Playing with Irons Only

[mcanadiens]

If hitting irons at the short course is what @MyWay wants to do, then more power to him.

In my opinion, it would be a damn waste for a guy that can hit a 2-iron 230 yards to limit himself in such a way. How much longer do golfers hit their driver than their longest iron? 60 yards and you are almost a 300-yard hitter. Forget 80s. 

 

Edited November 19, 2018 by mcanadiens

[Vinsk]

11 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

If hitting irons at the short course is what @MyWay wants to do, then more power to him.

In my opinion, it would be a damn waste for a guy that can hit a 2-iron 230 yards to limit himself in such a way. How much longer do golfers hit their driver than their longest iron? 60 yards and you are almost a 300-yard hitter. Forget 80s. 

 

As we’ve already said yes. Nobody is telling him ‘not to play that way.’ But when he makes comments about ‘drive for show putt for dough’ or any other reference to the unimportantance of the long game he’s gonna get called out. We’re only saying if he wants to go lower his not using the driver is by far statistically and logically not the best way to go at it. Again none of us care what he does. He’s enjoying golf and that’s awesome. But we’re not gonna just acquiesce to his ideology of how to score the best simply because he’s frustrated about his driver. 

[iacas]

Again… If you enjoy playing your way, by all means, have at it. I'm approaching this as a coach, an instructor, and the author of a book dealing with exactly this stuff as if you were asking me how to shoot the lowest scores and play your best golf.

It is not by hitting irons only.

1 hour ago, MyWay said:

Back at ya, fella.

I wrote the topic. Suffice to say I've read it. Your good and bad swings are consistent. If you were "inconsistent" you'd have rounds where you shoot 72 and others where you shoot 110. You're consistent enough that you tend to shoot a pretty narrow range of scores.

1 hour ago, MyWay said:

Yes it does its an analogy its descriptive and pertinent to the post.

It does no such thing. Comparing racing high-powered race cars to hitting the driver? Fail. Hell, a 2-iron would be the last club I'd put in the hands of a new golfer, and a driver is one of the easier ones - the ball is in the air (you're not hitting it off the ground), it has a huge club face, etc.

1 hour ago, MyWay said:

But there are other options aren't there.

Not if you want to shoot the lowest scores. Obviously there are "other options." You could play golf hitting every shot with your putter ten feet at a time. Pretty stupid way to play, but it's "another option."

1 hour ago, MyWay said:

I like the sound of saving 12 shots.

He did it by learning to hit driver.

1 hour ago, MyWay said:

Bollocks to you may be, Ive heard it quoted many times as playing partners have wang'd their drive OB.

No, not bollocks to me. Driving is about twice as important as putting. Approach shots are almost three times as important.

These are facts. The short game and putting only account for about 33% of the differences in your score. If I had you hit every shot of mine inside of 60 yards and every putt, you'd break 80. If we switched roles, I would probably not shoot more than about three to six shots better than you're shooting now.

The old saying was wrong. It is almost exactly backward. Driving and approach shots are the skills with the highest "Separation Value®."

[boogielicious]

21 hours ago, MyWay said:

I don't agree iacas, the mountain of evidence is that good players competent with all clubs will give up shots. Im not saying Im a good player Im an enthusiastic amateur who may never develop a text book swing. Im looking at breaking 80, and the best way my particular skill set might achieve this.

Interestingly i played a 3 handicapper in a competition a few years back and beat him by Teeing off with no more than a 6 iron, he conceded on our 19th hole. Thats the handicap system working and me playing a little wiser and marginally better than my handicap. It made it virtually impossible for him to beat me.

You wouldn't start off a budding racing driver in a McLaren F1 (driver) you'd start in a Caterham 1300 and learn the skill set wouldn't you?

Variable swing... c'mon man, less consistent than ideal, needs improvement.

I appreciate being challenged on my thinking iacas, but why must every golfer learn to use the longest shafted flattest faced club that is the only club that requires different swing/set up characteristics? Lots of folk mention that they have dropped their drivers and played more consistently.

I wonder if its an age thing, if I use woods, hybrids etc... I quickly loose confidence and ability with my longer irons. So tour players practice everyday for hours, Im trying to practice a little each day, I came to the game late (35) and I always feel like Im playing catch up. I embraced the 'drive for show putt for dough' mantra and practiced chipping and putting more than driving. I firmly believe finishing a hole well beats starting it well, every time. Im  pragmatic, realist and committed to being brutally honest with myself hence the irons are best for me current situation.

There must be loads in there you can rip into iacas 🙂

I guess I really don't understand the point of your posts. If you are looking for confirmation that irons only is the best way to score lower, you are not going to get it here. Folks joined this site in part to learn how to play better golf and score lower. We just can't do that without woods on almost every course we play.

If you are just posting to say that you prefer to play that way because you have more fun and are more comfortable, then you should really state it. But you are defending the former position, which leads me to believe that you really believe that irons only is the best way to go and all of us should switch. This is not going to happen.

