InTheRough
Course Botanist
The thread about "would you rather drive for show or putt for dough" got me thinking about this. About the psychology of golf. It's mental game and how we think about the game.
Do your birdies start with a good tee shot? Or do they end with a great putt?
Do a significant percentage of your birdies start with a poor to mediocre tee shot? You can probably do it on a short par 4 or short par 5 if you get a great second shot.
Where on the course would you stand the best chance of beating touring professional? From a 375 yd tee to holing out? From a 140 yd approach shot to holing out? Or on the putting green from 15 feet?
I would run straight to the putting green because I have been known to sink 15 footers.
My point being that off the tee, the pro would hit driver (310) and a lob shot (65) and probably leave himself at most a 10 foot putt. I would hit a driver, and if I hit it well (230 for me), I'd be hitting a full 8 iron (145) into the green complex and probably leave myself about a 30 foot putt if I hit the green at all. If I missed, I'd be chipping on and I'd have to put it within 3' of the hole to make par - chances are that I'd chip to about 6 feet where it's a coin toss for par or bogey. Meanwhile he has about a 20% chance of making birdie and about 99% chance for par.
From 140 he's hitting an easy PW, while I'm hitting an 8 iron. He's looking at a 2 or 3 from there. I'm looking at 2 if I'm real lucky and stick it close, 3 if I hit target, and possibly a 4 if I miss the green.
Every birdie I've had started with a good solid drive. Every eagle I've had started with a good solid drive. Not necessarily in the fairway, but they were in good position usually just off the fairway and among my longest. All but one par started with a good tee shot - that one require two long 5W to get to the green.
Almost every bad hole I've had has started with a bad tee shot - one that put me in a bad position where I've had to either take penalty strokes, or been in the woods so far that I've had to take more than a couple strokes to hack my way out.
How about you?
Do your birdies start with a good tee shot? Or do they end with a great putt?
Do a significant percentage of your birdies start with a poor to mediocre tee shot? You can probably do it on a short par 4 or short par 5 if you get a great second shot.
Where on the course would you stand the best chance of beating touring professional? From a 375 yd tee to holing out? From a 140 yd approach shot to holing out? Or on the putting green from 15 feet?
I would run straight to the putting green because I have been known to sink 15 footers.
My point being that off the tee, the pro would hit driver (310) and a lob shot (65) and probably leave himself at most a 10 foot putt. I would hit a driver, and if I hit it well (230 for me), I'd be hitting a full 8 iron (145) into the green complex and probably leave myself about a 30 foot putt if I hit the green at all. If I missed, I'd be chipping on and I'd have to put it within 3' of the hole to make par - chances are that I'd chip to about 6 feet where it's a coin toss for par or bogey. Meanwhile he has about a 20% chance of making birdie and about 99% chance for par.
From 140 he's hitting an easy PW, while I'm hitting an 8 iron. He's looking at a 2 or 3 from there. I'm looking at 2 if I'm real lucky and stick it close, 3 if I hit target, and possibly a 4 if I miss the green.
Every birdie I've had started with a good solid drive. Every eagle I've had started with a good solid drive. Not necessarily in the fairway, but they were in good position usually just off the fairway and among my longest. All but one par started with a good tee shot - that one require two long 5W to get to the green.
Almost every bad hole I've had has started with a bad tee shot - one that put me in a bad position where I've had to either take penalty strokes, or been in the woods so far that I've had to take more than a couple strokes to hack my way out.
How about you?