300 yard drives or Never 3 putt?

[RickyBobby_PR]

2 hours ago, revkev said:

Back to the pros laying up to their favorite yardage discussion it's a myth perpetuated by announcers wishing to sound knowledgeable.  When you watch they lay up for a reason - hazards in the way, pin cut too close to a trap to stop with ball with a part shot, that type of thing - when you listen in to their discussions with a caddy they are always trying to find a way to get as close to the green as possible first and going for the layup as the bailout option if there's too great a risk.

Taylormade posted a video on YouTube today with their players hitting wedges and they talk to DJ during this and talks about his preferred distance and how he approaches different distances. 

[cnosil]

13 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Taylormade posted a video on YouTube today with their players hitting wedges and they talk to DJ during this and talks about his preferred distance and how he approaches different distances. 

I just watched that video;  thought it was terrible.    Interviewer: Is that a little more than 8 to 10 degrees of shaft lean?   DJ:I have no idea.

[THEZIPR23]

1 hour ago, Cory O said:

Thanks for posting this! I think it is a much more effective way of thinking about it than I was going about. I am hitting driver on pretty much every single Par 4 and 5. This pretty much always leaves me a full shot I'm comfortable with (which is why I would take the "no three putts" instead of the 300 yard drives to bring things all the way back to the start). The short 4's where my driver would leave me less than a full shot are the ones that tend to have the trouble in the driver landing zone anyways, so it makes more sense to play it back.

Where I diverge from the "get it as close as you can every shot" strategy is on Par 5's with my second. On a 540 yard hole, if I have 280 in, I strongly believe my scoring will be better on average hitting my 180 club then 100 club than the 230 club and having 50. First because the 180 yard club has a better chance of succeeded for me (and much lower chance of going horribly wrong) and I don't feel like I'll do THAT much better from 50 as opposed to 100 yards to make up for that. That's just for me though, everybody has to play the game they're most confident with.

Pro’s are changing the way they play par 5’s. Not apples to apples of course but there is a lot of data that suggests closer is better. 

[Cory O]

31 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Pro’s are changing the way they play par 5’s. Not apples to apples of course but there is a lot of data that suggests closer is better. 

Cool chart! Looks like a lot of the increase is in the 29 yards or less category (basically going for it). If I had the distance to go for it in two (or when there is a Par 5 under 500 yards), I'd be going for it a lot more often. The range I personally despise (30-70 yards) has remained relatively unchanged.

[Firebird]

NO more three putts - I can hit a drive 300yds and if there is one thing that get me angry with myself is hitting a par 5 green in 2 or having a 20ft put for birdie and 3 putting. Particularly when one of my best clubs is my putter.

[Chip Strokes]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

I just watched that video;  thought it was terrible.    Interviewer: Is that a little more than 8 to 10 degrees of shaft lean?   DJ:I have no idea.

he’s not the most eloquent guy, that’s for sure. at the beginning of the video he seemed annoyed about being interviewed but actually ended up having a decent back and forth with the guy. 

[cnosil]

2 minutes ago, Chip Strokes said:

he’s not the most eloquent guy, that’s for sure. at the beginning of the video he seemed annoyed about being interviewed but actually ended up having a decent back and forth with the guy. 

In my opinion, the big thing it shows is that golfers can hit shots and play good golf, but they don't know everything about how they actually hit the shots,  their numbers, and all about equipment.   Some players do; Tiger is an example,,  but I would guess that the majority have no clue or even want to know.  

[Chip Strokes]

Just now, cnosil said:

In my opinion, the big thing it shows is that golfers can hit shots and play good golf, but they don't know everything about how they actually hit the shots,  their numbers, and all about equipment.   Some players do; Tiger is an example,,  but I would guess that the majority have no clue or even want to know.  

pretty standard across all sports. you’ve got guys who are extremely data driven and analytical and really dig into the process, and some who can’t be bothered with all that but just need to know that it works when it counts. 

