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Firing At Pins vs Playing to the Center

I’m just happy hitting greens. Most courses I play it’s better to be below the pin. So if I fire a back pin 160 I’ll hit an 8iron. I know it’ll reach. 125 back pin. Just hit the Approach Wedge.

Sure I’d like to be closer to the pin but giving myself looks at birdie is a better option.


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golfinnut said:
So maybe it's not the fact that you missed the green, but need to work on your short game? Chipping & putting. Like they say, that's where you lose your strokes more often than not.
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Right, and I get that, but being short sided is always the tougher spot for any golfer because of lack of landing space, plus lack of ability to put spin on the ball from the rough.
This isnt just me missing greens, its where I am missing them. Have you used Cobra Connect or Arccos or anything like it? Its pretty interesting to see what is going on in the round. My idea of my strengths and weaknesses was way off.
 
If I fire at pins, I find I miss greens.
If I shoot for the center, I hit more greens.
Scoring is usually better when I am on the green, as long as the putting doesn't fail me.

If I leave the laser in the bag, and only use GPS (Front/Mid/Back), it takes some of the thinking out of the equation, just hit to the mid or the back.
I need to leave the laser more for scouting out problems, as opposed to being exact at the flag.
 
JB said:
Right, and I get that, but being short sided is always the tougher spot for any golfer because of lack of landing space, plus lack of ability to put spin on the ball from the rough.
This isnt just me missing greens, its where I am missing them. Have you used Cobra Connect or Arccos or anything like it? Its pretty interesting to see what is going on in the round. My idea of my strengths and weaknesses was way off.
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I haven't had the chance to use any of those before but I get what you're saying. One last thing then I'll stop asking ... LOL Are you able to work the ball both ways? Meaning if the flag is on the left side of the green, hit a draw by aiming at the middle of the green and working the ball back to the flag. And vice versa for the right side of the green?
 
As amateurs I think firing at the pins definitely causes us to miss more than hit but that is also in relation to using the laser and having a target. I like having the flag to aim at, but I would definitely hit more if I played smarter golf and played center of the green for me. There aren't many times where the ball actually goes exactly where we aim unless you are a lower handicap.
 
Firing At Pins vs Playing to the Center

110 yds and in I pin hunt. More than that and it’s to the middle. 60% of the time, it works all of the time.
 
golfinnut said:
I haven't had the chance to use any of those before but I get what you're saying. One last thing then I'll stop asking ... LOL Are you able to work the ball both ways? Meaning if the flag is on the left side of the green, hit a draw by aiming at the middle of the green and working the ball back to the flag. And vice versa for the right side of the green?
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Can I? Yes. Although I try to play a fairly straight ball, or my natural shot shape which is a very slight fade.
It just seems that if a pin is in a tougher location or towards the side, playing to the middle would make more sense for scoring at my level than firing at a pin and risk bringing in the short sided part of the equation.
 
JB said:
I had a talk this morning with a golfing friend of mine and we were talking about some of my stats from the last two rounds. Both of which saw my GIR down quite a bit, but not missing by much, however with about half of my misses I was short siding myself. In every one of these cases, the pin was cut far to one side of the green and I was missing on that side. He mentioned playing to the center outside of it fitting my natural shot shape would have saved me close to 5-6 shots most likely.

It got me thinking about how the laser has changed my game instead of looking at front, back and center numbers, I laser the pin and go, rarely taking into consideration where the pin is and if it is safer to just play to center.

Am I alone in this thinking?
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This is me to a tee. I am always short sided when I miss. I think it is in part due to me no longer using a GPS giving me front, middle, and back yardages. I have gotten into the habit of just lasering the pin, grabbing a club based on that yardage and just swinging away. I can get a lot of birdies when I am on. But, if I am off, I can struggle around the greens with some difficult chips and pitches.

I don't think I will ever be a laser and GPS guy. But, I have been kicking around the idea of getting a SkyCaddie again and just leaving the rangefinder at home. I remember the ability to move the pin location around the green on that device was accurate enough for my game if I wanted to get an approximate "to the pin" yardage.
 
