Play This Shot - Par 4

dhill

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Here's the situation. You step up to a par four.
If you pull driver you leave yourself 40-60 yards to the green.

What do you do? Pull driver or take another club to leave yourself a full club distance in? If you pull another club what is your ideal distance you want to lay up to?

Are you comfortable enough with the short game to be happy with the shorter distance?
 
Depends. Is there trouble? How wide is the fairway? Is there a good miss where you can hit driver and be a little errant and still have a good chance at the green?

If there is trouble then I would hit a club that leaves me 100-120 yards and in the fairway. No sense trying to thread the needle if you don't have to.

If there is no trouble then I hit the big stick and try and knock one in there close.
 
I will pull out the 3w or 3h and leave myself either a full SW or GW into the green. Also depends on where trouble is (narrow fairway, bunkers, etc). I have a couple of these at my home course and it's interesting to see what others do.
 
Not much trouble. Just came from a hole at a local course that a buddy and I have been chatting about different playing styles.
 
I have this on a par 4 I play often and continue to hit the driver to 45 yards. For me it's sort of forcing me to get better at that shot and I am getting better. It's worth mentioning that several times I've been on this hole against a stiff wind that left me 80 yards out and against the wind I produced better shots on average.
 
A par four that leaves my 40-60 with driver would call for 3w or hybrid off the tee. Now if I've played the hole a few times and know the lay of the land, driver might get pulled if I'm swinging well. If not I stay with my plan to hit less than driver on short par fours
 
My driver is flying very straight right now so I would pull the driver for sure. I need to find the article I read a few months back that did a study on almost this exact scenerio. The result was most amatuers are better of not laying up.
 
Now this wouldn't even be a question if I had a Mack Daddy 2 wedge!
 
So it's a 480 yard par 4?
 
I look to put my self 95 yards from the green as often as possible. So what ever will get me to that number is good by me. 3 wood, 3 iron what ever it takes
 
I would play 3W or hybrid, no question about it.

Getting to 40-60 yards gives me no massive advantage over 120 yards. And because the driver has a much greater margin for error, the risk is not worth the reward.
 
If I am looking to stay safe/smart, I try to lay up to 8i or 9i distance.
 
I am comfortable with the scenario of being 40-60 yards out for the second shot I just wish I was long enough to have this problem on par 4's.
 
Id probably go 3w so I could hopefull have a full gap wedge in
 
Depends on the hole, but I'm probably pulling 5W and giving myself around 100-110 to the hole.

If it's open around the green and I think I can get it pretty close if I swing firm, I will think hard about swinging away.
 
I am comfortable with the scenario of being 40-60 yards out for the second shot I just wish I was long enough to have this problem on par 4's.

Me too. There is a short par 4 on a course I play. I knew if I used yardages some people would just say drive the green. Not an option for me. Haha
 
That seems like a very short par 4. I usually hit driver 275-285. So we're talking about a hole 320-340 in length. I'd pull 4-iron here almost every time. I can hit more fairways with my irons and I should be about a 45* of 50* wedge out and that's right where I like to be.
 
That seems like a very short par 4. I usually hit driver 275-285. So we're talking about a hole 320-340 in length. I'd pull 4-iron here almost every time. I can hit more fairways with my irons and I should be about a 45* of 50* wedge out and that's right where I like to be.

Same for me, I would hit 4 iron or less nearly every time, unless I think I can reach the green
 
Driver. I can get the ball close consistently from 40-60. Assuming there's no trouble to make it risky.
 
Since you described the hole as not having much trouble, I am probably going to pull driver. 40-60 yards gives me options, I can hit one high and try and stop it or play a bump and run and try and let it feed to the hole. With my game, I probably have a better chance of getting is close with this strategy.

However, things that will factor into the decision are how well I am hitting my driver or irons on that day as well as how the green is laid out. Lots of bunkers or undulations where I need to be on a specific tier, I may lay up to 80-100 yards.
 
Here's the situation. You step up to a par four.
If you pull driver you leave yourself 40-60 yards to the green.

What do you do? Pull driver or take another club to leave yourself a full club distance in? If you pull another club what is your ideal distance you want to lay up to?

Are you comfortable enough with the short game to be happy with the shorter distance?

I'm pulling whatever club gets me to 105 yards. If there's quite a bit of trouble at 105, I'll dial it back to 120 without much hesitation.

I see no value in pulling driver when a half shot pitch is sooooo much harder than a full wedge into the green.
 
I'm pulling whatever club gets me to 105 yards. If there's quite a bit of trouble at 105, I'll dial it back to 120 without much hesitation.

I see no value in pulling driver when a half shot pitch is sooooo much harder than a full wedge into the green.

Agree with the thought process. I know some people are very comfortable with their half wedges and what not but I wondered how many people would want to leave a full swing of some sort. It seems like there is less to think about (to me) when you have a comfortable full swing yardage.

It's interesting seeing the split in here.
 
I would hit driver. The closer I am to the green, the more likely I am to hit it.
 
Agree with the thought process. I know some people are very comfortable with their half wedges and what not but I wondered how many people would want to leave a full swing of some sort. It seems like there is less to think about (to me) when you have a comfortable full swing yardage.

It's interesting seeing the split in here.

I play with both types.. I've seen guys hit mid irons on the tightest hole on my course (310ish) and people in the same pairing pull driver.

You're onto something with the full swing thing... Harder to chunk, fly, or miss a full swing.
 
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