[cnosil]

5 minutes ago, Chip Strokes said:

pretty standard across all sports. you’ve got guys who are extremely data driven and analytical and really dig into the process, and some who can’t be bothered with all that but just need to know that it works when it counts. 

yep.  Just kind of reminded me of Faldo's commentary on Bryson and graphite wedge shafts and how people thought that Faldo has to be right because he was a pro golfer.  

[Micah T]

I honestly don’t know which to choose : my avg drive is 285 and I 3 putt about once a round. But when do I 3 putt? Usually on a par 5 that I reached in 2...

But generally speaking, the harder the course, the more I’ll 3 putt. Not sure how many strokes I’d save by being 15 yards closer on 12-14 holes, but I know eliminating 3 putts would save me at least an entire stroke each round: more if I’m playing a difficult course.

 

 

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[RickyBobby_PR]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

I just watched that video;  thought it was terrible.    Interviewer: Is that a little more than 8 to 10 degrees of shaft lean?   DJ:I have no idea.

Yeah the guy was asking some dumb questions. I liked it just for listening to dj talk about his approach to hitting the shots 

[carfig]

I’ll take 299 and no 3 putts..ever


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[Cory O]

10 minutes ago, carfig said:

I’ll take 299 and no 3 putts..ever


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Let’s be fair and call it 290...(carry naturally)

[Peaksy68]

Definitely taking the 300 yards. It's rare for me to have more than 1 3 putt in a round, so that would save me minimal shots.  Hitting 3 clubs less into the green would likely save me several shots a round.

Unlike many people, I don't often hit it 300. It needs some wind or slope helping, or it's the extremely rare "how did I do that?" swing that I wish I could replicate.

The only guys I've seen do it consistently have all been plus markers and they play a totally different game than me.

[HeathS16]

No three putts, honestly makes me more angry and a hooked drive


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[cciciora13]

Love all the discussion that this fun little post brought out. Seems as if in today's PGA, distance is King.

[fixyurdivot]

On 9/10/2020 at 5:05 AM, palvord said:

300yd drives.

I gotta give myself the best chance to score the lowest number possible, and that's what distance does. I'll gladly three putt once or twice per round if it meant I was hitting 300yd drives. 

Yea, I think the argument for no 3 putt is the most logical - it is most likely going to improve scoring more often.  That said, having just played a round with a former professional player who was rocketing 300+ yard drives off into the rocky mountain stratosphere, and whose was putting for eagles on two of the par 5's, being a BIG distance player (with decent or better accuracy) is definitely an advantage.  Even his sprayed drives cleared the strategically placed tree lines and hazards the course designer intended to capture.

So, I'd like both please. 

[Lacassem]

I am typically close to 300ish and am currently about 56% fairways. There are rounds where putting is lights out and others where I just can’t get it down. I would take no 3 putts, I can deal with scrambling to get on the green but 3 putts derail me mentally sometimes.

[silver & black]

I'm going to renege on my earlier post a bit. If I could be relatively certain that 300 yard drives would be playable most of the time, I would probably opt for the distance. 300 yard drives are useless if you have to punch out of the trees or are in a hazard..... or playing from the adjacent fairway over trees. For me, I think no 3 putts would lead to better scores... unless I could be fairly accurate with 300 yard drives.

[Lacassem]

On 9/10/2020 at 11:42 AM, The 19th Hole said:

While I agree that people should practice the shorter shots more than they currently do, I disagree that it is always easier to be closer. Even watching the tour, they don't always just hit it as close as possible. They lay up to "their number". differences in people's swings and comfort levels as well as pin locations and green firmness will determine the best place to lay up from. There are for sure times I would much rather have a full swing in so that I don't have to think about back swing length, or so I can get extra height on the ball, or so I can generate more spin. 

I am in this boat. My around the green has gotten much better past few years but I’ll take a 100 yard full shot over a partial 60* from 50. Lots of discussion about taking things out of play as well here. This was driven home on my irons only round in CCC4....lowest score of the year because I was planning full shots, don’t need to be closer to the hole to score (again just me everyone’s game is different)