Hitting to the middle of the Green

[oregongolfguy]

I am going to aim for the centerish of the green, shading away from trouble the vast majority of the time.  Trouble being bunkers, water and heavy rough...  The only time I really go "flag hunting" so to speak is when I'm inside 80yds, but even then its not a given on any particular shot.

I think its a given that as you get better, more consistent etc then your shot zone tightens up.  And as it tightens up then you can start to get a little more aggressive.

Obviously I can come up with a scenario....yes, I would rather be 5ft off the green on a tightly mowed flat area, 15ft from the pin...Rather then 65ft away over 3 ridges on the green.....However, that's not really the way I look at it...

Lets say I am 130yds from the center of the green in the middle of the fairway.  Lets say for me this is a 9 iron.  My shot zone, or the area where the majority of my shots end up with a 9 iron is oval shaped.  It goes from long left (closed face pull), to short right ( club face open push).  I think that most of us can relate to that, rarely hit it long and right, rarely hit it short and left....Preferably I want to aim at a spot on the green where this oval shaped landing area is completely on the green.  So long left is on the green and short right is also on the green.  Now if the pin is in the front of the green I am bringing a higher possibility of missing the green if I aim at the pin because if I go short right I will be off.  If there is any kind of danger short then this is obviously a no no...

Every iron and wedge for myself has a very similar oval shaped general landing area...but obviously the oval gets smaller the shorter the club, as my accuracy is better.  When I get to say a full 58 wedge shot, my oval for that club might be small enough that I can aim closer to the pin, or shade towards the pin and still have my oval on the green.  If I'm hitting 5 iron its considerably bigger, now I am looking at center of the green shading from trouble.  Or depending on the green and surrounding trouble I might even setup so that my oval encompasses part of the green and a relatively easy area around the green to land even if its a long ways from the pin.....aka...missing in the right spot.

[k14]

I'd rather have the bunker shot and the chip. I'd rather be closer to the hole, yes there will be exceptions (plugged bunker, knarly rough) but overall I'll take closer.

Lol, did you actually just say that. I think you would be better to work on your putting cause if you prefer a 20ft bunker shot over a 60ft putt you must be real crap at putting.Also, how do you know whether or not your ball will be plugged in the bunker before you take the shot. If it goes on the green you know exactly what your lie will be.

[Golfingdad]

1) Like I said, the greens at my course are horrendous so it's not somethign I'm going to waste my time on at the minute(other priorities), getting the ball to 60ft +/-6ft is very difficult, even for a pro on my course, the greens are so varying in pace. What I gain with short game and chipping out does a small difference in putts (for me personally, on my course....this is highly unlikely to apply to many people who play often on decent greens).

Fair enough.  Then you're probably not as bad at putting as you think - it's just the course you play.

2) Who says I don't? I've played with scratch golfers who I chip considerably better than, but I drive the ball like a 40 capper so don't let my handicap fool you (which is probably closer to 15 now). I've played with people on decent courses that said if I could hit fairways I'd be sub 10 HCP no problem, they've said it's a miracle I go round in 88-91 considering being very poor off the tee.

Certainly not me.  But you would be an outlier.

And I can even think of specific situations where I'd completely agree with your premise.  By and large, however, 99.9% of the people out there are going to score better in the long run aiming for the center of the green and hopefully giving yourself a putt at birdie.

[ChrisWev]

99.9% of the people out there are going to score better in the long run aiming for the center of the green and hopefully giving yourself a putt at birdie.

I agree with centre green, but I would say 90% would prefer 60ft putt than a 20ft chip, I'm an anomaly :-O. 60ft is a bloody long putt though, to be honest not many of our greens are 60ft, so with the pin a bit from the edge it doesn't happen often. This is probably why I'm better at chipping, as I'm there more often, rather than a GIR. I chip for birdie ;-) doesn't happen often...... My stats will change on a different course, hopefully I don't loose the short game as it's one of my few strengths.

[No Mulligans]

I agree with centre green, but I would say 90% would prefer 60ft putt than a 20ft chip, I'm an anomaly .

I'd prefer the 20 ft chip over the 60 ft putt.  For that matter, I'd prefer a 60 ft chip over a 60 ft putt.

A 60 ft putt is just something I don't practice and don't have a feel for.

[iacas]

… For that matter, I'd prefer a 60 ft chip over a 60 ft putt.

A 60 ft putt is just something I don't practice and don't have a feel for.

I really doubt it. I don't remember the last time I practiced a putt over 50' but… I two-putted the last time I had a 75' putt.

[onkey]

I'd prefer the 20 ft chip over the 60 ft putt.  For that matter, I'd prefer a 60 ft chip over a 60 ft putt.

A 60 ft putt is just something I don't practice and don't have a feel for.

Unless you are chipping from the short grass, I'd have a hard time believing that you are statistically better with your 20ft chip vs. 60ft putt. There are too many variables hitting out of the rough to get up and down consistently.  I'd be willing to bet if you could see how you perform statistically from those locations, you'd find that it takes you 3 shots to get down from the rough far more often that with the longer putt.

[rdsandy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdsandy

I'd rather have the bunker shot and the chip. I'd rather be closer to the hole, yes there will be exceptions (plugged bunker, knarly rough) but overall I'll take closer.

Lol, did you actually just say that. I think you would be better to work on your putting cause if you prefer a 20ft bunker shot over a 60ft putt you must be real crap at putting.Also, how do you know whether or not your ball will be plugged in the bunker before you take the shot. If it goes on the green you know exactly what your lie will be.

