How has your play style changed over the years?

[pineneedlespro]

I never have been able to hit the golf ball far, but always straight. Now that I'm over age of 65 and have had 2 back operations, 3 shoulder surgeries, and a hip replacement.

I feel that I have not lost any distance (due to newer clubs and balls), but cannot make a full backswing. I have 2 jobs (one at a local golf course--another as a package handler a very demanding physical position) to keep up with inflation----cannot retire yet.

[ChuckZ]

Like to think I no longer go for the home run ball and manage my game better as I have aged/matured.  Like to think there is a time and place for every shot in the bag and at 76 am more selective and get more birdies that way.  Also has to do with who is setting the pins where we play, a golfer or one who knows nothing about golf.  Not every shot off the tee requires a driver.  Golf at my age is about really enjoying the game, having fun and not chasing errant shots.  

[billybogey]

Simply Sport's Fans. I'm out on a Day Pass!!

[Kansas King]

I grew up golfing in a rural area on a nice nine-hole course that was relatively short (~6000 yards from the tips) but had some challenging shots and slopy greens. I was mostly self-taught and dependent on my parents taking me out to the course which they did regularly. My biggest issue was largely the lack of lessons or any good guidance. Yes, I did get better over time but I'll never forget wrecking my swing around second grade when I spent a lot of free time nailing pinecones in the yard across the road. It took almost a year to recover from whatever horrible habits I picked up doing that. I vaguely remember breaking 50 the first time but I don't remember how old I was. Then when I got to 7th grade my parents took me to a pro for my first lesson and I learned a lot. I got to high school and had a rather volatile four years of golf on the team. I won a few tournaments and went to state every year but my season could range from shooting in the 70s to almost triple digits. Everything changed my senior year though.

I went back to the pro that I had taken some lessons from before, in fact he was the only pro I had ever taken lessons from. I was playing poorly midway through my senior year. The previous tournament I had shot 95 and was debating what the point of everything is as most golfers do. My pro was taking a different approach. He asked lots of conceptual questions about what I was trying to do in certain parts of my swing. He made me think and provided perspective through his questions. Then we drilled on swinging the whole club back with the hands and the whole club towards the target using my arms from the elbow to the shoulder. We drilled on that for an hour and didn't do anything else. He had taught me the swing methods of Manuel de la Torre (MDLT). The next day I had a tournament, shot 74 and won by six strokes. I've been working to follow the MDLT swing method ever since. I also came to the realization that golf is more of a mental game than I ever could have imagined. 

College golfing years were rather tough. I fell into some old habits and didn't really take any lessons. Towards the end of college I don't know what changed but I seemed to have gained some perspective on golf and I started scoring significantly better. It seemed I learned where I should focus and my golf game has improved ever since. I would say that my golf game has become significantly more consistent over the last five years. I think it is mainly because I've learned to stop overthinking and getting lost in various swing thoughts. I can now focus on what I'm trying to do and even if I'm swinging poorly, I can manage what I'm doing to still put down a respectable number at the end of the day. 

My biggest problem today is the lack of instructors that understand and teach the MDLT or club-based swing method. My old high school instructor is in his 70s and is five hours away. It's really sad that more pros don't teach the MDLT swing method because it truly is a perspective changing swing thought that is good for not just people wanting to follow his methods but for every golfer even if they don't live by his methods. It's always tough to watch a golfer get lost in random swing thoughts when there are alternative methods that remove the complications that make the game unpleasant.

[GolfSpy_APH]

How many of you started the game when you were younger or did you pick it up later in life? How has that had an effect on the changes which you have gone through over the years?

[jolter1]

This is easy to explain. I started playing in my 30's and now have hit 70. Was a crusher of the ball early in life and now my game is fairways and greens, with a short game, as the distance factor has kicked in.

[Striker]

I would say yes, I feel like I have gotten a better feel of how to play the game. In my younger days, I swung as hard as a I could and went and found my ball and hit it again. Over the years, I've learned to figure out how to plot my way around the course and hit to spots. Now, that being said I still have days where sometimes I just decide I want to swing hard and launch it but those days are fewer. The other thing is I spend more time on my short game since I figured out my ability to scramble will impact my scores since I'm not going to hit 12 or 13 greens a round. Lastly, for me it is about having fun and enjoying the game. I don't let bad shots effect me as much and I remind myself to have fun. It's me against the course and I'm not competing against anyone else. 