[Groucho Valentine]

If you're struggling to hit a big ass 460cc head driver, i wouldn't think a 2iron is the answer, but ok.... 

Ive played rounds with just irons and wedges and not shot much higher than i usually do. But im also  scratch player. I can hit a long iron pretty consistently from 200+ yards out. The average player probably needs to work on his ballstriking if they're struggling so much with driver accuracy. 

[NM Golf]

Alright @MyWay if you want to hit irons only that is your choice, but you came on a golf forum frequented by a large number of people who are well informed in the facts that it is not the best way to shoot the lowest scores. Distance matters, period. Driving and approach shots have more influence over your score than short game, for you, for me, for everybody. The saying "drive for show and putt for dough" is a load of crap. It is not based in any fact, the data overwhelmingly supports the opposite. 

The members of this forum see it all the time, people come in here with the notion that short game is king. They then argue and argue with no factual evidence what-so-ever to back their stance. It grows tiresome. So if we seem a bit cranky know its from having numerous debates with people like yourself that protest in the face of factual knowledge.  

[RickK]

I won First Flight in the Club Championship at the club I used to belong to and never hit a wood for 3 days.  I used 2iron off most holes where you would normally use driver.  Course played at 6450 yards.

Now...that said...that was 28 years ago and my distance ability was a heck of a lot better back then.  The reason I put the woods away, I had just come from a 4 day tournament the week before and probably had the worst hook going of my life.  My irons had been pretty consistent with a slight draw for the longer irons and I knew I could at least compete by keeping the ball in play.  Would I attempt that feat today on the course I play now where the senior tees are a shade over 6000 yards.  Not a chance at 72 years of age.  Beside, the first iron in my bag these days is a 7 irons.  

[MyWay]

Well we seem to have got to a tetchy stage of this subject. For those who have bothered to read my replies properly I have thanked iacas etc.. for there thoughts and have said I will retry my driver and further will seek professional help doing it.

Im not looking for validation or acquiescence from others, I know my own game and am very aware of my current weaknesses hence playing just irons for now. I own a driver, 3 & 5 woods and a hybrid I just prefer using irons currently and wondered if other folk had experienced the same. Thats it in a nutshell.

And as for 'drive for show putt for dough' thats a very touchy subject isn't it. Some delicate egos getting rattled are there? Its a game fellas, it may be a career to isacs but I don't have the skill or inclination for that level of commitment.

boogielicious err.... whatever.

N M golf distance matters period, do they play from OB on your course?

RickK they won't like that here you must use a driver there is no other option apparently...

[phillyk]

7 minutes ago, MyWay said:

Well we seem to have got to a tetchy stage of this subject. For those who have bothered to read my replies properly I have thanked iacas etc.. for there thoughts and have said I will retry my driver and further will seek professional help doing it.

Im not looking for validation or acquiescence from others, I know my own game and am very aware of my current weaknesses hence playing just irons for now. I own a driver, 3 & 5 woods and a hybrid I just prefer using irons currently and wondered if other folk had experienced the same. Thats it in a nutshell.

And as for 'drive for show putt for dough' thats a very touchy subject isn't it. Some delicate egos getting rattled are there? Its a game fellas, it may be a career to isacs but I don't have the skill or inclination for that level of commitment.

boogielicious err.... whatever.

N M golf distance matters period, do they play from OB on your course?

RickK they won't like that here you must use a driver there is no other option apparently...

When I did my PAT Test for PGA PGM, I played the first 9 holes in 7 over par or something like that, because I couldn't hit my woods off the tee to save my life.  The course we were playing on was shorter but tight with lots of doglegs, and the pins for these things are always set in the middle of the green, so wasn't worried about weird approach angles.  I just wanted the ball in the fairway so I can get it on the green in regulation.  The next 27 holes, I played in 2 or 3 under par and I only used a driver once, everything else was 4-irons off every tee.  I couldn't hit the long clubs but I was hitting everything else really well.

I've also played a few holes after work one day with only a 7-iron and shot even.  Using only irons can work well enough because they can keep me out of trouble, but they also can't get me going low. When my driver is working well, I am almost always under par.  When the long clubs are not working and I switch to other means, I can hover around par but won't do much better. 

[Lihu]

On 11/19/2018 at 6:15 AM, MyWay said:

 i played a 3 handicapper in a competition a few years back and beat him by Teeing off with no more than a 6 iron,

That’s truly beating the odds. You should have played the lottery that day...😎

 

28 minutes ago, MyWay said:

I will retry my driver and further will seek professional help doing it.

You must have really beat the odds with that 3 if you can’t even keep a driver in first cut? 😲

 

28 minutes ago, MyWay said:

they play from OB on your course?

Try playing wider courses 🤪

[klineka]

31 minutes ago, MyWay said:

And as for 'drive for show putt for dough' thats a very touchy subject isn't it. Some delicate egos getting rattled are there? 