Not at all alone on it. I used to do the front middle back with either a phone app or based off of plates.

Once I got a laser, my game really focused on pin distance and trying to hit it. Can't say it hurt me too much as before my laser using days, I was legit just trying to make some type contact haha so overall im a much better player now, but not because I am now firing at pins haha.

Truly, when all I do is focus on hitting the green, I typically hit 8-11 greens in a round. So i need to be playing more towards green vs. pin. Although, if I am inside of 120 and the pin is not tucked to a trouble spot, I will then go right at it since it is typically a GW or less
 
I'm a center guy. I've rarely used a laser, and I only really pay attention to the front and back when it's a deep green and I know where the pin is.
 
I have always instinctively gone for the pin, and it almost always costs me dearly. This year I have tried to make a conscious effort to know the front and back numbers, and if it's a course where I've played, I'm trying to memorize the slopes of the greens. This way, when I do actually remember that playing for a certain part of the green is the better option, I know which way I can hope the ball will roll.

Today's round will be a good test of this. I can think of one par 3 that plays about 195 where, over time I have learned that if the hole is cut on the left, you have to carry a large environmental area to go straight at it. However, if you're smart you play the shot to the hillside on the right, and let it funnel down toward the hole. If you end up short, you have a 30 foot putt (instead of a lost ball) and if you play the correct distance into the hill, you leave yourself with about 6 feet.
 
JB said:
Can I? Yes. Although I try to play a fairly straight ball, or my natural shot shape which is a very slight fade.
It just seems that if a pin is in a tougher location or towards the side, playing to the middle would make more sense for scoring at my level than firing at a pin and risk bringing in the short sided part of the equation.
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That's what I mean though. If you're able to work the ball, then the left side pin placement should be your only worry. If you start the ball at the middle, draws back ... great. If you miss it slightly, stays straight or even fades a bit ... great, you're still on the green. Pin on the right should be your stock shot right at the middle of the green. It fades like normal, you're golden. It stays straight you're still putting. I'm just saying that having the ability to work the ball both directions is advantageous & you should use it more often. You shouldn't have to worry about short siding yourself with that shot in your arsenal. It's always easier to work the ball vs hitting a straight shot. Someone once said it's the hardest shot in golf. If I hit it straight, means I missed it.

So yes, we are on the same page. Hit to the center of the green regardless so as to not short side yourself. Or chip better! :act-up:
 
JB said:
Am I alone in this thinking?
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Nope. But then again as far as I can remember, even without a rangefinder, I have always gone for the pin. I truly enjoy that extra challenge to the game of trying to get it as close as possible.

It definitely doesn't help my scores, but it makes it fun for me
 
I still play the percentages with my approach shots, calculate yardages and then hit it where I didn't want to go. As a old amateur, I find it less important and have more fun trying to hit the perfect shot each time. Consistency is not something I expect from golfers at my level.
 
golfinnut said:
That's what I mean though. If you're able to work the ball, then the left side pin placement should be your only worry. If you start the ball at the middle, draws back ... great. If you miss it slightly, stays straight or even fades a bit ... great, you're still on the green. Pin on the right should be your stock shot right at the middle of the green. It fades like normal, you're golden. It stays straight you're still putting. I'm just saying that having the ability to work the ball both directions is advantageous & you should use it more often. You shouldn't have to worry about short siding yourself with that shot in your arsenal. It's always easier to work the ball vs hitting a straight shot. Someone once said it's the hardest shot in golf. If I hit it straight, means I missed it.

So yes, we are on the same page. Hit to the center of the green regardless so as to not short side yourself. Or chip better! :act-up:
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That is all assuming ball striking is great every time though.
What happens if you overcook the draw, pull the ball, etc. The same with fade. All of those instances lead to short side again, rather than the safe play at the middle of the green, right?
I know on the internet, we don't miss, but at THP Events, there are a lot of people chipping (me included) : )
 
Last weekend I had a buddies golf trip and we played 72 holes of golf. I accidentally left my range finder at home so I bought the cheapest GPS unit the golf shop had (G10 for about $100.00). It's a pretty basic unit but offered front, middle and back of the green measurements. Having this additional info on the fly changed my approach. I ended up going for the middle more often and I scored better because of it. I think you're onto something JB- going for the middle every time will likely lower your scores. Maybe "forget your laser" next round and just use GPS and see what happens.
 
