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Playing to a Number

JB

JB

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Most of the people I play with when it comes to par 4's and par 5's step up and hit and try to be as close to the hole as possible. However I have never really subscribed to this method and have always tried to play to a yardage number to be able to go with a certain club depending on the hole.

On most holes do you find yourself playing for a number or going with what will get you the closest?
 
since I dont hit that far, I go for closest...
My Par 4's average around 380...
i drive about 240-250
That leaves 130-140 which is right at my 8I which I love....but I wont change if the hole is only350....8I and in is comfortable for me
 
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bama, what do you find yourself doing on par 5s that you cannot reach? Do you play for a number then or do you go with closest?
 
If I can't reach it I like to play to a number. I love about 100 yards into a hole, nice easy swing and you can go pin hunting. If it is a long par 5 and I want to hit back to back irons (maybe the woods aren't my clubs that day) I will try to lay up a number that I have a good feeling with that iron that day.

Annika actually talks about this all the time as one of the biggest mistakes that amateurs make, to always try to go for the green. She used to love to lay up because she was so crazy precise with her irons. Of course, she could go for a pin a lot easier than the rest of us too.
 
It depends on how my game is that day. I am not comfortable usually with a wedge in, so I'll look to hit a short iron. If my short game is terrible, I'll take an iron off the tee to leave me a bit of distance going in. If i'm on with my wedges, I won't play to a number. Usually the way the holes are set up at my course though they make you play to a number without even realizing.
 
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Let me reword the question slightly. On par 5s that you cannot reach in two, do most play to be at a specific number or go all out to be close. I always try to be at 70 yards so I can hit a strong but smooth 60* for me. It is my best shot at birdie.
 
JB said:
Let me reword the question slightly. On par 5s that you cannot reach in two, do most play to be at a specific number or go all out to be close. I always try to be at 70 yards so I can hit a strong but smooth 60* for me. It is my best shot at birdie.
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Before when I could not hit a 3W off the deck to save my life I did not worry about it.....My next club was a 3H and that did not get me to the green...Usually left me somewhere between a full GW and a full LW.

i consider my close game to be my scoring game (1/2 wedges, pitches and chips) as my mid-long iron approches have always sucked and I had no choice but to practice the others...

Now that I am hitting my 3W better off the deck..(lining up way on my front foot), the last 2 rounds I find myself contemplating whether I can make the green in two, or pulling out the 3H to leave myself a LW or GW wedge shot...

bama
 
I hit it as hard as I can off the tee on a 5. I don't do the math. My second shot is almost always a lay up unless it's a short par 5 and I'm within 220 or so. (Rarely happens.) So I do a little math on the 2d shot and try to put myself at least in the 135-100 range. I've got a gap between 100 (soft PW) and 85 (full 56 degree) that always messes me up, so I try to pick one or the other if I can.
 
It depends. I can't really lay up to an exact yardage usually because on the par 5's I play, the course don't mark much past 225 yards. I can sometimes walk it off, but usually it is a guess as to how far out I am. So when laying up I usually try to play to a yardage range that is outside of 80 yards so I can have a full swing.

If a par 5 doesn't have much trouble, and is more open in front of the green and I am in the 240-260 range I may take a 3wood/3 iron to get close to the front of the green for a pitch or a chip shot.

With all that said I do find myself going for the green more than I probably should, I don't feel that 220 yards is out of my range with a long iron and in my head if I have to go wedge-wedge to get there I might as well go for it.

Edit: As far as par 4's with my tee shots if the hole is under 360-370 yards I will pretty much always hit a 4 or 5 iron off the tee, if it is 300 or under(very few course has those types of holes), I will think about hitting driver.
 
If I don't have a chance to be on in 2 or if there is trouble in front of the green that makes it too risky I try to lay up to 100 yards. I like 100 to 75 yards so trying to get it to the 100 allows for some run out on the layup. Our course has two par 5s with water (or used to be water before this drought) in front of the greens so it is tough to go for it in 2 unless there is a godd wind behind you. Another has water that comes into play off the tee as it is 220 to the end of the fairway and about a 250 carry to clear the water. The other par 5 is the only one I always go for in 2 you can hit a 3 wood off the tee to lay up in front of a creek and you have 220 to 240 to the green with only one sand trap that comes into play that is in the right front part of the green.

Kind of long answer to say I try to lay up to 100 yards if I don't have a good chance of getting on or their is trouble that makes it too risky to go for it.
 
I try to get as close as I can, I'm just as comfortable with a half SW as I am with any other swing.
 
Don't play to a certain number but I don't try to get as close to the hole as possible.

My general rules are Holes 440 and under 3 wood or hybrid off the tee.Will generally leave me with no more then 7 iron in my hand.
 
