Hit it Over the Ditch or Lay up Short?

[colin007]

1 hour ago, 9wood said:

I suspect one of the reasons may be due to the fact that while senior golfers might not hit the ball as far as the younger golfers, but they do hit it straighter, more accurately and in the fairways more often than many younger golfers which means less time hunting for balls in the rough or woods.

This is true. Many of the older guys I get paired with at my local muni are dead straight. The ones I wait for are the ones that refuse to move up to the forward tees. It's ridiculous when they can't reach the green on a 120 yard par 3 with their drivers.

[Lihu]

2 minutes ago, colin007 said:

This is true. Many of the older guys I get paired with at my local muni are dead straight. The ones I wait for are the ones that refuse to move up to the forward tees. It's ridiculous when they can't reach the green on a 120 yard par 3 with their drivers.

Those are the ones that fit the blog "The older we get the farther we used to hit."

 

[colin007]

7 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Those are the ones that fit the blog "The older we get the farther we used to hit."

 

Exactly. 

Anyways, I'm hitting driver. As long as I hit it solidly that crick isn't in play for me.

[JonMA1]

21 hours ago, Lihu said:

Actually, threads like these make good case studies of how LSW can help the OPs.

I couldn't agree more. It's interesting to see how those at different skill levels approach different hazards. And as you stated, how it compares to my interpretation of LSW. 

On the PGA, I've seen one pro tee off with driver while opponent chooses a different club, even when they both hit similar distances.

A bigger mystery is why someone who doesn't think a thread should exist would continue posting to it. The fact of the matter  @Dave2512, is we (poorer players) really can learn a lot from your input. I can almost guarantee that even though I think my strategy is pretty sound, I will likely try a more conservative approach when the season starts - as a result of your posts here (maybe try for bogey instead of par on some of the holes).

 I've said this more than once, but most of what I think I know about this game I learned from this site.

[Lihu]

1 minute ago, JonMA1 said:

I couldn't agree more. It's interesting to see how those at different skill levels approach different hazards. And as you stated, how it compares to my interpretation of LSW. 

On the PGA, I've seen one pro tee off with driver while opponent chooses a different club, even when they both hit similar distances.

A bigger mystery is why someone who doesn't think a thread should exist would continue posting to it. The fact of the matter  @Dave2512, is we (poorer players) really can learn a lot from your input. I can almost guarantee that even though I think my strategy is pretty sound, I will likely try a more conservative approach when the season starts - as a result of your posts here (maybe try for bogey instead of par on some of the holes).

 I've said this more than once, but most of what I think I know about this game I learned from this site.

Yup, me too.

[Gipper]

Tough distance for me. If I hit a great shot it clears.... the other 95% of the time the ditch is just in my range.   

This becomes a lay up par 4/goal 5 for me.   If I get a 4 great but I would take a 5 over a blow up hole. 

[ppine]

Keeping the ball in play is the name of the game for the vast majority of golfers.  Chose the shot that gives you a very high chance of success.  If you are a big hitter with a lot of confidence in your driver go ahead. I am a bogey golfer at best getting back into the sport. I would have no trouble taking a 5 on a hole like that, if it meant I could eliminate the probability of a 6 or a 7.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, Gipper said:

Tough distance for me. If I hit a great shot it clears.... the other 95% of the time the ditch is just in my range.   

This becomes a lay up par 4/goal 5 for me.   If I get a 4 great but I would take a 5 over a blow up hole. 

Yeah, I wouldn't do it even though my median drive is 260. 3W is possibly in the ditch with a median of 231. Wouldn't even try especially when I can hit two comfortable hybrids as a worst case option.

[Dave2512]

3 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

 

A bigger mystery is why someone who doesn't think a thread should exist would continue posting to it. The fact of the matter  @Dave2512, is we (poorer players) really can learn a lot from your input. I can almost guarantee that even though I think my strategy is pretty sound, I will likely try a more conservative approach when the season starts - as a result of your posts here (maybe try for bogey instead of par on some of the holes).

 I've said this more than once, but most of what I think I know about this game I learned from this site.

Because once you read the book the knowledge gained eliminates the need  for questions like this thread. The book covers it and then some so no need to go out in the world for more advice.

