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Is workability overrated in amateurs?

I think its a little important at a certain skill level and its equally important to know when to use it. I know I like to work the ball when the shot warrents it. I'm much more comfortable hitting a draw, than I am hitting a fade. Thats a skill I want to teach myself and be able to hit on command. I worked hard on working the ball with my driver on command. Do I hit a double cross from time to time, sure, so do the pros so that comes with it. Its a matter of what you are comfortable doing at your skill level.
 
Highly overrated.
 
I agree that workability is not particularly important for amateurs to improve scores. But personally, shooting low scores(every once in awhile) isn't the only reason I enjoy golf. The mental process of envisioning a shaped shot to a tucked pin is much more enjoyable than playing to the center of the green(even if possibly sacrificing a few strokes). And every once in awhile, the feeling of perfectly executing that shot is even better.
 
Depends on the player and their course management skills too. But for player 10 and above I'd say it's not needed
 
The courses played might also have a bearing on this. If working the ball is not required, then it certainly doesn't have to be something that you focus on.
 
I'd say learn to hit it straight and more importantly work on your putting. If you can hit it straight and two putt and occasionally sink a birdie you will be a low handicapper if not scratch.
 
Canadan said:
I think it's very overrated. One of my regular playing partners obsesses over working the ball, yet it's one of the biggest downfalls of his 17 handicap.

Hit the ball straight and you're bound to get into single digits. I know I don't bother working the ball.
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Think this sums it up perfectly. Make the game simple, then work on the small details.
 
I don't know how high people rate working the ball, so I don't know if its over-rated or not. If you can hit the ball straight a majority of the time, then that's a great skill and you should be happy with it....perhaps you only need to work the ball when there is a tree in your way, or if you are looking for a specific type of landing at the green, in which case the majority of the time you will be happy with a straight shot.

Me, I can't hit the ball straight very well. It is much easier for me to hit a draw, so I play for that shot the majority of the time. If a draw is going to get me in trouble, then I try working the ball the other direction...but I leave some room for error in case I accidentally hit it straight. For me the importance of working the ball is directly proportional to my distance from the green:

Off the tee, I think everyone benefits from determining a preferred direction to curve the ball. If you can aim the ball at one edge of the fairway and let the ball curve back the other direction, then your landing area is twice as wide as someone who aims for the middle of the fairway and tries to hit the ball straight. Plus, I pay one really old style course in Atlanta that has a few tight, tree-lined doglegs, and you either have to curve your tee shot or play a FW and hope for the best.

For approach shots, there is nothing at all wrong with "taking dead aim" and firing straight at the pin. Like I said above, its much easier for me to hit a draw, so I usually do, but I will whatever shot I think will miss the hazards around the green.

From 100 yards and in, I try to hit the ball straight.

I did get a good laugh one day when I stopped by to see my club fitter, and he was working with a young guy who was trying to become a tour pro. They had built him a driver, and this guy could hit drive after drive over 300 yards, and you could probably cover all of his shots with one blanket.....but he was complaining that he couldn't work the ball. I was thinking "geez, just aim further left if you need too....."
 
Wonton said:
This is true. I'm a natural draw hitter and for me to fade is nearly impossible.
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I'm the opposite, i'm a natural fade hitter and a draw is near impossible . I've learned to play with my natural shot instead of trying to fight it, thus i only have two things to work with, slice or more slice haha

This is why workability is hard for me since I focus on hitting straighter shots
 
leiruagetro said:
I'm the opposite, i'm a natural fade hitter and a draw is near impossible . I've learned to play with my natural shot instead of trying to fight it, thus i only have two things to work with, slice or more slice haha

This is why workability is hard for me since I focus on hitting straighter shots
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Yeah, I tried to fade one yesterday and it turned into a huge slice. Never doing that again.
 
I definitely think workability is a good skill to have, but 9 times out of 10 you don't need to do it.
 
I guess it depends on what you mean by amateurs.

Do I think that if you are just beginning to play golf, or if you struggle to break 90 that you should be focused on shaping your shots? Not particularly, but do what you have to do to enjoy the game.

Do I think that the amateurs that play in the U.S. Am and those variety of tournaments benefit from being able to shape their shots? Absolutely.

The word amateur is a very broad term that applies to a very wide variety of golfers.
 
To be able to aim 5 yards right, and hit a consistent 5 yard draw is nice. If you hit it perfect, it's dead on. If you overcook it, you're about 5 yards left. If you hit it straight, you're 5 yards right. And visa versa for a fade.

However, amateurs can't control it like this...they simply are not that precise and don't strike the ball well enough to do this. So, I think it is best to learn to hit it straight or have a "stock" shot that they lean on unless it is absolutely necessary to work the ball a certain direction or a certain amount.