[NoRebound]

Yes, in my 20s and 30s I was a flat out bomber.  300 yards with a wound ball and a Northwestern driver was common.  That kind of power sometimes had me playing from the wrong fairway and I had zero short game.  My handicap ran around 6

Now I'm 64 and max out around 270 (once or twice a round) but my short game has improved with age.  My putter is more reliable but my handicap is still right there between 5-6.  

I often wonder just how far I could have hit it back then with the technology we have today.  

[Beakbryce]

I started with wood woods and tourney irons, so yes, I would say things have changed. For instance, I had a Wilson R90 wedge to go with my PW for short game stuff. Now I have 3 Vokeys and a PW. Long game was 1, 3 woods and 1-PW irons. Now 4 woods and 3 hybrids. Bullseye Putter then and Odyssey Fang or Ping Answer now.   So the equipment has changed. But the mind set has never changed. Buy quality clubs and figure out how to hit them. Take advantage of technology to keep the game fun. Swing hard. In a week today's score is a thing of the past so always think about going for it. You will learn more about yourself every time you do it. Just let it go if it doesn't work.

I'm retired so this philosophy is predicated on playing a lot. If you keep a handicap and play once a week, being conservative may be more important for you to judge where you are in the game. It's all relative.

[chisag]

9 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

How many of you started the game when you were younger or did you pick it up later in life? How has that had an effect on the changes which you have gone through over the years?

 

... I seem to be opposite of many that bombed it young. Started in my 30's and the balata ball off a persimmon wood curved off the planet when over swinging. I honed my game on accuracy and consistency, especially with my irons. Fast forward to now and my swing is still best with an iron in my hand but I regret not striving for more distance off the tee when 460cc drivers hit the market. As some know I tried speed training last winter and it completely wrecked my tempo. I would like to think I am happy with my distance and at age 70 continue to be as accurate as possible without losing distance but not looking to gain any. But long ball sirens always summon my not so inner child ... 

[funkyjudge]

29 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I seem to be opposite of many that bombed it young. Started in my 30's and the balata ball off a persimmon wood curved off the planet when over swinging. I honed my game on accuracy and consistency, especially with my irons. Fast forward to now and my swing is still best with an iron in my hand but I regret not striving for more distance off the tee when 460cc drivers hit the market. As some know I tried speed training last winter and it completely wrecked my tempo. I would like to think I am happy with my distance and at age 70 continue to be as accurate as possible without losing distance but not looking to gain any. But long ball sirens always summon my not so inner child ... 

I also began playing golf in the mid-1980s at age 36, having been a competitive baseball (not softball) player until that time. However, at age 41-42 I got bitten by the long drive “bug”. This was about the same time that the first metalwoods hit the market, followed a couple of years later by composite-headed drivers from Yonex (remember when P. Mickelson played them plus graphite-shafted Yonex irons in the early 1990s?)

By the time I was 44 years old, I had more than a little success on the ReMax long drive circuit, winning some local and regional events and placing top five in several other events. In 1993, when I finished third in the Eastern Regional Championship on the ReMax WLD Tour, a Yonex representative approached me and asked if I would use their drivers and shafts in competition in exchange for travel money, personal use equipment and a small bonus for making the ReMax WLD Finals. I accepted the offer, but never made it past the first stage of qualifying for the national finals. No big money (which really wasn’t that much in those days), just a couple of free trips, meals and lodging.

 I did make some lasting friendships in those long drive days, including Brian Pavlet (he’s 18-20 years younger than me and was just coming up on the long drive circuit), Pat Dempsey, who is more my contemporary and who won many LD titles, and John Oldenburg, who was VP of Engineering/Shaft Development at Aldila during my WLD days. It also became the launch pad for my relationships with several equipment manufacturers (Accra/UST Mamiya, Fujikura, Mitsubishi, KBS, Tour Edge Golf and SMT, among others). I still represent several of these companies.

One long-lasting negative effect of my long drive history is that I still have the long swing and quick tempo that I developed more than 30 years ago (clubhead speed not so much, although it is still very fast for a guy who will turn 74 years old this month). I also have a draw that turns into a pull-hook when I go after it too hard, and then a fade to a high block if I start trying to steer the ball to fight the hooks.

