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Drivable par 4's

I will take a walk up to the tee box first, give it a look and if my first thought is to go for it, then out comes the driver and I give it a wack. Thinking about it too much usually will put too much pressure on the actual shot, IMO.
 
ArmyGolf said:
If I can reach it, I go for it.

I have pulled or sliced a layup off the tee into some crap way too many times to mention and nothing irks me more than laying up and then butchering it. I would way rather be hitting my 2nd out of a greenside bunker or rough than from the rough 150 yards away.
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A thousand times this.
 
If I can reach i go for it. Even if I can get just short into a bunker etc. I will go fo it as I back myself to get up and down around green easier than a full wedge shot.
 
AngryYankee said:
There are a couple par 4 holes here that with a good drive you can end up on the green. I've gotten close a couple times, landed in a greenside bunker once, and yesterday I was a 64* flopper away.

Do you go for it, or play it safe with a wood and wedge? For me, if I can reach it, I will go for it.
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Apart from the layout for me it depends on how well I'm playing. Most of the time I'll lay it up to a nice distance to hit a wedge in. I do feel that taking out the big risks pays out :)
 
I'd lay up such that I can get to it with my gap wedge. Lately I've been averaging 2 putts a hole for an 18 hole round, so getting that par would help my score. Maybe when I get better I'd go for it, but not now.
 
For me it completely depends on the layout of the hole, and how much trouble there is around the green. If the green is pretty wide open I'll probably give it a whirl. If the green is guarded by bunkers I'll probably lay up.
 
I go for it. I've got 3 short par 4s on the green in one under my belt. 294yds, 290yds and 303yd holes. I figure, even if I miss the worst trouble I'll be in is a trap for the courses I play.
 
Rob Wedge said:
I go for it. I've got 3 short par 4s on the green in one under my belt. 294yds, 290yds and 303yd holes. I figure, even if I miss the worst trouble I'll be in is a trap for the courses I play.
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14 on the East?
 
I was a guest at a friends country club this past summer, and it is a 9 hole course. Played it from two different sets of tee's each 9. First time around I played it safe and it a iron off the tee. Second time around I went for it, played my natural fade and was left 5 yards to the green. So I guess for me it depends on the situation. The second time around I was more familiar with the hole. Here is a picture of it.

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jlukes said:
14 on the East?
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Yup, and twice at Hanover on the 11th. Once from the Tips and once from the blues. Came damn near close to that short 4 on the back of the west too. Was from the whites but only about 15ft short. Cut the corner so not sure how long that is.
 
For me it depends on the trouble around the green. On a short par 4 there should be difficulty around the green to make it true risk/reward otherwise that's not a well designed hole. One of my pet peeves in course design are long par 4's with a ton of trouble around the greens - that should happen on the short par 4's, the long par 4 has the challenge of distance.

Anyhow, no trouble I'd go for it but with trouble I'd rather play to 100 and trust my gap wedge to give me a nice shot at birdie.
 
No one has ever won the masters playing conservative on Sunday ;)
 
I only manage to hit the ball around 250 yards so its not an option to try and drive the green. I usually try and leave myself 100 yards which is a controlled 52 degree wedge for me.
 
Adrian Twiss said:
I only manage to hit the ball around 250 yards so its not an option to try and drive the green. I usually try and leave myself 100 yards which is a controlled 52 degree wedge for me.
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Im aboit the same as this guy. 250 is about my drivr yardage so driving par 4's doesnt become an option for me.
 
If it is a drivable Par 4 I will usually go for it unless there is some sort of water around the green. I look at as even if I miss the green I am still very likely to be on in 2 regardless where I land. There is a hole at one of the courses I play that is very drivable but have only landed on the green once and then I went and 3 putted the hole..... go figure!!!!!!
 