I wasn't being snide LSW works,  it was an appreciation for the book not a stab at this thread. The book is more than a method it requires an individual to understand and accept their game. Polling a bunch of amateurs for strategy is going to come with varied advice.

 

[JonMA1]

2 hours ago, Dave2512 said:

Because once you read the book the knowledge gained eliminates the need  for questions like this thread. The book covers it and then some so no need to go out in the world for more advice.

I wasn't being snide LSW works,  it was an appreciation for the book not a stab at this thread. The book is more than a method it requires an individual to understand and accept their game. Polling a bunch of amateurs for strategy is going to come with varied advice.

 

You're preaching to the choir about LSW. I ordered my copy before the book was released and it has helped my game tremendously. And we both agree that it's important to know your capabilities and make proper decisions based on that knowledge.

As for threads like this, it's a golf forum. There are always going to be threads that seem mundane to others. I actually enjoy it when someone posts a hole and asks "how would you play it?". While this scenario didn't seem to offer much in the way of decision-making, I've seen others which do.

I don't take these posts as "what should I do?" type questions. More of "what would you do?". In the end, it's just interesting to see how people respond and what their reasoning or philosophies are. If anyone can learn something from reading them, then I'm not sure what the issue is.

[vangator]

I thought of this thread today when I played my layup hole.  I pulled out the Pinnacle.  I was driving the ball well all day.  When I can to this hole, I tried to hard and hit a quacking hook into the ditch and a double bogey.  The next hole, with nothing in the way, I hit a great drive that would have cleared easily.  Next time, I lay up.

[9wood]

57 minutes ago, vangator said:

I thought of this thread today when I played my layup hole.  I pulled out the Pinnacle.  I was driving the ball well all day.  When I came to this hole, I tried too hard and hit a quacking hook into the ditch and a double bogey.  The next hole, with nothing in the way, I hit a great drive that would have cleared easily.  Next time, I lay up.

When I try too hard I lose control and the result is a really bad shot

[vangator]

8 hours ago, 9wood said:

When I try too hard I lose control and the result is a really bad shot

When I came up to the tee, I was thinking "Just take your normal swing".  It was pretty busy yesterday, but next week I'm going to try a couple of balls.

[Ernest Jones]

On March 2, 2016 at 1:56 PM, SavvySwede said:

Kind of a weird question as it is highly dependent on your driving distance. If someone can only barely clear it they're aren't gaining a whole lot anyway because a drainage ditch is typically quite narrow. If you can carry the hazard fairly easily it isn't even a issue you need to consider.

Exactly. If you can carry the ditch with an average swing, go for it. If it takes a perfect, planets align, miracle swing, don't. 

[boogielicious]

12 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

Exactly. If you can carry the ditch with an average swing, go for it. If it takes a perfect, planets align, miracle swing, don't. 

I always try to bounce it off a sprinkler head. That gives me extra distance. Ya know, bunny hop the ditch. 

[9wood]

Earlier on someone stated that even if you were to just barely drive across the ditch you wouldn't gain much. I would have to respectfully disagree with that statement because if you did in fact drive over the ditch, even just barely you most likely would get some decent roll added to the end of your drive which means your second shot would now be around 140 yds or so instead of 190 or so yards you would have by laying up short of the ditch. That's a 50 yd or more difference.

Edited March 7, 2016 by 9wood

[Lihu]

12 minutes ago, 9wood said:

Earlier on someone stated that even if you were to just barely drive across the ditch you wouldn't gain much. I would have to respectfully disagree with that statement because if you did in fact drive over the ditch, even just barely you most likely would get some decent roll added to the end of your drive which means your second shot would now be around 140 yds or so instead of 190 or so yards you would have by laying up short of the ditch. That's a 50 yd or more difference.

I didn't say it, but I will state that I can barely clear that ditch with my average (actually median) driver tee shot. Which means that half the time I probably would clear it. However, it makes no sense for me to do that as I can hit two comfortable hybrids to reach the green at the very worst, and at the very best hit a hybrid and 6i. Why even risk getting into the ditch?

EDIT: In retrospect, I think the issue is that if someone really can barely clear the ditch he has other options open to him which are not at all risky. Read LSW.

[jamo]

Grip it and rip it. Go big or go home. Other clichés indicating that I'd hit it over the ditch.