Old habits, particularly ones that were ingrained into muscle memory by tens to hundreds of thousands of swings, die very hard … if they ever die at all.
 

Edited March 1, 2023 by funkyjudge

[Invader Zim 315]

I'm currently 25, so this is a super interesting forum.

At the minute I try to swing easy, always 80 or so percent, always just trying to hit fairways and greens. I'm still able to usually poke it 280 or so, but I don't know, I've just always enjoyed the look of Els and Couples, not young Tiger or Bryson.  But I do wonder what would happen if i commit to going full tilt, I just don't like the idea of playing a fairway over.

Love the opportunity to learn from those who have been around the game for years, even decades! 

[rrordona]

I've been playing for about 25 years. I picked up the game when I had knee surgery and hoops/tennis were no longer sports I could play. 

I've always been able to hit driver but no go on wedges. Over the years with kids etc, practice became tough. Playing was even less as AAU games took over. 

With that said, I got down to a 7 at my best with my goal of 5 every year. Back in 2016 I had a health issue and it put me way back. Strength, speed all gone. I was so frustrated that I couldn't hit like I used to, that I went minimal sets, and "played" golf vs golf "swing". I've hovered at 10 ever since. Now both my boys play so I just go and enjoy the walk. Nothing beats that.

This season I'm going to try a different wedge setup and see if 14 clubs will be beneficial. Either way I won't be taking golf too seriously, but will always try to go as low as possible.

[silver & black]

7 hours ago, Invader Zim 315 said:

I'm currently 25, so this is a super interesting forum.

At the minute I try to swing easy, always 80 or so percent, always just trying to hit fairways and greens. I'm still able to usually poke it 280 or so, but I don't know, I've just always enjoyed the look of Els and Couples, not young Tiger or Bryson.  But I do wonder what would happen if i commit to going full tilt, I just don't like the idea of playing a fairway over.

Love the opportunity to learn from those who have been around the game for years, even decades! 

That is some great history. I have the same "problem" with the long swing. I still can't understand why I can't hit the ball as far as I used to. I am definitely older.... but, nothing feels different out on the course, other than the damn ball just won't go as far. WHY!? I don't feel any different. I still have the same clubs. Why does the ball go 10 - 15  yards shorter??? It doesn't matter how hard I swing, it just won't go as far as it used to. I really wish someone could explain why?

 

edit: this was a reply to funkyjudge. I have no idea how it ended up here. chalk it up to more unknown s**t from getting old...lol.

Edited March 2, 2023 by silver & black

[chisag]

57 minutes ago, silver & black said:

I still can't understand why I can't hit the ball as far as I used to. I am definitely older.... but, nothing feels different out on the course, other than the damn ball just won't go as far. WHY!? I don't feel any different. I still have the same clubs. Why does the ball go 10 - 15  yards shorter??? It doesn't matter how hard I swing, it just won't go as far as it used to. I really wish someone could explain why?

edit: this was a reply to funkyjudge. I have no idea how it ended up here. chalk it up to more unknown s**t from getting old...lol.

 

... Why ask a question if you are just gonna answer it? 

... "Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30 and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60 [4,5]. This involuntary loss of muscle mass, strength, and function is a fundamental cause of and contributor to disability in older people".

[silver & black]

11 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Why ask a question if you are just gonna answer it? 

... "Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30 and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60 [4,5]. This involuntary loss of muscle mass, strength, and function is a fundamental cause of and contributor to disability in older people".

I know. It was more of a tongue in cheek/rhetorical question.

I think most of us north of 60 never thought it would happen... at least not so suddenly. You still feel good, but you just can't get it out there. It's like one season I was still hitting it as far as I always did, and the next it was like someone flipped a switch and It was gone...lol. I'm not ready to be old... yet.  

[Merlin1313]

1 hour ago, silver & black said:

I know. It was more of a tongue in cheek/rhetorical question.

I think most of us north of 60 never thought it would happen... at least not so suddenly. You still feel good, but you just can't get it out there. It's like one season I was still hitting it as far as I always did, and the next it was like someone flipped a switch and It was gone...lol. I'm not ready to be old... yet.  

