my head to keep doing so. And the more it happens, the more my game starts to fall apart.  I know I should just play my own game and use the clubs that puts me in the positions I want, but the people I play with like to say the, "Oh, you're not going for the green on this hole?!"  It gets in my head way too easily.  Maybe I need to choose more wisely the people I would like to play with...

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by phillyk

There have been a lot of threads recently on hitting the ball far. Well, in my experience doing so has been a curse to improving my game!

Starting in high school, freshman year I was already building my reputation for hitting the ball 280 or so, which at the time was a big drive!  Everybody on my team would always tease me for trying to go for the greens since I our home course was a shorty.  The next four years, my game certainly improved, but not nearly what it could've been.  I focused on trying to improve my drive and hit the ball further and further, because i always felt the pressure to be the longest driver on my team.  My freshman year scores were ~100 and by senior year, I was shooting mid 70's.  Looking back, I should've been lower by senior year.

The problem: trying to hit the ball further and further.  I gained little consistency over those years.  I had to rebuild my swing every year.  I was on my varsity squad in sophomore year and didn't improve my position on the team throughout the next 2 years because I didn't focus on my whole game and trying to gain consistency rather than distance.

I feel the same pressure when I golf today.  It comes to me these days, that its not that I have an inconsistent swing, it's that its easy to get into my head.  When I play with people I don't know at my home course it takes 4 or 5 holes before i take out my driver, because I use my irons on the tee a lot.  But, for the older folks I play with, they love the fact that I hit the ball far and want to see me do well and keep blasting it.  THIS IS A CURSE! I don't want to hit my driver all the time, but it gets in my head to keep doing so. And the more it happens, the more my game starts to fall apart.  I know I should just play my own game and use the clubs that puts me in the positions I want, but the people I play with like to say the, "Oh, you're not going for the green on this hole?!"  It gets in my head way too easily.  Maybe I need to choose more wisely the people I would like to play with...

I've fallen into that trap too. Shorter hitters want to see you put one in trouble or OB. They get a rush from beating a long hitter whether or not the longer player was in trouble, but especially if they convinced him to "go for it". I've seen it many times. Now when a guy questions why I'm pulling out my 2-iron,  I say "you're right, this isn't a 2-iron hole" then I pull a 3-iron and see if I can drive it past them. Now that's a rush!!

[Grumpter]

The only way to cure it is to make it a point to stick to your game plan. Others be damned. The time to try to hit every green is in a scramble. Otherwise you should just be trying to score the best you can. My problem is the difference between my Driver and 3-iron is about 120 yards (I do stupid things when I make the 'smart' play).

[phillyk]

Originally Posted by Grumpter

The only way to cure it is to make it a point to stick to your game plan. Others be damned. The time to try to hit every green is in a scramble. Otherwise you should just be trying to score the best you can. My problem is the difference between my Driver and 3-iron is about 120 yards (I do stupid things when I make the 'smart' play).

It was a lot better yesterday, because I played with a buddy of mine who can hit the ball well too, and since we are similar playing ability, i could really focus on my own game and do my own thing.  And it paid off! Had 5 birdies throughout the day but had a a couple blow up holes.  I just have to focus on my swing and trust that I know what to do.

[rustyredcab]

My problem is that I am too handsome. :)

I'm not a long hitter but I am the longest hitter in my regular group. We moved up a set of tees (best for the other three guy) and now I am tempted to bomb it and "take advantage or my length." I have finally learned that the real advantage of my length is that I can hit a 3-hybrid off the tee on #15 and always be short of the bunkers and still only have 125 left to the center of the green. The first time I hit a big drive on that hole from the new tees, as it flew the bunkers on the right, my partner said, "I think you are in the bunker." No way I thought. I cleared it by a mile. When I got to my ball, it was in a bunker I never knew existed -- 40 yards from the green and off the right where the fairway sloped. It is never in play for 99.9% of second shots. I guess it was there for suckers like me. Length has its place but that place is not being suckered into going for shots. What is the best outcome? Reach the green? Likely never to be an short eagle putt. So, a tap in birdie is the real best outcome. I can get a birdie by playing a 125 second shot and take 6 (with all the trouble long, right and left) out of play for good.

[colin007]

280 is still a long drive, i don't care what anyone here says.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by colin007

280 is still a long drive, i don't care what anyone here says.

Yes it is. Maybe you meant to post this comment in another thread?

[colin007]

Originally Posted by phillyk

Starting in high school, freshman year I was already building my reputation for hitting the ball 280 or so, which at the time was a big drive!

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Yes it is. Maybe you meant to post this comment in another thread?

