Very much agree with your strategy. However like many seniors I no longer hit it far enough to reach many par 4 in 2 shots. The range finder is great help to avoid trouble. Generally better to lay up then chip on rather than risk being in green side bunkers.
agree with many of the comments below. High handicappers need distance often and will frequently duff a mid/long iron or hybrid (how often have you done that when "playing for safety?"). I have often found trouble with a driver, true, but an iron even down the fairway is often meaning the hole is unreachable, so there is more to selection than suggested here
I’m old, swing slowly, and play the senior tees because I only hit my driver 180 yards. Any par 4 over 350 yards is already a par 5 for me. If I don’t hit driver, pretty much every par 4 would be a par 5.
@@johnsoltau620 then just ditch the driver if you only hit it 5 more yards. Hit 3 wood off the tees on long holes and replace driver with a 5 wood or a long hybrid.
A rule I learned long ago is to play holes backwards in my mind. I always start by figuring out where I want to his my shot onto the green. When I have that spot in mind, I can look at the distance it is from the tee. If I can get there with driver without bringing hazards into play, I'll hit it, but often, either it's past my driver distance (or the course designers put hazards there), so I break up the distance into two shorter shots or it's a distance I can hit with shorter clubs. Just thinking this way often means hitting less than driver off the tee and as a result, I keep more balls in play and hit more low-pressure shots. As for finding distances, I use a free app on my phone to get distances via GPS.
You are absolutely right, good course management can definitely change your game. Also, you are swinging great and your whole game seems really good. Keep the videos coming and God Bless my friend
I use the same range finder. I can say this, their customer service is off the charts. When I first bought it I had an issue that wasn’t milessey issue. They still made it right and then some. It’s a great product and great company. I’ve bought one for all my family and friends that golf. I couldn’t recommend more. Good videos. As many golf channels are getting stale yours stays good because you’ve found your niche stay in it and do it well
Before rangefinders, we used to play a course by the 150 markers, you knew if you hit around them, you had a lofted iron left in. Good to get people thinking James.
Great video with really great advice. Until very recently this year, I have been avoiding the big dog but that’s largely because my driving has been absolute pants this season and sod all to do with course planning 😂😂
I think a big thing for handicap golfers is that if they aren't big hitters, they feel they need to hit driver more often to stand any chance of getting down the hole... So a 445 par 4, say they hit a driver 220, it's like playing a par five for most of them, so they hit driver all the time because they need that distance, because otherwise that 445 hole would be a par six for them.
I watched another RU-vid PGA pro show his latest tournament footage. Didn't hit driver until hole five. Maybe only hit it eight times. Granted, a great drive can get you closer, a short gave (150 yards and in) is where the money is made.
The best golf (score wise) I have played was several year ago when I left my driver and three wood in the garage. Only played irons for about a year and my handicap went down by 6.
snap - shot my best round of 79 just under 2 weeks ago on a course where i only hit driver 4 times. Could have actually shot 75 if i had putted better as well.
I guess there's a couple of ways to look at it depending on your level. 2x irons into a par 4 should leave a short club in and chance for par, 2 putt bogey. Same on par 5s, 3x 7 irons should be well into wedge range. Problem many of us suffer from is hitting one of those irons poorly leaves us in the 💩 even further from the hole. Using 3w instead of driver is normally even worse (probably because we're not using it much). Certainly a good argument for the mini driver, or playing your driver built properly with a shorter shaft. Personally I'm more comfortable with my driver, but I see a mini driver on the horizon
I’m trying to do the same.plot my way around the course. You loose less balls and avoid getting frustrated. Sometimes it works well sometimes we get to caught up with our score and want more.
Can I make a dumb suggestion? I played D-1 golf and some small tours after. As a kid I was taught to see a grid in my head when hitting shots. The grid was my landing zone grid got smaller as the club did. Doing this I trained my brain to only see that grid in my head. It took any water, trees, sand, etc. out of play since I only saw that grid in my head. Don’t know if will help you but was great help to me and still is. Good luck.
My rule of thumb was play to your strengths ( of the day 😂 ) and conservative on the cold bits until they come around. If it’s a tight hole I’m still hitting a hot driver vs a cold long iron and so on. 🤷♀️ If it’s all good then yes course management and aggressive on the green lights but many of us don’t have that luxury.😂🤭
My aim is to leave me at least 80 to 90 meters to the green and use my 9 iron. I am very inconsistent with wedges . Within 40 meters I chip with my 8 iron if there is no bunker in front. I don't bother with a rangefinder. To much distraction.
James Shotscope data suggests that you will score better by hitting the tee shot further and having a shorter shot in. How do you reconcile this fact with your strategy on the second?
Because 90% of golfers I’ve taught personally struggle from tricky yardages. Data is fantastic but having been in the trenches with actual people that’s my strategy. 🙌🏼⛳️
I couldn’t agree more with your strategy. I used to use my driver for the PAR 4/5s every time. Recently I switched to 3W only to tee off. It helped to lower my score! My driver goes long and far but the misses are wide. My 3Ws do not go far but it is straight, and the misses are not that dreadful. Was about to throw away my Driver (sell it), but now I think I got to be more strategic in my tee-off club selection. Thanks!