I'm right there with ya!!!!!!!!! I can't believe that I'm the same age as "old" people

[MacTourney]

12 minutes ago, Merlin1313 said:

I'm right there with ya!!!!!!!!! I can't believe that I'm the same age as "old" people

But we get senior priced coffee at Mickey D's so we have that going for us.

[BMDubya]

My game hasn’t really changed all that much. I’ve been relatively long, from when I started. Still am, for my age. What has changed is, my expectations. And once those changed, so did my handicap & my game! With all the social media presence, everyone should be able to figure out their own games. If you have time to dig into some of the numbers (%s) of the pros, then apply those to your game, your game should improve. Between comparing numbers & knowing your aim points, you can really make an impact on your cap. For me, I play my own game.  I try to pick off a birdie or two, on the par 5s, and hopefully get lucky on a shorter par 4. I typically struggle with the par 3s. But now that I know that, I’ve been working on those. 

[Merlin1313]

2 hours ago, MacTourney said:

But we get senior priced coffee at Mickey D's so we have that going for us.

Yep- and one of my favorite liquor stores give me  an "old fart" discount- so there's that too!!!!!

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I don't think my approach to the game has changed much. I'm always conservative, meaning no hero shots. The only thing that has changed are the tools of the trade. The 3, 4 and 5 irons are out of the bag these days and replaced by 7 wood and hybrid. I'm using technology to get the ball where it needs to be on a better trajectory to achieve better results. Father time has spoken, and I have listened!  

[chisag]

9 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I'm always conservative, meaning no hero shots.

 

... What do you consider hero shots? I will take some risks when I am swinging well and have a chance to reach a par 5 in 2, but many days if I am not totally comfortable with my swing I will just advance as far as possible but short of the trouble. I am talking a hazard left or right, not a hero shot flying the ball over water. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

21 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... What do you consider hero shots? I will take some risks when I am swinging well and have a chance to reach a par 5 in 2, but many days if I am not totally comfortable with my swing I will just advance as far as possible but short of the trouble. I am talking a hazard left or right, not a hero shot flying the ball over water. 

What I should say is if I get in trouble, I get safely back to the fairway giving myself a chance to hit it close and hopefully one putt. The hero shot is trying to hit through, over, or bend the ball around trees with a less than likely success rate compared just chipping it out to the fairway. I try to stay away from something that potentially could only make the problem worse. 

[chisag]

35 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

What I should say is if I get in trouble, I get safely back to the fairway giving myself a chance to hit it close and hopefully one putt. The hero shot is trying to hit through, over, or bend the ball around trees with a less than likely success rate compared just chipping it out to the fairway. I try to stay away from something that potentially could only make the problem worse. 

 

... Got ya! I had been playing about 10 years and went on a golf trip to Dallas with a multiple CC winner from Jersey that just hit everything high and straight with Ping OS irons. Very little wind ever at his CC so the Texas nature fan really hurt him. He pushed a drive into the woods with a strong left to right wind but had a good 5 yd opening and  he punched out backwards. WTF!?! But he still had an iron in. Just missed his par putt and bogied the hole. I asked him why he didn't take advantage of the 5 yd opening and his reply changed my approach "If I can't hit the most forgiving club in my bag though a 100yd wide window, why would I try and squeeze a 9 iron under branches though a 5 yd opening? Sure, there is a good chance I could pull it off but if I don't, I am looking at a scorecard wrecking number. 99% of the time I am gonna take the absolute surest escape route and put my ball back in play." 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

1 minute ago, chisag said:

 

... Got ya! I had been playing about 10 years and went on a golf trip to Dallas with a multiple CC winner from Jersey that just hit everything high and straight with Ping OS irons. Very little wind ever at his CC so the Texas nature fan really hurt him. He pushed a drive into the woods with a strong left to right wind abut had a good 5 yd opening and then he punched out backwards. WTF!?! But he still had an iron in. Just missed his par and bogied the hole and I asked him why he didn't take advantage of the 5 yd opening and his reply changed my approach "If I can't hit the most forgiving club in my bag though a 100yd wide window, why would I try and squeeze a 9 iron under branches and though a 5 yd opening? Sure, there is a good chance I could pull it off but if I don't, I am looking at a scorecard wrecking number. 99% of the time I am gonna take the absolute surest escape route and put my ball back in play." 

Exactly my point of view.