[rustyredcab]

I'm not a long hitter and I hit two 3-woods in a row 310 at 5000 feet. Didn't believe the first one. In Chicago that 3-wood goes 225-250 max. I don't know how long 280 at 4500 really is on the big-dog scale.  And as Sean admonished, perhaps that debate belongs in another thread.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by colin007

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillyk

Starting in high school, freshman year I was already building my reputation for hitting the ball 280 or so, which at the time was a big drive!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Yes it is. Maybe you meant to post this comment in another thread?

HAH - sorry bud - I totally missed that. Yeah, I still consider 280 a good drive.

[colin007]

no prob!  i just get annoyed when anything over 275 is considered tiddly winks...

[mdl]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

I've fallen into that trap too. Shorter hitters want to see you put one in trouble or OB. They get a rush from beating a long hitter whether or not the longer player was in trouble, but especially if they convinced him to "go for it". I've seen it many times. Now when a guy questions why I'm pulling out my 2-iron,  I say "you're right, this isn't a 2-iron hole" then I pull a 3-iron and see if I can drive it past them. Now that's a rush!!

That seems a bit pessimistic about the motivations of others!  Maybe I'm just too generous in the motivations I impute to others, but the oohs and whatnot have always to me seemed just sincere, like cheering a really awesome approach.  And it's not like the randoms I play with ever know exactly what I'm shooting, and I never know exactly what they're shooting either.

Back to the OP, I also fall into this trap.  For me it's just, who doesn't like to feel impressive!  No one's going to be particularly impressed by my score if I play it smart on a tighter course, hit fewer drivers, and shoot an 82 instead of 85, but I can get a few oohs and aahs if I bomb a few drives way out there and have a couple holes where I'm hitting a partial SW approach when others are hitting 7i or something, or if I have 4i or 19˚ hybrid to hit a par 5 in 2 when others are hitting 3w 2nd shots to get to full SW distance.

I rationalize it by telling myself it's not cause I want to be impressive, it's just that my GIR percentage is frankly pretty low with a longer iron approach, so even on a 390 yard par 4, if I tee off with a 4i I'm probably going to have a 6i approach, where I'm much less likely to have a real chance at birdie then if I hit a good drive and have a relaxed SW in (and of course I'm more likely to still at least hit the green with a slight mishit with the SW than a 5i or 6i).  But I don't actually know exactly how open the course has to be for this to actually be a smart play instead of just a rationalization for me liking to try to hit some bombs off the tee.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by mdl

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

I've fallen into that trap too. Shorter hitters want to see you put one in trouble or OB. They get a rush from beating a long hitter whether or not the longer player was in trouble, but especially if they convinced him to "go for it". I've seen it many times. Now when a guy questions why I'm pulling out my 2-iron,  I say "you're right, this isn't a 2-iron hole" then I pull a 3-iron and see if I can drive it past them. Now that's a rush!!

That seems a bit pessimistic about the motivations of others!

Believe it or not - it's reality.

[saevel25]

It took my dad a while to get use to playing golf with me, because he hits it around 210-240, and i am way further than him, 280-290. Well he use to try to crush the ball because he was trying to play up to my long game. It took him a while to realize he had to play his game.

Really i never played up to any expectations of hitting the ball far, i just know i can, and if i want to hit an iron i will. People can boo and cry all they want if i hit an iron, its my round of golf..

[ApocG10]

I've never worried about it. Im plenty long, I average a carry of 260 on good drives, with bounce and roll, I get up to 300 on a hard fairway. Less in soft conditions. But I dont worry about trying to go longer. I know I can swing out of my shoes and drive it further, but then I lose accuracy, and by a lot.

I dont mind hitting a long iron into a par 5. I don't mind laying up if I have to. I go for the green if it makes sense. Of course scoring is always on my mind, but I go for it only when it makes sense.

I always find I score as well on the Par 4's as I do on the 5's. Im damn accurate with my wedges, and leave myself a lot of birdie chances on them. Though my course has two par 5's where im almost always looking at an eagle putt.

[Shorty]

I can't count the number of times I deliberately three putt, leave bunker shots in the trap, hit OB on pupose just to get people off my back .

They seem more interested in seeing me crunch drives and hit amazing shots to the green than their own games.

I just give them what they want and after a few holes just give up and deliberatley don't even try to shoot in the 60s, but I generally do anyway. It's a curse.

In other words, what a load of BS. People really don't care that much about your game, I promise you.

[JaxBomber17]

My game took a huge step when I finally realized I was allowed to hit irons off the tee. Bombing it 30 yards past everyone else is cool, but what's cooler (and when it's time to write down the score, more fun) is smoothing a 4-iron just inside the 150 marker so I can hit my full gap wedge in rather pounding the driver, having to get cute with the sand wedge (assuming I can see the green), screwing up, and having to work to save par.

[colin007]

Way to pat yourself on the back for hitting a gap wedge 150...