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Firing At Pins vs Playing to the Center

I probably should aim at the center of the green more than I do, I definitely like to aim for flags.
 
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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How about you hit the fairway every time too. I love your optimism :)

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chriso97 said:
How about you hit the fairway every time too. I love your optimism :)

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You have to think positive

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jdtox said:
This is something I need to pay more attention to this year. Arccos is great at giving me all 3 yardages but I too also typically use the laser more than I need to. How often actually hitting the exact number is probably very low.
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I think you hit the nail on the head right here.

Not many of us play enough golf in order to be able to really hit to the exact number all the time, nor are able to say they know the exact yardage that all of their clubs go down to the yard.

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I try for the center I am not good enough to pin hunt! I do like having something that shows the front middle and back of the green yardages.
 
There was an experiment/study on this quite a few years ago where a teaching pro took a group of his students for several rounds of golf with NO pin on the green (a hole but no flagstick). IIRC it was a sample of around ten rounds. He then took them out for an equal set of rounds with the flagstick in place. The rounds without a flagstick were significantly lower scoring rounds. I found it interesting back then and never forgot it.
 
Given our climate up here I've learned to adopt 2 different ways of approaching greens. In the rainy season (Nov-April) our courses are so soft that there's no reason not to fire at every pin, since the ball will hit and hold. Alternatively, In the firmness of summer I basically try to carry everything to the front of the green and then just deal with whatever bounce I get. If a front pin is tucked behind a bunker I will just play away from it and accept that I'll have a longer birdie putt.
 
I don't use a laser (Arccos and GPS watch tho) and if I play with someone who laser's the pin I may ask for a distance just to confirm, but I always consider pin placement in relation to front, back, middle. My goal is to hit the green despite pin location, but my strategy includes pin placement first then distances to front and back before I pick a club.
 
It depends upon how accurate I am that day, how severe the danger is on the short side, and certainly wind is a factor as well.
 
I avoid "sucker" pins. At my level of play the center of the green is just fine.
 
I'd like to think there is a little more information available most of the time on these decisions, though I understand the post is made in a vacuum.

If there's water in front, I'm taking more club. If there's water left I'm taking it right, if water long I'm taking less club. If a pin is a sucker pin short right but it's just a putt through fairway off the green or tightly mowed rough I go at the pin - if it's a hell bunker I'm staying away from it.

I guess what I am saying is that the safe miss plays well more into my thinking than a simple center of the green, though I'm always aware of what that number is.
 
Thornton Melon said:
I'd like to think there is a little more information available most of the time on these decisions, though I understand the post is made in a vacuum.

If there's water in front, I'm taking more club. If there's water left I'm taking it right, if water long I'm taking less club. If a pin is a sucker pin short right but it's just a putt through fairway off the green or tightly mowed rough I go at the pin - if it's a hell bunker I'm staying away from it.

I guess what I am saying is that the safe miss plays well more into my thinking than a simple center of the green, though I'm always aware of what that number is.
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Perfect answer. I couldn’t agree more.
 
I play to the center and consider it a win if I stop it on the green at all...of course I'm not very good either :)
 
I found myself short sided way too many times last year and I certainly paid for it. Only two rounds in this year, but I'm definitely trying to look at the whole situation, the pin position and what's around the green, then making my decision taking that into account. I still like having the laser, and I use it on most approach shots, but I'm also still looking at my watch and getting the rough front/back or at worst looking at the pin sheet and seeing how much trouble I could be getting myself in. I'm not a great shaper of the ball, so I'm generally trying to hit it straight but understanding your miss (mine is left still, working on it) is part of the decision as well.
 
I too laser the pin but I do think about where it is on the green. I also think about where the trouble is. For example, if trouble is behind and the pin is on the back I might go down an iron. The greens at my home course are smaller then any other around here and because of that I tend to try and aim middle of the green. I must admit though distance out will play a role in the decision as I know I can put it closer with a wedge then I can a 7i. Whenever I find myself hunting pins though I usually pay for it so I try and avoid doing it but sometimes you just can't help yourself because who doesn't want to stick one right by the hole?
 
I am way too aggressive sometimes. I always laser the pin but will often short side myself because I go flag hunting when I have no business doing it. Although I will say since going with the 2019 Apex, my proximity to the hole is getting a lot less than it used to be.


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