What do you consider a "good" shot?

[Jameson]

Interesting... How many times you hit a fantastic 9i, with great fly, crisp sound direct to the pin... but just for less than few inches, it lands on the exact edge of a bunker and fell into it?? if it would have been just this few inches longer it would land on the little slope close to the green, so the ball would have been rolling it and finish almost in the hole... So,, it is a good shot? I think so. And it´s a way not to be thinking about it for the next 3 holes, yeah, it was a fantastic shot, just bad luck . Don´t think about it !

[saevel25]

And it´s a way not to be thinking about it for the next 3 holes, yeah, it was a fantastic shot, just bad luck. Don´t think about it !

Not bad luck, you picked the wrong club and aimed wrong. Especially if you hit it that good.

I would check out this book, http://lowestscorewins.com/

It clearly says you should treat bunkers as a hazard in terms of your aim. So if a pin is tucked back left, with a bunker guarding the front, and lets say behind it. There is plenty of green 20 feet right of the pin. Aim so your shot dispersion zone doesn't encroach on the bunkers. Then no luck about it, you'd be on the green, or at worst just in the rough with such a good strike. ;)

[phillyk]

. Then no luck about it, you'd be on the green, or at worst just in the rough with such a good strike. ;)

...Unless it's really long rough where he was playing and strategically placed the ball in the bunker to avoid it...

[saevel25]

...Unless it's really long rough where he was playing and strategically placed the ball in the bunker to avoid it...

Doesn't matter. If you have a situation were the pin is tucked in an area and guarded by bunkers. The play is still to try to get a GIR. GIR is king. So the best play is fit your shot dispersion zone to encompass the most of the green, taking away the bunkers.

The play isn't, "Oh I better aim towards the pin because I don't want to be in the rough." The play should be, "I should aim away from the pin to maximize my chance of getting on the green, and minimizing penalizing myself by ending up in a bunker".

Here are some PGA Tour stats, I assume PGA Tour players play out of the nastiest rough.

Proximity to the hole from the rough around the green: 8'2"

Proximity to the hole from the bunker: 9'7"

Even for PGA Tour players they are 1 foot closer out of pristine bunkers versus out of the nasty rough.

[phillyk]

Doesn't matter. If you have a situation were the pin is tucked in an area and guarded by bunkers. The play is still to try to get a GIR. GIR is king. So the best play is fit your shot dispersion zone to encompass the most of the green, taking away the bunkers.

The play isn't, "Oh I better aim towards the pin because I don't want to be in the rough." The play should be, "I should aim away from the pin to maximize my chance of getting on the green, and minimizing penalizing myself by ending up in a bunker".

Here are some PGA Tour stats, I assume PGA Tour players play out of the nastiest rough.

Proximity to the hole from the rough around the green: 8'2"

Proximity to the hole from the bunker: 9'7"

Even for PGA Tour players they are 1 foot closer out of pristine bunkers versus out of the nasty rough.

I was being sarcastic... But thanks for the stats anyhow.

[saevel25]

I was being sarcastic... But thanks for the stats anyhow.

The downfall of trying to interpret sarcasm from text ;)

[Jeremie Boop]

At my level, any solid shot that goes reasonably straight and hits the fairway/green.

[Fourputt]

What do I consider a good shot?  Usually the one the other guy hit.

In the last few years my idea of a good shot from me has gotten a lot looser than it once was.  Any more, as long as a shot carries more than 100 yards and doesn't leave me in trouble, I'm usually okay with it.

[imsys0042]

A good shot for me is where you generally accomplish what you were trying to do with the shot.   If you are trying to hit a long straight drive on a par 5, even if you don't get all of it but it goes 75% I think can be counted as a good shot.   A miss when you were aiming at the center of the green and you still are putting is a good shot.

For me, I tend to have a lot of good shots and then a few really, really bad ones that take me out of a hole.    Typical card this year is a bunch of pars, maybe a birdie or 2, and then 3-5 7's, which is my max.

[ghalfaire]

Well I did read many of the posts and see many equate making a good shot with what I would call my best shot.   For me a good shot is one that ends up someplace I have a chance to make the next shot and maybe par or better or even one that saves me from a disaster.  Since how it got there doesn't matter to your final score it really isn't important.  My best shots are ones that end up exactly where I wanted and got there on a path I expected.  There is certainly more satisfaction in that situation than the former.  But in the final analysis there are no style points in golf (no pictures on the score card as they say)  and only the score counts so it is better to accept any shot you make without too much emotion and just plan and hit the next shot without worrying or celebrating how the ball got there.