Well I used to be "real crap" at bunker shots so I devoted all my time to bunker practice, that's why I can get up and down from 20 foot bunker more often than a 60 foot putt. But you're right I will practice my 60 footers to get them off the "real crap" list.

[Mac62]

I think the whole "center/middle of the green" discussion has sidetracked from the OP, where he said he aims for the "fattest part of the green, flag be damned".  To me, the "fattest part of the green" means the part which is the easiest to hit with the least risk - and that may not always be the middle of the green.

[Jakester23]

Well I used to be "real crap" at bunker shots so I devoted all my time to bunker practice, that's why I can get up and down from 20 foot bunker more often than a 60 foot putt. But you're right I will practice my 60 footers to get them off the "real crap" list.

How can you say you can get up and down more often from the bunker then a 60ft putt? Maybe you get up and down 1 out of 3 from the bunker (and that's good). So your saying you will 3 putt 3 out of 3 from 60 feet?

[rdsandy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdsandy

Well I used to be "real crap" at bunker shots so I devoted all my time to bunker practice, that's why I can get up and down from 20 foot bunker more often than a 60 foot putt. But you're right I will practice my 60 footers to get them off the "real crap" list.

How can you say you can get up and down more often from the bunker then a 60ft putt? Maybe you get up and down 1 out of 3 from the bunker (and that's good). So your saying you will 3 putt 3 out of 3 from 60 feet?

No, if my average strokes for the bunker shot is 2.66 (1 of 3 up/down) then the average strokes for the 60 footer is more than 2.66, like 2.75 (1 out of 4 two putts). It' just math.

[ajw426]

How can you say you can get up and down more often from the bunker then a 60ft putt? Maybe you get up and down 1 out of 3 from the bunker (and that's good). So your saying you will 3 putt 3 out of 3 from 60 feet?

Lol, why do the odds have to be based on three attempts? If you do one thing 33% of the time, you don't have to do another thing 0% of the time in order for it to be a lesser chance. There are 32 more numbers between 0 and 33. I don't have a horse in this race, but I can't stand a poorly based argument. Not trying to be an arse, but this makes less sense than any of the other arguments I've seen. "I'm better at hitting a 9i onto the green rather than a 7i. Since I can hit the 9i on one out of every 2 shots, that must mean I hit the 7i on 0 out of every 2, aka 0%". I think aiming for the safest part of the green is a great idea in most situations. Everyone has a different skill set. For some, it may make a lot more sense than others based on skill set. Pretty simple. There will always be outliers. There have been times in my golf career that I was more likely to hit a driver straight off of the tee than I was a wedge. You may think that unlikely, but in my case, it was true (thank goodness no longer).

[Aguirre]

You know how rare 20 foot bunker shots are?  I bet you might get one for every 100 rounds you play.  Maybe if you play on a course that puts their greens right up the fringe and cuts tough hole locations, you might get three for every 100 rounds.

[rdsandy]

You know how rare 20 foot bunker shots are?  I bet you might get one for every 100 rounds you play.  Maybe if you play on a course that puts their greens right up the fringe and cuts tough hole locations, you might get three for every 100 rounds.

Doesn't matter. I still stand by my preference that I'd rather have a 20 foot bunker shot than a 60 foot putt, period.

[Aguirre]

I guarantee you're better putting from 60 feet.  Remember, you have to putt to get up and down from the bunker.  No way you're stuffing the ball five feet from the pin on the average, even from 20 ft.

It's just a confidence level.  You dread long lag putts, and have enormous confidence in your bunker play.  And that's skewing the math in your head.

[mvmac]

For that matter, I'd prefer a 60 ft chip over a 60 ft putt.

A 60 ft putt is just something I don't practice and don't have a feel for.

60 foot putts aren't something I practice either and I would take the putt, putting is just easier, less variables to consider.

No, if my average strokes for the bunker shot is 2.66 (1 of 3 up/down) then the average strokes for the 60 footer is more than 2.66, like 2.75 (1 out of 4 two putts). It' just math.

Those are your stats? Hit 10 shots in a bunker and 10 putts from 60 feet, I'd be surprised if your average bunker shot is closer.

[No Mulligans]

Unless you are chipping from the short grass, I'd have a hard time believing that you are statistically better with your 20ft chip vs. 60ft putt. There are too many variables hitting out of the rough to get up and down consistently.  I'd be willing to bet if you could see how you perform statistically from those locations, you'd find that it takes you 3 shots to get down from the rough far more often that with the longer putt.

I was only considering chipping from the short grass.  I certainly would rather putt than chip from the rough.

Regardless, I'll concede I don't have stats; my opinion was conjecture.

[Mugs050]

Well I used to be "real crap" at bunker shots so I devoted all my time to bunker practice, that's why I can get up and down from 20 foot bunker more often than a 60 foot putt. But you're right I will practice my 60 footers to get them off the "real crap" list.

I actually respect how everyone plays. I think golf is a game of strategy and you can devise a strategy based on your strengths to tackle the task anyway you like.

However.... when it comes to practicing I would look at the data. I was in the bunker three times my last round and that is actually quite a lot for myself sometimes I don't hit a bunker all round, but I had a half dozen putts over 30 feet. Now you could say its from my strategy of hitting the fat part of the green, however I find on average I have a lot more lag putts or longish putts 20 footers then I ever have bunker shots.

So I would challenge you by saying why did you practice so much on bunker shots? Wouldn't that time be better spent on hitting better irons/drives to avoid bunkers? Or in this case Lag putting? I think you should take an inventory of all the shots you hit on a per round basis and practice the ones you ether hit the most or shots that lead up to ones you want to hit the least Ie. bunkers.