Who would you rather be?

[Subaroozz]

Golfer that hits 270 and thirty yards off the fairway, or golfer that hits 220 and right down the middle? 300 and in the trees, or 250 in the fairway? GIR on every par five, or ball OB every other par five trying to get on in two? Missing the green short, or missing way left or right? (insert additional "accuracy vs. distance" scenario here) I think I'd rather be accurate and short. I'm 6'1'' so folks always expect me to be able to blast it, but I'm not good enough yet to control it. How about you guys, how many errant tee shots are acceptable for you to justify the one or two great drives that actually land in the fairway? I don't have much fun when I'm looking for my tee shot six or seven out of every ten drives.

[David in FL]

As a relatively short hitter, I'd much rather be a bit "long and wrong". It's far easier to correct the fundamental mistakes that lead to inaccuracies off the tee than to increase distance by 50 yards off the tee, and presumably proportionately throughout the rest of the bag. Put another way, I'll take an 8-iron in from the rough on a 420 yard par-4 over a 3-iron/hybrid from 200 yards in the fairway all day long.....

[MacDutch]

300y in the trees would be nice

[liquor box]

I would love the skills to do either but would get bored being short and accurate.

Gripping it and ripping it is fun

[jamo]

I know this doesn't fit rigidly into the scenarios, but I'd always pick the ability to hit it farther, under the assumption that I can learn to hit it straighter later. You can learn to hit it straighter, you can't really learn to hit it farther.

[Subaroozz]

Put another way, I'll take an 8-iron in from the rough on a 420 yard par-4 over a 3-iron/hybrid from 200 yards in the fairway all day long.....

Yeah I'd take that too.  But I don't really mean first or second cut of the rough with a good angle to the hole, I mean in the trees.

I know this doesn't fit rigidly into the scenarios, but I'd always pick the ability to hit it farther, under the assumption that I can learn to hit it straighter later.

You can learn to hit it straighter, you can't really learn to hit it farther.

Interesting that I am thinking the complete opposite.  I've done the "hit it far and learn to straighten out" thing, but it never came.  So now I'm doing it the other way.  I'm not swinging full speed, I figure once I get the fundamentals ingrained I can just start swinging harder.

I would love the skills to do either but would get bored being short and accurate.

Gripping it and ripping it is fun

This is really what the post is about.  Which is more fun?  Maniacally whacking balls around a field, or scoring?  I have had fun being long and crazy, but I want to improve and keep up with my friends.  I'm going to try gimpy golf and see if that's fun too.

[iacas]

This is really what the post is about.  Which is more fun?  Maniacally whacking balls around a field, or scoring?  I have had fun being long and crazy, but I want to improve and keep up with my friends.  I'm going to try gimpy golf and see if that's fun too.

Distance is incredibly important to scoring.

Your scenarios are a bit bogus in that the long hitter is not always in the trees (or OB on every other par five), and the short hitter is not always in the fairway.

Distance is a huge advantage to shooting lower scores.

[Subaroozz]

Your scenarios are a bit bogus in that the long hitter is not always in the trees (or OB on every other par five), and the short hitter is not always in the fairway.

I didn't mean everyone and always, I'm talking me.  I'm tired of losing balls.  It's not fun anymore and probably why a bunch of people quit golf.  Sure, the biggest sales pitch in golf is "hit it farther," but I've never heard of someone throwing their clubs in the lake because they are fifty yards short of their buddy but in the fairway for the fifth consecutive hole.

[saevel25]

Golfer that hits 270 and thirty yards off the fairway, or golfer that hits 220 and right down the middle?

300 and in the trees, or 250 in the fairway?

270 yards, thirty yards off the fairway because I can then just aim thirty yards left or right on how I miss it and hit fairway. 50 yard advantage and in good position

I think I'd rather be accurate and short. I'm 6'1'' so folks always expect me to be able to blast it, but I'm not good enough yet to control it. How about you guys, how many errant tee shots are acceptable for you to justify the one or two great drives that actually land in the fairway? I don't have much fun when I'm looking for my tee shot six or seven out of every ten drives.

Here's a little tip. Swing the driver at 60% and you'll probably end up hitting it straighter and the ball will go 90% your maximum. If you can tag one 280, you'd probably get something like 255-260 and hardly see the trees or OB.