Egos aren't getting rattled, but like @NM Golf clearly stated previously, people on here are just tired of providing stats and facts to back up their claims about the importance of the long game only to argue time and time again with people who still think the short game is the most important but offer no stats or facts to back their claims up.

35 minutes ago, MyWay said:

RickK they won't like that here you must use a driver there is no other option apparently...

Nobody has ever said that here. Like people have told you multiple times, by not using driver you are placing a limit on how good you can be. That doesn't mean you can't have success using irons only, but your success will have a lower limit using irons only than it will if you become at least adequate with driver. Nobody said you must use driver and there is no other option.

---

Also, if you are going to respond to quotes/statements made by multiple people, please use the quote/multi quote feature of the site so people know what you are responding to, like I have done above in response to you. It's very easy to use and makes your responses so much easier to understand.

At the very least, at least use the @ symbol followed by the person's username so you can tag the person you are referring to, like this: @MyWay

[MyWay]

1 hour ago, phillyk said:

When I did my PAT Test for PGA PGM, I played the first 9 holes in 7 over par or something like that, because I couldn't hit my woods off the tee to save my life.  The course we were playing on was shorter but tight with lots of doglegs, and the pins for these things are always set in the middle of the green, so wasn't worried about weird approach angles.  I just wanted the ball in the fairway so I can get it on the green in regulation.  The next 27 holes, I played in 2 or 3 under par and I only used a driver once, everything else was 4-irons off every tee.  I couldn't hit the long clubs but I was hitting everything else really well.

I've also played a few holes after work one day with only a 7-iron and shot even.  Using only irons can work well enough because they can keep me out of trouble, but they also can't get me going low. When my driver is working well, I am almost always under par.  When the long clubs are not working and I switch to other means, I can hover around par but won't do much better. 

Thanks phillyk appreciate your words! my 4i is often my go to club also, Im nowhere near your ability but interesting to hear thanks!

44 minutes ago, klineka said:

Nobody has ever said that here. Like people have told you multiple times, by not using driver you are placing a limit on how good you can be. That doesn't mean you can't have success using irons only, but your success will have a lower limit using irons only than it will if you become at least adequate with driver. Nobody said you must use driver and there is no other option.

Yes and I fully acknowledge this, I have previously stated I will retry my driver. But while Im struggling to use a complete bag Im interested to hear from people who have worked around this. Even Jack Nicklaus in his book said he would use a club 3 times and if it wasn't working drop down to the next one, well Ive sort of done this and ended up with irons.

[billchao]

15 minutes ago, MyWay said:

Even Jack Nicklaus in his book said he would use a club 3 times and if it wasn't working drop down to the next one, well Ive sort of done this and ended up with irons.

Nicklaus didn't abandon his woods (he was the best driver of his era). He simply meant if it wasn't working for him during that round, he needed to do something different because he needed to score well.

Irons only is fine on a temporary basis but it's not a permanent way to play good golf. The only way I could see it working is if you only play one relatively short and narrow course all the time, but then you're doing yourself a disservice because your game won't travel as well.

[iacas]

2 minutes ago, billchao said:

Irons only is fine on a temporary basis but it's not a permanent way to play good golf. The only way I could see it working is if you only play one relatively short and narrow course all the time, but then you're doing yourself a disservice because your game won't travel as well.

And if a course is THAT ridiculously narrow, it’s likely a lousy course.

[MyWay]

21 minutes ago, billchao said:

Nicklaus didn't abandon his woods (he was the best driver of his era). He simply meant if it wasn't working for him during that round, he needed to do something different because he needed to score well.

Irons only is fine on a temporary basis but it's not a permanent way to play good golf. The only way I could see it working is if you only play one relatively short and narrow course all the time, but then you're doing yourself a disservice because your game won't travel as well.

Its a good point you make my local course is narrow and only 2 mins up the road so I play there. Time for more variety perhaps, thanks.

[iacas]

Just now, MyWay said:

Its a good point you make my local course is narrow and only 2 mins up the road so I play there. Time for more variety perhaps, thanks.

What is your home course?

[MyWay]

Just now, iacas said:

What is your home course?

Burnham on Crouch Essex England, it has OB on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd (effectively) 4th, 5th par 3, 6th on course OB to right FW, 7th ditch and pond 8 - 7i good alternative, 9th OB left, 10th tightens after 200yds, 11th par 3, 12th wide, 13th on course OB left, 14th OB right, 15th par 3, 16th OB right pond left, 17th OB right tightens due to practice field after 200 yards, 18th OB right. there are 3 additional ponds.

[iacas]

1 minute ago, MyWay said:

Burnham on Crouch Essex England, it has OB on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd (effectively) 4th, 5th par 3, 6th on course OB to right FW, 7th ditch and pond 8 - 7i good alternative, 9th OB left, 10th tightens after 200yds, 11th par 3, 12th wide, 13th on course OB left, 14th OB right, 15th par 3, 16th OB right pond left, 17th OB right tightens due to practice field after 200 yards, 18th OB right. there are 3 additional ponds.

This course?