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Would you rather drive for show or putt for dough?

Well, my last round I had like 6 three-putts and two drives that probably cost me a stroke each. I can club down off the tee and keep it in the fairway. Give me a great putting game and I can bring my score down.
 
What exactly does driving for show entail? Am I averaging 200 yards? 300 yards? A fade? Draw? Down the center of the fairway?

Does it translate into my second shot or my approach shot?

I'd take the drive for show if it's consistent in the center of the fairway and far away from me.

My putting would be something I'd work on to improve.
 
Putt for me. Never 3 putting again in my life would be just fantastic.
 
I'm assuming that I keep my existing putting and get to be a great driver of the ball. If that's the case, drive absolutely because I'm a shortknocker. If I'm out there bombing it like Bryson and keeping my current putting which is 2.1 average from last season I'll be fine with that.

I think it's going to be specific to what the gains are, if I 100% 1 putt everything as long as I'm on the green that gets a lot more difficult, but since I'm already a 2 putt average if I can be a rockstar driver which I assume is both long and accurate I think that'll help me lower scores more.
 
Driver. Over 250. Down the middle. Every time.

As long as I can lag and make a 3 footer I'm good.
 
That really is such an out of date term now. It should be drive for dough, putt for dough. To answer the question though, although it might not better for my scores necessarily, I’d have much more fun hitting bombs off the tee.
 
I got my 'handicap' under 8 by averaging 220 or less with driver and hitting 78% fairways; I also average 31 putts/round.
Drive for show :unsure:
Putt for dough :unsure:
 
All the strokes gained info says driving the ball a long way and in play is much more valuable. The question didn't say you were bad at the other just not great. So I'd much rather crush drives and be an average putter than the other way around.
 
Putter baby - I can always ugly something in play from the tee, but making those putts is everything!
 
Putter - I rarely even need the driver.
 
*Range Rat said:
I got my 'handicap' under 8 by averaging 220 or less with driver and hitting 78% fairways; I also average 31 putts/round.
Drive for show :unsure:
Putt for dough :unsure:
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So would you rather practice more to average 245 and 70% off the tee, or practice more to average 29 putts?

(Numbers arbitrarily picked)
 
sooooo. if i can't drive for show, am i at least on the fairway most of the time? if so, i'll take that putter for the doughy dough
 
I have gotten into more trouble after poor tee shots than poor putting. So I would rather drive for show.
 
blugold said:
All things being equal, what leads to better scores, being a great driver of the golf ball (long and relatively accurate 55% FIR) or a great putter (1.3 putts per hole).
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At the PGA level, all with good to great approach and short games, distance off the tee leads to better scores. You'll find a much better correlation of top distance drivers to top money earnings than you will top putters to top money earnings. But most of us aren't anything like them.

Plenty of us have real struggles with all aspects of our games. Some of us are great in one area, but not another. A few of us have good to great amatuer games in all aspects.

So if you tell OldandStiff, who is both a great driver and putter and has all the other aspects of the game in good to great shape that he can have great driving or putting, but he can't have both, what does that mean? Is he giving up 30 yards of distance or 100 yards? All things being equal to what? His current performance? The average 20 handicap player? What is the delta he has to give up? Same thing with putting. Is he now 3 putting or more 5 times a round or twice?

Similarly with me, I might choose great driving because I can't crank it 300+ yards, so I want what I don't have. But I can putt and so what does that mean if I have to give that up? To what level?

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just trying to point out the complexities of answering the question.
 
Are you okay at the other one, or terrible?
 
I'll say that if my driving game was as good as my putting game, I'd be pretty happy with both. Not that I'm an amazing putter, but my driver costs me a lot more strokes than my putter does.
 
leftshot said:
At the PGA level, all with good to great approach and short games, distance off the tee leads to better scores. You'll find a much better correlation of top distance drivers to top money earnings than you will top putters to top money earnings. But most of us aren't anything like them.

Plenty of us have real struggles with all aspects of our games. Some of us are great in one area, but not another. A few of us have good to great amatuer games in all aspects.

So if you tell OldandStiff, who is both a great driver and putter and has all the other aspects of the game in good to great shape that he can have great driving or putting, but he can't have both, what does that mean? Is he giving up 30 yards of distance or 100 yards? All things being equal to what? His current performance? The average 20 handicap player? What is the delta he has to give up? Same thing with putting. Is he now 3 putting or more 5 times a round or twice?

Similarly with me, I might choose great driving because I can't crank it 300+ yards, so I want what I don't have. But I can putt and so what does that mean if I have to give that up? To what level?

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just trying to point out the complexities of answering the question.
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Of course there are complexities. At the top level, low putts per round is not a predictor of success.

I think, what I have been thinking about is how much better "strokes gained" stats are better than just pure numbered stats.
 
leftshot said:
OldandStiff, who is both a great driver and putter
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This might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me. :D You're my guy when it comes time for my obit.

But yeah, that's why I asked what I did before reading this. How am I at the other thing in this scenario? What exactly I'm giving up, and relative to the rest, will determine my answer.
 
305 average please
 
blugold said:
Would you rather be a great driver of the golf ball, or a great putter?

Can't be both.
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I'd rather be at the same level with both - even if neither could be at the level of "great".

blugold said:
What would lead to better scores?
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Statistics say driving is more important that putting. I don't know how you could be so good at one that being poor at the other wouldn't matter. All the skills - full swing, short game, putting - are close to being just as important as another, IMO.
 
I’d rather be a good driver. I’ve been a good driver and good putter (my perception), but it seems like it’s always one or the other. I have more fun when I’m not punching out from trees or losing strokes to hazards. I enjoy at least having the chance to put for birdie, as opposed to only having a chance to putt for par or bogie.
 
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