I didn't mean everyone and always, I'm talking me.  I'm tired of losing balls.  It's not fun anymore and probably why a bunch of people quit golf.  Sure, the biggest sales pitch in golf is "hit it farther," but I've never heard of someone throwing their clubs in the lake because they are fifty yards short of their buddy but in the fairway for the fifth consecutive hole.

People quit golf because golf is HARD. People just assume they can hit a little white ball it will be easy to play. It isn't. It takes a lot of effort to get good. Golf is also not cheap.

Really I think most people would enjoy golf if they do not take it seriously, enjoy the course, enjoy a time out with the buddies and just try to find those few moments in a round were they hit a good shot. In the end golf is a game.

[isukgolf]

Count me in on distance ...

[RayG]

Not a fan of "what ifs". If, for example, you hit it in the fairway every time at 230, where's the fun? Would I rather be more consistent than wild? Sure. But if I never needed to worry about thinking about the next shot because I'm under a tree, need to carry a trap but avoid a stream AND have it stop so it doesn't go OB long, that would get boring. I LIKE those type of decisions. Not that I purposely hit them there (although, lately it almost seems that way) in the first place. It adds that 'something' to the game.. at least at my level.

[Fourputt]

Golfer that hits 270 and thirty yards off the fairway, or golfer that hits 220 and right down the middle?

300 and in the trees, or 250 in the fairway?

GIR on every par five, or ball OB every other par five trying to get on in two?

Missing the green short, or missing way left or right?

(insert additional "accuracy vs. distance" scenario here)

I think I'd rather be accurate and short. I'm 6'1'' so folks always expect me to be able to blast it, but I'm not good enough yet to control it. How about you guys, how many errant tee shots are acceptable for you to justify the one or two great drives that actually land in the fairway? I don't have much fun when I'm looking for my tee shot six or seven out of every ten drives.

Since most courses I play 30 yards off the fairway is virtually unplayable, that simply isn't a possible option.  In the trees is also not a viable strategy for consistent play.  That said, most players don't consistently miss by that much.  All players will miss that badly on occasion, but any serious player is going to seek resolution if his play is that poor on a regular basis.  It is possible that playing shorter is the solution for some, but that isn't always going to solve the problem.  I know that I can hit my 3W just as crooked as I can my driver if I make a poor swing, so for me the solution is not playing shorter (I'm short enough already), but in making sure that I make a good takeaway to start my swing.  This seems to be a big key to both accuracy and distance for me.  A proper takeaway gets me in a better position at the top, which gets me through the ball better.

Using a shorter club, choking up on the driver, doesn't result in better play if I still make a bad swing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subaroozz

Golfer that hits 270 and thirty yards off the fairway, or golfer that hits 220 and right down the middle?

300 and in the trees, or 250 in the fairway?

270 yards, thirty yards off the fairway because I can then just aim thirty yards left or right on how I miss it and hit fairway. 50 yard advantage and in good position

This only helps if your misses are consistent.  If you play Army golf, then your logic fails.

[Elmer]

I am a golfer that that hits 270 and thirty yards off the fairway,

I then punch it from under a tree or chip from a really impossible spot and work way to hard for a par!

But then again, playing from a fairway is too easy. I want a challenge!

[krupa]

I value accuracy and precision over power in pretty much everything.  Two games I love playing: pool and darts.  So if I have to choose between short and accurate versus long and wild, I will take short and accurate all day long.

[rkim291968]

Going with accuracy.   I had enough OBs already.

[Golfingdad]

I'd take the most distance and run - no questions asked.

Think about it this way:  If we're playing a tight course, then 220 hitter is going to be better off than 300 in the trees guy, right?  Wrong.  Guy who can hit it 300 but astray a lot can always drop down a club or two - hell, he can probably drop down all the way to a 5 iron - and still hit it 220 and in the fairway a lot more often.

Now, what happens when we're playing parkland course with holes bordering other holes and non-penal rough?  What other options does 220 guy have now?  None.  He's still 220 and in the fairway. Whereas, 300 astray guy could give a damn about fairways at this point and he's going to bomb and gouge and run circles around 220 guy.

Take the distance and work on control.  You don't have that option the other way.

[mcanadiens]

As someone that has real problems with distance, I think it's a no-brainer.

My 210 yard poke may sometimes straight, but it gives me no chance on a 400-yard par 4. Sure, some courses have tee options for people like me, but if I can figure out 250 yards it would really open a lot up for me.

[CarlSpackler]

Why is there always this presumption that adding distance will decrease your accuracy? Improving your swing should add distance AND accuracy...