Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
I think the point is that an individual can get much better at hitting a full shot with a single club than trying to hit a number of shots with different clubs using touch. Touch is the hardest thing for players to develop because it takes an incredible amount of time and practice to develop. It is also why it is the first thing to go when people take an extended period off. Touch is only there with repetition and practice. Conversely, hitting a full shot should be quickly recovered, even after a lengthy break.
For a recreational player I would always recommend they find that zone where they can hit the 8-out-of-10 shot and lay back to that position, because the alternative is hitting 1-out-of-10 shots from areas where golf course designers drop the most hazards and make scoring the toughest. If you asked players what is the strength of their game, very few are going to go to the short game first and foremost.
This is the thing that is bogus about that article IMO. They look at the problem from just a distance perspective, which to me is a scam. They are taking out the very challenges that arise as you get near the green, which are hazards and deep rough designed to make it more difficult on the golfer. Bull#### statistics generated on the range are completely irrelevant once you get out on the golf course and those hazards become a reality. Sure, bomb it down to 60 yards, in the deep rough, then contend with the bunker right in front of the pin, or the fact you just shorted yourself and nor are forced to try and hit a fade away green with a deft touch shot. The game is different from the simulator or the range where everything is flat and you don't have to take the hazards into play. The recreational player is better off laying back to 100 yards and getting proficient at that one shot than trying to navigate a series of shots that require different clubs, different bounces, and most importantly, different swing lengths. Simplify your game and it will get better quicker. Once you become proficient at the simple game, then take on another challenge, like the half shot. But if you can't make a consistent full swing, can't hit the ball straight, and can't putt, what are you doing trying to play finesse golf? Bad article is bad advice IMO.
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There's got to be some common sense here and probably always depends on the situation. Most rec golfers are probably more comfortable with driver off the tee since modern driver are so forgiving. The driver is probably the right choice for most people, most of the time unless there is trouble in your normal range.
There's a lot of situations where it is probably wise to aim for a comfortable, stock distance in a wide part of the fairway when laying up vs hitting a 3 wood as far as you can when at best you'll be 20-30 short and you have a good chance of slicing it into the trees.