Go for it. Wish there were more of them. Even in PGA events. They are fun. There is one at UF golf course #17. At a great spot in the match with me and my buddy. 326 or so downhill. I haven't hit the green yet. But hit it pin high and about 10 yards off one time. Very fun. Score is just as unpredictable as other holes. So the short distance does not make it vulnerable at all. I think every course needs at least one of those and a fairly reachable par 5 too. Let us amateurs feel like pros for once.
 
A few courses I play they have senior (white) tees with a driveable par 4. Usually they are 285 or so and normally into wind with hazards around them.

When the wind is favorable, I go for it, but usually I'm in a greenside bunker, to roll up on the green you usually have to snake the driver thru an 8 yard apron, so unless you can fly the ball 285 yards in the air which very few 55+ golfers can do, you have to roll up on the green between two larger traps and be within 10 yards of 'fairway' or apron.

When the wind is in the normal in your face direction, I might still hit a driver, just to have a 50 yard backfoot waist high LW or SW.

Some of these short holes have more trouble trying to layup on them, since the holes are usually built to make it hard on the guys 50 yards back. Not longer hitting seniors.
 
If I ever come across a Par 4 where I have any chance of reaching, I will let you know. Unfortunately, to date, I have never been faced with such a decision.
 
There are a few in my area one on a course called La Contenta which is very fun since the only trouble is long and the right side is way open. One at my home course is a no go since there are a tone of traps short of the green
 
I have two holes on my home courses where it is technically not unfathomable to hit the green off the tee, however, unless the ground is hard and I'm playing in a scramble, the risk far FAR exceeds the reward.For the rest of the courses I've played, it's usually on a a case by case basis, but 99% of the time I'm not a fan of throwing away strokes, despite arguably my closest effort at a hole in one coming off a 285 yard par four.

Also, I recently played a round with an overly confident 'long' hitter who attempted to go after two 290 yard par 4s in one round. Double Bogey was the result of the first hole, and I believe either a triple or a snowman came from the second one. Lesson learned I hope.
 
Won't go for it, but will see where a normal swing will get me without trouble in front.
 
I played with milehighgolfer today and there was a slightly uphill 320yd par 4. With strong wind behind me and not much trouble in front, I hit driver to almost pin high but right side bunker. Pitched out to about 6 ft and proceeded to miss a pretty easy birdy putt and walked away with par. Most times I wont hit driver... most

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I was pin high right in our opening drivable par 4. After a short chip I drained the 5' down hill birdie. I love drivable holes because my playing partners usually can't capitalize. 1up
 
I've got one on my home course that plays 270 from the blues and 315 at the tip. The green is well gaurded by a host of traps along the fairway as well as a very large, deep trap directly in front of the green with no view of the pin from inside it. Trouble exists to the left and right but you really have to yank it to reach it. That leaves about a 10yd sliver of green to roll it up. When I play with blue tee'ers, I can usually fly a 1h to the green but playing back is much trickier. All those bunkers come into play more but that same 1h will leave me an easy 75yd pitch to the pin. I'll go for the green if I have a breeze at my back but usually the play is to lay up. It sounds like a really intimidating hole but the green is undulating to the point that it allows for a lot of shots to feed to the pin, especially for any left side pin behind that massive bunker. It actually plays as one of the easier holes on the course, and is one of only 2 that I'm currently playing under par on average.

Really fun, beautiful hole because of all of the visual distractions, but it has been a round saver (or rejuvenator) for me on quite a few occasions.

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It would take an extreme situation(like really really bad trouble or having a small lead over an opponent and it's the 18th hole) for me not to take out driver on a driveable par 4. For starters I just like my chances better of making birdie greenside than I do 100 yards out, and for another it's just fun to try. Everybody loves to have eagle putts, especially on a par 4, so even if I played like crap the rest of the round if I somehow drove a par 4 and made the putt for eagle it would make up for everything. So yeah strategically the better option maybe to just layup and hit a wedge to the green and 2 putt for par, but its not nearly as much fun, and ultimately having fun is the most important thing to me.
 
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