I can't help it. If I drive it in the fairway (or sometimes even in the reasonable rough) on a Par 5, the 3w is coming out and I'm fixing to make a huge mistake. Giving me a respectable drive on a Par 5 is like giving a 16 year old male the keys to a new high performance sportbike. No good will come of it, and it's gonna be ugly.

Luckily for me, my driving has been so awful that I find myself laying up a bit more. :)
 
I know the feeling 92, I had to start asking myself how likely it was that I would pull off one of the best shots of my life in order to dicourage myself from going for it all the time and ending up in trouble.
 
For me I try to play to a number on par 5's that are out of reach. I try for depending on the hole to leave myself 100-115 to the flag. I know that distance and can control the spin at that yardage.
 
Depends on the hole and how I'm hitting that day. I never pre-plan any hole, just take them as they come. On a day when my chipping and pitching is on I don't worry about it much, but if I just chunked a pitch on the last hole, I'm less incline to create another opportunity for that. :confused2:
 
For me it depends on how much trouble there is in front of or around the green. If there's water anywhere close I'll always lay up. If it's just sand traps I'll usually go for it. I like to lay up to a specific yardage depending on the slope of the green. If it slopes back to front I'll try to be 120 out for PW instead of 105 for a gap that will spin off the front.
 
It depends a bit for me. On most par 4's I just step up and hit the drive, then worry about what I'll hit next when I see how far out I am.

On Par 5's, my goal is to always be able to put the 2nd shot on or close to the green. Most of the time there is a dogleg that seems to come into play, and I'll try to cut it off the tee then if within 250 to the pin I'll fire away with my 3 wood unless there is water directly in front of or beside the green.

If I'm in a situation where it's either too far to reach the green in 2 or there's water too close for my comfort I'll usually play to have about 100-120 to the green. I like my 8i-PW for that kind of shot and usually feel it'll be close if not on.
 
It depends on a few factors for me. Length of the hole, trouble on the hole, and the position I want to be in.

My goal on any tee shot is to keep the ball in play, then position, then distance. Usually I try and be inside of 150. I will hit whatever club I need to accomplish this. Sometimes it is a 4-iron, sometimes it is a driver. I have two holes at my course that are similar distance. One of them I never hit driver, one of them I have never not hit driver. The latter hole has no trouble and right or left doesn't matter so I try and get as close as I can. The former hole has trouble on the right and a dogleg that you don't want to hit too far through. The left side is the better position for the green, so I try and hit there. The hole is short enought that I can usually be inside of 150, so I will take the position over distance.

On par 5's it depends on the same factors. I am comfortable 'going for a green' if I am inside of 215, 235 if there is no trouble around the green. If I can hit a good tee shot and get in that range I will bomb away. If I feel I can get to the green and avoid any trouble, I will go for it. Otherwise I will lay-up to any distance inside of 100. This past weekend I found myself in the rough on a par 5. I was only 210 from the green, but with an awkward stance and trouble that I would have to go over, I hit PW, then SW, = easy par.

If on a par 5 I have no chance to reach in two, I have no problems backing off the tee shot and playing a 3-wood to keep the ball in play. Then just play the second shot to a good distance.
 
92Esquire said:
I can't help it. If I drive it in the fairway (or sometimes even in the reasonable rough) on a Par 5, the 3w is coming out and I'm fixing to make a huge mistake. Giving me a respectable drive on a Par 5 is like giving a 16 year old male the keys to a new high performance sportbike. No good will come of it, and it's gonna be ugly.

Luckily for me, my driving has been so awful that I find myself laying up a bit more. :)
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LOL...been there...done that...still doing that...
 
If today is one of those days where my driver is working properly (I hit an average of 12 fairways when I'm on) I will just pound the driver down the middle and take my chances with an abbreviated wedge. If my driver is being balky (it can be very moody), I will tee off with 3-5 iron and try to leave 8-PW into the greens. On most par 5's I try to lay up to a number with my 2nd shot unless it is inside 240 in which case I try to reach the green with 5W or long iron.
 
I have played a few rounds with our club pro and he subscribes to the theory to closer is always better, barring trouble of course. It teaches us to hit all shots and but I play the same way.
 
+1 with WWPSD
 
For me it depends on the hole. That being distance and layout. If I know I can't get to the green in under regulation strokes, I don't try. This usually comes into play only on par 5s, since I still have the swing to get to all but the longest par 4 greens in regulation. As far as a specific approach yardage number, anything from 150 yards in, I am comfortable with. Yardage, and stroke numbers aside, the big thing I look at, is what my first putt is for, once on the green. If my first putt is for par or better for 80%+ for the 18 holes, I am feeling good about my round. :comp:
 
I always think I am going to try to hit it to a certain place but seems like most of the time I forget about that and try to get it as far as I can. Usually into some kind of trouble when it doesn't work as planned.
 
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