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Length or accuracy, that is the question!

SuperStroke
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I am 68 years old and have played golf just about all of my life (college, kids, and work commitments, did interrupt my bliss!) and like most golfers I know, I have strived for distance my whole life and have tried more clubs then you could through a stick at BUT , this ripe old retired age, and still off single figures ( OK, 9 now) I have just come up with the amazing revelation that length isn’t everything!
I now use clubs that keep me on the fairways (Ping G400 Driver , 3 Hybrids (various) etc. - don’t despair, I still use Mizuno forged irons (the easy ones now) and Vokey wedges, SM7’s now) and no longer feel I’m ‘cheating’ - any similar stories out there?


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I have been playing player’s distance irons for over a year (P790s and i500s). I will be 58 in a month and wanted to be able to pull the same number iron I did when I was younger (even though the stronger lofts don’t correlate). It made me feel like I still “had” it. Today, I played 9 holes with a Mizuno forged iron. I hit 6 greens and had 5 legitimate birdie putts. They felt so good and the ball flight was perfect. Pondering hard...

So, you have a few years on me, but at least for today, pure, raw distance is not everything.
 
Easy answer for me. I just started playing again a little over a year ago, when I was 59. Even in my 30s I wasn’t a long hitter. So it’s all about accuracy for me.


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I will take the accuracy any time. I can always go up one club to get the distance if needed.
 
Accuracy every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Also.....WELCOME TO THP!
 
Welcome to the forum! I've become much more focused on accuracy also but it's still a work in progress. I'm light years ahead of where I was and it's helped my game out a ton.
 
I'll take accuracy over distance.

Welcome to THP!

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I've already resigned myself to never having a ton of distance, so I will definitely take accuracy over distance. It would be nice, and I still have plenty of time (I'm approaching 30), but the game is so much easier when I'm not playing out of the rough or sand. And as much fun as it is to hit some amazing rescue shot from a bad situation, it's a ton more fun to be boring with a GIR and 2 putt.
 
Accuracy all day long without question. Two bullseyes are way better than a long shot that results in a ball hunt and drop.
 
I've never been a long hitter so accuracy all day. If I was hitting it 290 and having wedges from the rough I'd be cool with that. But when I'm poking it 245-260 then yes I need the accuracy all day.
 
I’ve always said distance over accuracy. Simply because the rough on the courses I played was not penal. But not that I am a member of tree lined courses I needed both distance and accuracy. I know it’s a cop out but it’s the truth. I have a driver in my bag that gives me both. It took time and money but I have both in spades.
 
Distance for sure. But... if you aren't long you definitely have to be accurate.
 
I'm 4 months away from being 70 years old now and I strive to get as much distance as I possibly can while still finding the FW's. I switched to a Callaway GBB Fusion Driver with a 44.5" shaft which produces better accuracy for me than a standard 45.5" driver. Ever since I went with this driver I have been able to hit an average of 12/14 FW's. While not a long hitter, I am now experiencing more distance as well, mainly because I believe I am hitting clothes line drives in contrast to the many severe slices I use to get with other drivers. Another thing that has really helped me is the use of a 3 and 4 hybrid, especially on my long approach shots.
 
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I look at distance and accuracy differently depending upon the club. Distance is very important off the tee to my scoring but accuracy is paramount with my approach shots. So far I've been lucky enough at age 53 to have not lost any distance. For me how many drivers I hit during a given round mostly depends upon the course. It's often ok for me to miss 20 yards right or left with a tee shot and still be in the fairway but on some courses a 20 yard miss is going to result in a lot of lost balls.

My irons are geared for accuracy over distance. I don't make many 20 foot putts so if I'm to make a few birdies each round I need to be throwing some darts inside of 10 feet.
 
Snickerdog said:
I will take the accuracy any time. I can always go up one club to get the distance if needed.
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Same here. I was never very long anyway, and now that I'm older, I do find myself selecting one up. My 8i is now my 7i.
 
PJSprog said:
Same here. I was never very long anyway, and now that I'm older, I do find myself selecting one up. My 8i is now my 7i.
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I just find it is always easier to go up 1 club, swing smooth and easy then to try to take the 8 iron and swing harder and take the chance on losing the accuracy. It has saved my many a time. Father time takes his toll after awhile but I still managed close to 90 rounds this year.
 
Turned 71 last month and I'm still looking for more distance. I've only been playing for 3 years and I've got my swing pretty much under control so, while accuracy is important, it comes down to distance to try and make more GIR. I don't have trouble finding FW's, but I do have trouble getting GIR's. Just not that long with irons and so it's important to get as much distance with the driver and long irons as possible.

The accuracy issue can normally be addressed with a few lessons - not sure why more people don't invest in lessons - because in the short time I've been playing, I haven't found that hardware can fix very much. In my search for improving my game, I've found that if I'm slicing with one driver, you can bet I'm going to be slicing with everyone I try until I fix something in my swing.

I only wish it was as simple as buying the right driver or iron and you'd be a better golfer... maybe if your equipment is 10 years old it might help, but otherwise, it's not the hardware that's holding you back.
 
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