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

 

... What do you consider hero shots? I will take some risks when I am swinging well and have a chance to reach a par 5 in 2, but many days if I am not totally comfortable with my swing I will just advance as far as possible but short of the trouble. I am talking a hazard left or right, not a hero shot flying the ball over water. 

I don't see anything here that constitute a hero shot.  That's just a different way to play a par 5 after analyzing your position.

53 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

What I should say is if I get in trouble, I get safely back to the fairway giving myself a chance to hit it close and hopefully one putt. The hero shot is trying to hit through, over, or bend the ball around trees with a less than likely success rate compared just chipping it out to the fairway. I try to stay away from something that potentially could only make the problem worse. 

To me the hero shot would be something like this IF there is a less than 50% chance of pulling it off.  I guess everyone's hero shots are different.

I think other factors may come into play depending on the ability of the player.  For you guys that are scratch or better, a hero shot makes very little sense.  As you say, get back in play and then get up to the green; maybe a par or take the bogey.  However, that play may not seem like the best course of action to higher handicappers if there is some chance to advance the ball.  

My case in point:  I have one par 5 hole where if I don't hit my usual fairway finder, I will likely be behind a group of trees on the right; no way to go around or over.  75% of the time I will make a bogey on this hole when I hit the fairway and if the wind is up, it's a certain bogey and likely a double.  I just can't get there.  When I'm behind those trees, I do have a couple of openings where I can hit a FW and get close to where I would be if I had hit in the fairway.  I've done it many times but also missed some.  If I pitch back into the fairway, it's almost a certain double, possible triple.  The risk always seems reasonable to me, if I have a decent lie, since the score will probably be the same.

[Jim Shaw]

2 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I don't think my approach to the game has changed much. I'm always conservative, meaning no hero shots. The only thing that has changed are the tools of the trade. The 3, 4 and 5 irons are out of the bag these days and replaced by 7 wood and hybrid. I'm using technology to get the ball where it needs to be on a better trajectory to achieve better results. Father time has spoken, and I have listened!  

In regards to "hero shots" once I started playing high level competition those slowly went out of my mind... It took a long time though... "maybe I can hit between those two trees, maybe those rocks won't get in my way, etc. etc." now I just chip out lol

[chisag]

5 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

I don't see anything here that constitute a hero shot.  That's just a different way to play a par 5 after analyzing your position.

 

... Just checking out Toms definition. Why comes to mind is hole a #5 on my home course. Uphill par 5 off the tee then slightly downhill to the green that slopes up a little just before the green. The entire fairway slopes right to left on the second shot and as you know fairways are hard and fast in Phoenix during winter so a shot to the middle of the fairway is marginal, anything left of center or a draw will run in the hazard filled with thorny trees and bushes so you can't even retrieve your ball. 

... There is a long bunker 60 yards short and right of the fairway you have to just skirt that snatches any ball starting a little too far right. A green side bunker front left will save a well struck shot hit long enough from rolling in the hazard. Point being it takes a very good shot to reach the green so even a well struck shot to the middle of the fairway will end up in the green side bunker or someone playing a soft draw, my natural shot shape can even end up in the hazard. 

... Great risk reward hole that rewards a very good shot, doesn't punish a good shot but a marginal to bad shot will end up in the hazard. I have the skill to reach the green in 2 (or just short) but probably in those two bunkers an equal amount and of course have taken some bad swings and ended up in the hazard. But the chance for an eagle from 477yds or a birdie from the bunkers is well worth the risk for me. That said I play with many that don't have a repeatable swing that end up in the thorny desert more often than not. For those players it is certainly a "hero shot".  

[funkyjudge]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Just checking out Toms definition. Why comes to mind is hole a #5 on my home course. Uphill par 5 off the tee then slightly downhill to the green that slopes up a little just before the green. The entire fairway slopes right to left on the second shot and as you know fairways are hard and fast in Phoenix during winter so a shot to the middle of the fairway is marginal, anything left of center or a draw will run in the hazard filled with thorny trees and bushes so you can't even retrieve your ball. 

... There is a long bunker 60 yards short and right of the fairway you have to just skirt that snatches any ball starting a little too far right. A green side bunker front left will save a well struck shot hit long enough from rolling in the hazard. Point being it takes a very good shot to reach the green so even a well struck shot to the middle of the fairway will end up in the green side bunker or someone playing a soft draw, my natural shot shape can even end up in the hazard. 