For me, I used to hit a 2-3 yard fade as my natural shot. Now I hit a 2-3 yard draw. I can work the ball either way up to probably 40 yards or so...but the most I try to work/move it, the less control I have, and the less consistent I am. Stick with what your natural ball pattern is, and play that.
 
Being able to work the ball is one thing....being able to control it the majority of the time is another thing all together.
It's not how you put the ball in the hole....it's how many strokes it took you to do it.
 
Mulligan9111 said:
I guess it depends on what you mean by amateurs.

Do I think that if you are just beginning to play golf, or if you struggle to break 90 that you should be focused on shaping your shots? Not particularly, but do what you have to do to enjoy the game.

Do I think that the amateurs that play in the U.S. Am and those variety of tournaments benefit from being able to shape their shots? Absolutely.

The word amateur is a very broad term that applies to a very wide variety of golfers.
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This.

I define "amateurs" in golf as those who are at the level to play US Am. For those who are beginning to learn golf or high handicappers, I refer to them as "beginners" or "hackers".

If I played wide open courses or links golf, then working the ball wouldn't be a big deal. Most of the courses I do play however have doglegs and tree-lined fairways (really tall trees). It's very difficult to go over the tops of the trees so the better option is to work a draw or fade around the corner.

Those who can only hit straight end up running right through the fairway and into tree trouble or deep rough (on those holes where the first part of the fairway is short but straight and then the fairway runs on for a long distance best the dogleg).
 
I've never tried to purposely draw or cut the ball once in any round I've ever played.
 
I was watching a tournament clinic once and Vijay Singh was the pro doing the clinic. Vijay seems like a stiff guy, but is actually pretty funny, witty, and does kind of tell it like it is (or how he thinks it is). One of the clinic goers asked about working the ball and what he needed to do to draw around tree, fade into a tucked pin location, etc. Vijay, without missing a beat, said, "you aren't a touring pro, you need to focus on hitting the ball straight". It was probably the smack you in your face truth the average amateur needed to hear. Now I'm not saying don't work on it, or try to incorporate it into your game at a certain point and time, and I don't think Vijay was saying that either, it just seems like the average amateur could enjoy the game more if they did just focus on hitting the ball straight, instead of trying to be a touring pro and hooking, fading, cutting, drawing, stinging, when its really not needed.

Just my .02. Actually, it was Vijay's .02, I am just sharing. LOL.
 
JeffReedMO said:
I was watching a tournament clinic once and Vijay Singh was the pro doing the clinic. Vijay seems like a stiff guy, but is actually pretty funny, witty, and does kind of tell it like it is (or how he thinks it is). One of the clinic goers asked about working the ball and what he needed to do to draw around tree, fade into a tucked pin location, etc. Vijay, without missing a beat, said, "you aren't a touring pro, you need to focus on hitting the ball straight". It was probably the smack you in your face truth the average amateur needed to hear. Now I'm not saying don't work on it, or try to incorporate it into your game at a certain point and time, and I don't think Vijay was saying that either, it just seems like the average amateur could enjoy the game more if they did just focus on hitting the ball straight, instead of trying to be a touring pro and hooking, fading, cutting, drawing, stinging, when its really not needed.

Just my .02. Actually, it was Vijay's .02, I am just sharing. LOL.
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The guy is the golfing Gandhi.
 
I definitely don't think working the ball is overrated. I absolutely suck at controlling it, but I try to do it anyways. It adds fun to the game. If the shot calls for a fade, I fade it an hope that it fades the right amount and doesn't heavily penalize me if I miss. I usually miss. But it's still fun to try, especially when I manage to pull it off.
 
I will say yes with conditions. I think in almost all cases, we would be better just playing a straight shot. I love to shape my shots though. Its part of the challenge of golf for me

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
 
In regards specifically to the title:

I don't think it's "underrated" at all. I just don't think most amateurs have the ability to both shape AND control the ball with enough consistency to consider it a benefit to their game.
 
omega4 said:
This.

I define "amateurs" in golf as those who are at the level to play US Am. For those who are beginning to learn golf or high handicappers, I refer to them as "beginners" or "hackers".

If I played wide open courses or links golf, then working the ball wouldn't be a big deal. Most of the courses I do play however have doglegs and tree-lined fairways (really tall trees). It's very difficult to go over the tops of the trees so the better option is to work a draw or fade around the corner.

Those who can only hit straight end up running right through the fairway and into tree trouble or deep rough (on those holes where the first part of the fairway is short but straight and then the fairway runs on for a long distance best the dogleg).
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So what to you call players who are between "amateurs" and "beginners" or "hackers"....."wannabe's"?

Working the ball is way overrated. But, it's not necessary to have a straight shot. It's more important to have a stock shot and be able to eliminate one side of the course.
 
JeffReedMO said:
That's funny! I wish they would have showed the face of the guy that asked. I bet he was like, "what a D***!". Vijay was just like hit the ball straight. Next?
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Vijay would have gave him a death stare that would literally kill him.
 
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