JB said:
That is all assuming ball striking is great every time though.
What happens if you overcook the draw, pull the ball, etc. The same with fade. All of those instances lead to short side again, rather than the safe play at the middle of the green, right?
I know on the internet, we don't miss, but at THP Events, there are a lot of people chipping (me included) : )
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Right. By aiming at the middle, whether you hook it or fade it, your miss will more often than not be on the green. So don't look at the flag & aim at the middle ... regardless of pin position. You may still miss greens, but more often than not, I'm fair to say, that you will be putting rather than chipping. Yes you may lose a few strokes here & there with a 3-putt but not as many as if you had missed the green and didn't get up and down
 
I have gone back to a GPS watch for this very reason. The laser is so precise it makes my brain try to be just as precise. This not only makes me aim right at the pin, but I get too controlly with my swing instead of playing loose. Just glancing at my wrist to get middle distance, then taking in the green complex has taken me back to a better approach player. I think even the sequence of events is better. If the first thing we do is zero in on that pin through that tiny binocular it almost puts blinders on us to the entire picture of where we are hitting. Whereas just getting the yardage keeps our focus more wide open on the entire hole.
 
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golfinnut said:
Right. By aiming at the middle, whether you hook it or fade it, your miss will more often than not be on the green. So don't look at the flag & aim at the middle ... regardless of pin position. You may still miss greens, but more often than not, I'm fair to say, that you will be putting rather than chipping. Yes you may lose a few strokes here & there with a 3-putt but not as many as if you had missed the green and didn't get up and down
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I don't think you are following or playing much larger greens than I do. If a pin is cut to the side and I overcook a draw or fade, I would be shortsiding myself. Working the ball doesn't only mean the miss is "lesser" movement, right?

Based on the stats, when firing at pins, I missed 14 of 18 greens and didn't think I played that poorly, but with half of those misses being short sided, my score was not good.
 
JB said:
I don't think you are following or playing much larger greens than I do. If a pin is cut to the side and I overcook a draw or fade, I would be shortsiding myself. Working the ball doesn't only mean the miss is "lesser" movement, right?

Based on the stats, when firing at pins, I missed 14 of 18 greens and didn't think I played that poorly, but with half of those misses being short sided, my score was not good.
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Ok. How about you aim at the middle of every green & try and hit a straight ball every time? Doesn't give you a chance to "overcook" it. It will either draw or fade naturally.
 
golfinnut said:
Ok. How about you aim at the middle of every green & try and hit a straight ball every time? Doesn't give you a chance to "overcook" it. It will either draw or fade naturally.
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Haha, that is what I have been wondering and the reason for my answers.
 
I tend to attack everything, which just means when I miss I have a chance to be center green.

I think subconsciously I correct to miss it safely on courses I play a lot and therefore know where I don’t want to be as most of my misses are to the bailout areas. Not that it makes a bit of difference the way I’ve been chipping the ball.... I really struggle with that area of the game.
 
JB said:
Haha, that is what I have been wondering and the reason for my answers.
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HA! Problem solved. Now just go out & execute. NO lasers! :act-up:
 
I aim left of the pin. My miss is either long left or pin high right. I'm not ready to go after flags yet but because I am playing it safe I am paying the price due to putting woes.

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I pin hunt to my detriment. I definitely could save strokes by playing more towards the middle.

The times that I think playing to the center will kill me is when the green has severe tiers. Getting in situations that will be a struggle to not 3 putt makes the chip and putt seem like a better idea.

My goal this year is to actually do the course management functions. Actually think through where I want to hit the ball and try and execute the shot shape to make it happen. Since par is still a good score. No reason to open up myself to a big number.
 
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