[Pretzel]

From my tournament yesterday I think I have an example of the difference I feel between good and great. First hole my approach shot (sand wedge) took one hop, hit the stick, then spun back off the front of the green. This was still a good shot, but not great. I also had one shot that I hit very thin but resulted in a 15 foot birdie opportunity. This was also a good shot, just a lucky good shot. If the first shot had stayed right next to the hole it would have been great. If the second had taken the desired path to get there it would have been great. They were both good though to me.

[SoundandFury]

Well I did read many of the posts and see many equate making a good shot with what I would call my best shot.   For me a good shot is one that ends up someplace I have a chance to make the next shot and maybe par or better or even one that saves me from a disaster.  Since how it got there doesn't matter to your final score it really isn't important.  My best shots are ones that end up exactly where I wanted and got there on a path I expected.  There is certainly more satisfaction in that situation than the former.  But in the final analysis there are no style points in golf (no pictures on the score card as they say)  and only the score counts so it is better to accept any shot you make without too much emotion and just plan and hit the next shot without worrying or celebrating how the ball got there.

Totally agree.  I would happily top the ball off the tee every time, if it always rolled out to 300 yards (think we can all agree on that).  I posed this question in a vacuum though, one shot at a time.

[todgot]

I think it's all about controlling the golf ball and that includes direction, distance and flight or trajectory. There are a lot of variables involved and to hit all of them exactly the way you wanted is a big obstacle and can lead to a lot of frustration. I'm reminded of the quote from Ben Hogan where he said he would typically only hit one or two "perfect shots" during a round. If you take it to that level you're going to be frustrated a lot and I think we've all played with someone who complained after every shot about something. Don't be "that guy"... it's annoying. I played with a guy last weekend who is about a 25 handicap and after he made a nice birdie he said, "finally". I said, "really? Finally? Do you really expect to make a lot of birdies? Dude, enjoy it... you just made a nice birdie.". His reply was "yea but..." In your specific example I would also consider the effect of your subconscious mind. Dave Pelz talks about the mind correcting mistakes in aim and poor green reading. I think today this is what goes into the Aimpoint green reading method... being more aware and focused on what our body is telling us through proprioception... using our internal gyroscopes to read greens. Pelz would say our brains know where to hit the putt and will compensate for under or over reading by pushing or pulling the putt to get it on the right line. How many times have you tried to play to a safe part of the green but looked up and the ball is going straight for the flag. I think unconsciously we want to go to the flag and our brains will manipulate our body to make it happen. If I'm playing away from a flag I will try to visualize a flag where I want to hit it and ignore the actual flag... try to not even look at it. I often have mind-brain mismatch when I want to do something stupid like cut of a dogleg over a hazard. My brain will say "no thank you" and next thing I know the ball is pulled or pushed away from the hazard. It takes a lot of commitment and mental focus sometimes to overcome that mismatch... that's why having doubt or indecision in a shot is often disastrous. So this "cognitive dissonance" you're feeling about whether this was a good shot is really a battle between your conscious and unconscious mind... Your conscious mind had a plan but your subconscious mind put the ball where you really wanted to go... and it's saying "Dude, what's the problem? That's where you wanted to go right?" But your conscious mind is saying, "But I'm in control... I say what we're going to do"... and your subconscious replies, " Right... ". So in the end you just have to realize... There is no spoon.

[billchao]

Ok @SoundandFury here is a good example that happened to me today: I was about 130 yards out on a fairway into a pretty strong headwind. Grabbed my 7 iron and choked down on it 2 inches and set to hit a flighted shot at the flag. It's a two-tiered green with two flags so I just aimed for the center of the lower tier, where my flag was sitting. Prepared to hit a push-draw at the green and ended up hitting a slight pull-fade. Ball landed four feet from the pin.

Was that a good shot? You bet. I did exactly what I intended to do, minus the shape. Ended up the exact distance I wanted on the line that I wanted, with solid contact.

[bkuehn1952]

I try not to confuse good results with good shots.

[WUTiger]

A good shot lands within my personal error tolerances. That said, good luck is always welcome.

[mtsalmela80]

As long as I execute the shot I'm trying to go for, even if the result is not great. For example, last week I was 155 out, with woods right behind the green. I hit a great 7 iron, which has been my ~150 yard club, and sent the ball right into the woods on the fly. I consider it a good shot because I hit the ball well, and I realized my irons are getting a bit longer.

I would almost rather execute the shot and not have such a great result, than skull it or something and "get away with it"

[Lihu]

I answered that only pros make good shots, most of the time. Maybe this was a little too simplistic. . .Basically, it's when I get all of the first three keys involved as best as I can, is when it feels like a good shot.

If I go out to the range, I might hit one or two good shots out of hundreds. On the course, I might get one per round. My criteria for a good shot is one that I can't hit any better than I did. It made good contact in the sweet spot and I got all three keys to the best of my ability.

It's a good thing this is a game of mishits, because that's pretty much what it feels like with the rest of the shots.