... Great risk reward hole that rewards a very good shot, doesn't punish a good shot but a marginal to bad shot will end up in the hazard. I have the skill to reach the green in 2 (or just short) but probably in those two bunkers an equal amount and of course have taken some bad swings and ended up in the hazard. But the chance for an eagle from 477yds or a birdie from the bunkers is well worth the risk for me. That said I play with many that don't have a repeatable swing that end up in the thorny desert more often than not. For those players it is certainly a "hero shot".  

We have a par-5 (hole #14) on the course where I have been playing in one, and sometimes two, evening leagues for at least ten years. I have always considered it to be a very stupid design, and still do, even though I have now moved up to playing from the senior tees. It can play at more than 520 yards from the white tees, and about 440 yards from the golds, and is a 90* dogleg left design that has a large 200 to 285-yard water hazard running all the way along the left side only about 10-12 yards left of the fairway. This hazard ends where the fairway turns left and drops about 50 to 70 feet to a small island of fairway traversed by a creek that runs across the fairway from the lake/pond.

Totally bold (or completely crazy) golfers can try to carry the hazard by driving their ball across the hazard and over some fairly tall to REALLY tall trees. The problem with doing this is that you then bring the creek into play, unless you aim severely left and attempt to not only cut across the pond/lake and also the creek. From the white tee box, this requires a 275 to 305-yard carry, depending on the line that the golfer takes.  If you attempt the most severe angle, you also must hit the ball over OB that is on the far side of the pond and the left perimeter of the creek that comes out from that pond.

When I first started playing this course, I almost always went for the hero shot, and sometimes left myself as little as 100-110 yards to the center of the green. This resulted in more than a few birdies and at least a couple of eagles (keep in mind that I was playing the hole at 520+ yards back then). However, it also brought the possibility of taking anything from a double bogey to a 9 into the equation.

After moving up to the gold tees, I cut the corner more than a couple of times, although hitting from these shorter tees (by some 80-85 yards) requires getting one’s tee ball elevated very quickly to get over the trees next to the pond. After hitting a couple of tee shots OB left into the soccer fields that are just beyond and left of the pond, I stopped doing this. For the last couple of years, I have been hitting a 5-wood off the tee on this hole, keeping my tee shot straight to a bit right (the fairway slopes toward the pond and there is a steep slope from the left of the fairway all the way down to the water).  As long as I keep my ball out of the woods to the right of the fairway, I am left with between 195-220 yards to a front pin position and no more than 245-250 yards to the back edge of the green. I cannot say how many times I have reached the front half of this green in two after adopting this strategy. This has resulted in dozens (possibly scores) of birdies and a few eagles on the hole. I always play as the #1 or #2 golfer (beginning this year, always as the #1, as the other guy has retired and moved south), and my regular playing partner would always say to me before we even got to where my tee shot had settled, “7-wood or 4-hybrid tonight?”  He knew that I would be going for the green in two if I was inside of 220 yards out and had a decent lie.

Not playing any “hero shots” on this hole beginning about 3 years ago has eliminated a few “wow” moments, but it has also completely eliminated double bogey or worse.

I still think that this hole is about as stupid a design as I have played anywhere!

Edited March 2, 2023 by funkyjudge

[funkyjudge]

8 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Got ya! I had been playing about 10 years and went on a golf trip to Dallas with a multiple CC winner from Jersey that just hit everything high and straight with Ping OS irons. Very little wind ever at his CC so the Texas nature fan really hurt him. He pushed a drive into the woods with a strong left to right wind but had a good 5 yd opening and  he punched out backwards. WTF!?! But he still had an iron in. Just missed his par putt and bogied the hole. I asked him why he didn't take advantage of the 5 yd opening and his reply changed my approach "If I can't hit the most forgiving club in my bag though a 100yd wide window, why would I try and squeeze a 9 iron under branches though a 5 yd opening? Sure, there is a good chance I could pull it off but if I don't, I am looking at a scorecard wrecking number. 99% of the time I am gonna take the absolute surest escape route and put my ball back in play." 

I knew that guy EXTREMELY well.  He passed away about 5-6 years ago and is sorely missed by his friends and golfing acquaintances — although he was quite the notorious sandbagger (thus, his nickname).

Edited March 3, 2023 by funkyjudge