The penalty for being a long hitter

[Mtdream]

just my opinion, but regardless of swing speed, or long or short...golf is all about course management...

if you can hit it a long ways 10% of the time, your misses are no different than if you are a bad ball striker and only get a good short hit 10% of the time...and more than likely, your both scoring pretty close to the same...your misses might be on short game vs. long etc.

but I too found the long hitter accuracy thing interesting

 

[BIGBALL]

While this is true it is still somewhat missing my point. It is not even about spraying it....it is that a ball hit exactly the same can be a great shot for a shorter hitter and a disaster for the longer. Then we all say that short hitter is hammering teh fiarway and is accurate while the long hitter is wild and inaccurate

To me, the bottom line is the longer hitter shouldn't be hitting his driver if he can hit a "good" shot with it and it still find trouble trouble.

But yea, on bad shots, the longer hitter is usually penalized more for sure.

 

[motoo344]

Is there really a penalty for being a long hitter? I think the penalty is not having your mental game together for not hitting what works off the tee in that situation.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Oh, to be able to complain about hitting it far!

Amen my brother!! hehe

 

[bigdaddy]

Is there really a penalty for being a long hitter? I think the penalty is not having your mental game together for not hitting what works off the tee in that situation.

One thing to remember is that not all long hitters hit driver when a 5 iron is the right play. I hit the ball pretty far, but also carry a 4 handicap. That said, I doubt I would be able play well if I didn't manage my game well.

It isn't about bombing the ball all the time. It is about hitting your spots and knowing what your favorite yardages are. There are times where I hit it 110%, but more than not, I throttle it back to 85% and keep it in the short stuff. The best part, those sometimes are even longer than the 110% shots.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Well, I play at a links style course where big misses lead to big trouble. I would much rather be in the fairway, with conditions that will allow me to control the spin onto the green than to be in the deep heather where you will be lucky to get the club on the ball cleanly. Same can be said when hitting out of the rough. Very hard to control distance or have any spin. Hitting approach shots from the short grass is the only way to hit greens in regulation repeatedly and have a chance for a short putts. I'll take accuracy any day over uncontrolled length.

Yeah me too, missing the fairway or landing area screws everything up

 

[wadesworld]

While this is true it is still somewhat missing my point. It is not even about spraying it....it is that a ball hit exactly the same can be a great shot for a shorter hitter and a disaster for the longer. Then we all say that short hitter is hammering teh fiarway and is accurate while the long hitter is wild and inaccurate

Disagree with that.

If both shots are hit the same (meaning an accurate line), then the only way the longer hitter should get into trouble is if they drive it into the trap, or through the fairway, or into the lake, or over the green. Those aren't some unfair penalty on the long hitter. They are mistakes by the long hitter in club selection.

 

[Jugger18]

Disagree with that.

If both shots are hit the same (meaning an accurate line), then the only way the longer hitter should get into trouble is if they drive it into the trap, or through the fairway, or into the lake, or over the green. Those aren't some unfair penalty on the long hitter. They are mistakes by the long hitter in club selection.

I guess part of what bothers me is the perception of accuracy. Both players aim at center of fairway, both push it a few degrees, shorter hitter ends up in right side of fairway, long hitters is in the rough. Was the shorter hitter really more accurate? His physical miss of intended target line was just as bad but he got a better result. That is my point about the hidden penalty of being longer

 

[wadesworld]

I guess part of what bothers me is the perception of accuracy. Both players aim at center of fairway, both push it a few degrees, shorter hitter ends up in right side of fairway, long hitters is in the rough. Was the shorter hitter really more accurate? His physical miss of intended target line was just as bad but he got a better result. That is my point about the hidden penalty of being longer

But there's a penalty for being shorter too. The shorter player is hitting 6-iron into the green where you're hitting a 9-iron. Even on a good swing, he's FAR less likely to be as accurate as you given his longer club with less loft.

You can cut the corner. You can go across the lake. On par 5's, you may be on the green a full-shot ahead of him. If those aren't compelling enough advantages to make up for your "distance penalty" as you call it, you can always swing easier or get your lofts adjusted to make you shorter.

 

[Jugger18]

But there's a penalty for being shorter too. The shorter player is hitting 6-iron into the green where you're hitting a 9-iron. Even on a good swing, he's FAR less likely to be as accurate as you given his longer club with less loft.

You can cut the corner. You can go across the lake. On par 5's, you may be on the green a full-shot ahead of him. If those aren't compelling enough advantages to make up for your "distance penalty" as you call it, you can always swing easier or get your lofts adjusted to make you shorter.

All very true. Just not really what was bouncing through my jumbled up mind this morning. I think part of it is the feeling that being longer makes a course instantly easier while leaving out that the longer you are, the harder it is to be accurate.

 

[fireitup]

All very true. Just not really what was bouncing through my jumbled up mind this morning. I think part of it is the feeling that being longer makes a course instantly easier while leaving out that the longer you are, the harder it is to be accurate.

Being longer does make the course easier. It gives you more options than the shorter hitters. Like Wade said above, the long hitter will always have a shorter club in his hand on his second shot. Even if you chose to hit a 3 wood or hybrid off the tee to be at the same point the shorter hitter is with driver. He might have to hit a 6 iron while you hit an 8 or 9 from the same spot. Not to mention it's much easier to hit that fairway with a 3 wood or hybrid.