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I did that a few weeks back. Played from the blues when I typically would play from the whites on a course I'd only played once before. I can play from the blues all day when my driver is working... but if my driver is wild off of the tee the first two times I try it, I tend to lose confidence and step it back to my 3-wood off the tee for the rest of the round. Since my "average" 3W off the tee is around 215-220yds, that makes the blues quite long for me, whereas the whites are perfect. I like my par 4s in the 350-370 range, not the 400 range. Needless to say, I ended up shooting a 104 instead of the mid-90s that I typically shoot.

Congrats on a good season Russell! Nice to see you pop your head in here. Too bad you didn't go deeper in the show, but you did well.

Yes, that is what I mean. The feeling of hitting solid mid irons makes me feel good about my play even when my putting or driving aren't working well. Of course there are limits to this, but when my irons are on I feel like I can improve the other things by taking less club off the tee, lagging putts instead of trying to make them, etc. When my iron game is off, I feel like there's nowhere to hide. I've played rounds where my irons were so bad, that I'd just hit my hybrid for any shot from 150yds-190yds because it was the only club I could get to fly straight. Those round suck.

The longest drive I've hit was in the 290s (verified with my laser). I've driven the same 282yd short par 4 at my old home course three times... once rolling it 3/4ths of the way through the green and past the pin. All that said, my "average" drive is probably closer to 240yds and my average swing speed is around 95mph. Just about anyone can hit the ball 300yds once with the right conditions and perfect timing, but to say you actually drive the ball around 300 is a totally different story.

Now before everyone goes off and bashes the OP for being a snob, I think there's a valid point being made here. The OP takes his golf very seriously (likes practicing better than playing, always strives to better himself, etc) and his buddy just likes hitting the ball around and BSing. Just because they're best friends doesn't mean they have to do everything together. My best friend since childhood thinks golfing is lame and I can't even get him to go to the driving range with me. No matter... we wouldn't still be friends if we didn't have a lot of other things in common, as I'm sure the OP and his friend do. I think the OP should level with his friend and move on to golfing with people more like him. I have the best time golfing with guys who are slightly better than me and willing to throw down a friendly wager. They're not boring people by any stretch, but also not the guys I'd necessarily want to take a buddy trip out to Vegas with either. I'd much rather spend time off the course with my closest friends, and on the course with my "golfing" friends.

Sleep. My wife is cool, and I get the "hall pass" to play pretty much whenever I want... but with two kids under 2, and a pretty hectic work week, the only time I really get to play without intruding too much into things is early in the morning on the weekend. Getting to the course, warming up, playing, then driving home can be a 5+ hour affair, and taking up that kind of family time in the middle of the weekend isn't good, so I like to be one of the first tee times out so that we can avoid traffic, play fast, and I can be back just as the day is really starting at home.

First post! Sorry for the somewhat confusing title, but the question is what is one aspect of your game that, when it is going well, you feel that the whole round is going well? Of course the only real indication of how well a round is going is the final score, but all golfers know that sometimes the score isn't a total reflection of how you feel about a round. For me it is my mid-iron play. As a bit of an introduction, I first picked up club when I was in my early 20s back in 2002. It took me about a year to really enjoy the game. My peak, playing wise, was spring-fall 2009 when I probably played around 45 rounds. Ground my way down to a 17.6. Best round was a 84 (which included my best 9 ever of 38) from the middle tees. These days, with two kids under 2, I only get out a few times a month, and am happy to shoot in the mid-90s. I'm iffy with the driver, solid with the 3W off the tee, solid with my hybrid from 175-185yds out, and confident pitching from the 50-90yd range. My putting is not great, my sand game is terrible. I like piping drives long and down the middle (which realistically for me is about 240-245), and I like draining long putts, but when I can stick a 6 or 7 iron close, I feel like my game is ON even if I'm missing putts or spraying drives. If I could really improve one aspect of my game, I'd love to consistently hit my 5-9 irons well.