Firing At Pins vs Playing to the Center

JB

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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?
 
Nope I've noticed it also and have started playing to the center more because I was putting myself in bad situations. Last couple of rounds has been me going at certain pins usually tucked and shooting directly at the pin or slightly right for a draw. It has not worked out well and my short game is not strong enough to get up and down especially short sided...
 
I think having the laser in your hand makes you fire at the pins more often than not. Maybe if you had another unit, like the handheld versions, that tell you the distances front, middle & back, it would take your focus off the flag & aim at the center of the green.

I think we are all guilty of that at some point. I'm hoping the new SkyCaddie unit I have that shows the distances of the flag even from the side of the green will help. That is if it's accurate to where the pin location is. But to his point, I'm sure it would definitely save you strokes for sure. Especially if you don't have a tendency to 3-putt a lot.

Play a round (try to anyway) by hitting to the middle of the green regardless of where the pin is & see where your stats are at then. Especially if the greens aren't very large. You should still have looks at birdie, they just may be longer than you're used to ... but you may make more pars.
 
wow, 5-6 shots seems like a lot. But then again I never usually play to the center so I wouldnt know lol
 
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I think having the laser in your hand makes you fire at the pins more often than not. Maybe if you had another unit, like the handheld versions, that tell you the distances front, middle & back, it would take your focus off the flag & aim at the center of the green.

My course actually has GPS units in the cart to show that info. I still grab the laser and go
 
I think having the laser in your hand makes you fire at the pins more often than not. Maybe if you had another unit, like the handheld versions, that tell you the distances front, middle & back, it would take your focus off the flag & aim at the center of the green.

I think we are all guilty of that at some point. I'm hoping the new SkyCaddie unit I have that shows the distances of the flag even from the side of the green will help. That is if it's accurate to where the pin location is. But to his point, I'm sure it would definitely save you strokes for sure. Especially if you don't have a tendency to 3-putt a lot.

Play a round (try to anyway) by hitting to the middle of the green regardless of where the pin is & see where your stats are at then. Especially if the greens aren't very large. You should still have looks at birdie, they just may be longer than you're used to ... but you may make more pars.

And more pars is good!!!
 
I tend to fire at pins that fit my shot shape. If there’s too much trouble then center if the green it is.
 
My course actually has GPS units in the cart to show that info. I still grab the laser and go

Do you grab the laser just because or do you not trust the yardage in the cart? Make yourself rely on the cart more often & trust the yardages are correct. Or accidentally leave the battery out of the laser one day, which will then force you to rely on the cart.
 
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wow, 5-6 shots seems like a lot. But then again I never usually play to the center so I wouldnt know lol

Thats what I said and he broke it down like this.
I missed 14 of 18 greens (yeah I know).
9 of those 14 times, I chipped and two putt.
4 of those 14 times, I chipped and made the putt.
1 of those 14 times, I chipped and three putt.

I can see where the stat is coming from and when looking at that, it could even be more, right?
Crazy part is, I was in no greenside bunkers and most were pretty straight forward, albeit short sided.
 
I fire at pins... if it’s safe to do so.

Example: pin is back, danger in front of green = fire at pin.
Pin is back, danger is in back too = fire at center of green.
 
Do you grab the laser just because or do you not trust the yardage in the cart? Make yourself rely on the cart more often & trust the yardages are correct. Or accidentally leave the battery out of the laser one day, which will then force you to rely on the cart.

I grab it because its there and I believe I can execute the shot...Things like Cobra Connect was telling me after the fact that I am not executing it. I mean as a golfer, I have somewhere between 110-150, you are usually thinking getting it close. My stats say I am getting it close, but missing the greens in doing so.
 
If I am familiar with the course, and just playing, I'm going after it... Unless my distances are weird or the wind sucks.

When I am in a match, it's all about what they did. Hitting the middle of the green often time leads to par, and that wins matches.
 
I don't use GPS and laser pretty much everything to the pin. I do look at pin position as well though and will shoot to the middle of the green at the distance I shot if the risk-reward is not in my favor.
 
I catch myself aiming at pins from time to time, but really should focus more on center of the green shots. It's a lot easier to mess up a chip vs a putt for me. My GPS watch has distance to pin along with front and back yardages, and also lets me adjust the pin location (which I never do). Wouldn't hurt to make a mental note of which club would work for the front then back and adjust my club selection based on where I can miss and the layout of the hole (green above or even below the hole, as I don't have a slope adjustment to figure out.
 
Last year was the first full year I had a laser, and I definitely noticed some of this going on.

This year I picked up an Arcoss set, to see if I can actually notice a difference in stats.
 
Thats what I said and he broke it down like this.
I missed 14 of 18 greens (yeah I know).
9 of those 14 times, I chipped and two putt.
4 of those 14 times, I chipped and made the putt.
1 of those 14 times, I chipped and three putt.

I can see where the stat is coming from and when looking at that, it could even be more, right?
Crazy part is, I was in no greenside bunkers and most were pretty straight forward, albeit short sided.

In theory it would go down, but that would be dependent on your putting. Hitting more GIR means longer first putts, at least for me anyways. I always know looking at the scorecard when i track putts that if im under 30, chances are I missed a ton of greens
 
In theory it would go down, but that would be dependent on your putting. Hitting more GIR means longer first putts, at least for me anyways. I always know looking at the scorecard when i track putts that if im under 30, chances are I missed a ton of greens

Yeah definitely true. Unless the short siding happens. Missing green by just a few yards and then having your putt be 15 feet away is not ideal haha.
 
I bought a laser last year, but rarely use it for this very reason.

I play my best golf when I ignore the pin, but it does depend, cos if you hit a perfect shot to the middle you can regret not going for pin.

It's a balance and I think it depends on what club you have in your hand.

Aggressive pin hunting can pay off. I doubt it's 6 shots, cos you have to factor in whether you saved some putts on the other holes when you put it close.

We always remember and count the ones we miss cos they are obvious, but rarely count the wins.

The trouble with middle of the green is sometimes you go the other way and put yourself in 3 putt territory anyway.


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I try and not be aggressive at pins left or right, but have definitely gotten too cute with pins tucked short. I think I'd be better served just playing to the middle of the green then. For the most part, laterally I try and compensate for my miss that day more than aim at the flag.
 
I just aim in the general vicinity of the green and hope for the best.
 
100 yards and up, center of the green most of the time. If it's a right pin natural fade will drift it a little closer.
 
I laser the pin to get the distance, but tend to aim for center of the green. I'm just not that accurate to "go after pins". I will be utilizing Arccos this season so it will be interesting to see how my GIR is affected as the season wears on. I tend to miss greens short side as much as left or right playing to my max distance on well struck shots. I suspect the tech will have me playing distances a little differently than I have in the past.
 
Before I had a GPS unit I didn't even have a laser so I just went pin hunting all the time as it seemed like the only option.

Now I have GPS I tend to play for my misses a lot more so I'm no seeking the pin I am seeking the level that the pin is on to try and get pin high. If the pin is really really tucked away and its anything like a 7 iron or lower I will give it a go.
 
For me it depends on which side of the green is safe. For example on my home course hole 5 it doesn't matter where the pin is located, you always want to be to the right of the pin. So in that instance I will play for that. Most other times, it will be center of green. I am confident enough to think I can two putt most all greens.
 
I grab it because its there and I believe I can execute the shot...Things like Cobra Connect was telling me after the fact that I am not executing it. I mean as a golfer, I have somewhere between 110-150, you are usually thinking getting it close. My stats say I am getting it close, but missing the greens in doing so.

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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