Most Important Club, Driver, Putter, Wedge

[deadsolid...shank]

I understand where others are coming from with saying driver/drive is their most important as well as putting. Starting off in a good position and capitalizing it with minimal strokes on the green are essential. For me personally, it may also depend on the course. Wide open links I'm going with irons/wedges 9/10. If I'm mishitting my driver I'd aim to compensate. But that puts extra pressure on my irons/wedges to pick up the slack as I'm now probably anywhere between 30-60 yards off of where I needed to place it. Close approaches kind of negates below average putting. I don't necessarily need my putting to be my best aspect if I can stick it within 10-15 feet. Tight parkland course though I'm going with driver/drive 10/10. Scores skyrocket when I have to start playing punch shots under trees every hole. If I get it near my desired target off the tee, I can play my irons/wedges that I know my misses wouldn't be near as offline compared to a driver.

 

I think one also has to look at strokes gained from poor shots at each of the club levels OP designated. I am just beginning to explore strokes gained, so I don't quite understand it fully yet, but if a poor shot with one level of clubs consistently drops ones strokes gained compared to the other levels, then that should be your most important club level.

 

I’m not a big stats proponent. But if I were I would guess my SG driving would be very good right now. My scores however are not.

 

Driving can certainly set you up with the opportunity to score well (or completely take away any opportunity), but you can also score poorly even after driving it well.

[SwooshLT]

For me its driver. If i get off the t it sets the foundation and gives me confidence. Then putter. Make some putts, lag some longer ones up close and you got a good round going. Wedges are distant 3rd for me. Id even put my 8-pw ahead of traditional wedges. Hit a fairway, hit a green, give yourself a look at bird. Par at worst. Keeps the big numbers off the card.

 

In your statement however, you make it sound as hitting the green is a given....fwy pct is higher for tour players ....obvious reasons.....AMs hitting greens has to be in the high 30s low 40s....point being you CAN miss the fwy BUT still hit greens with very good iron play.....I'd rather hit 12-13 greens anyday over that many fairways....I'm struggling right now hitting tons of fairways but not hitting enough greens.

 

Phil at the US Open only missed like 2 or 3 fwys the first 2 rounds yet couldn't hit a green to save his life....it works better to hit fwys but certainly no guarantees that it will help in scoring.....hitting 18 greens doesn't guarantee anything either just makes it EASIER to shoot a lower score IF proximity is decent and a few putts fall....that's another story in itself!

[Superbrit]

I have never scored well driving it all over the place, but i play a tight course, so it can depend on the course as well

[ghoul31]

I hit the driver great yesterday and had a terrible round because my putting and wedges were bad

 

I'll go with putting

[rawdog]

Bookmarking this thread to come back for the shitstorm.

 

Hint: NSX had it right. It evolves as your skill level changes.

 

Hint #2: It's different for everyone, but odd are you fit in the fat part of the bell curve, so there IS one correct answer for you (most likely).

[deadsolid...shank]

Bookmarking this thread to come back for the shitstorm.

 

Hint: NSX had it right. It evolves as your skill level changes.

 

Hint #2: It's different for everyone, but odd are you fit in the fat part of the bell curve, so there IS one correct answer for you (most likely).

 

Is that you PSG!?

[earleyrc]

My vote is iron play, followed closely by the driver/tee club.

 

It's definitely NOT the putter. There isn't a ton of difference between good putting days and bad putting days.. outside of 8 feet we will miss more than we make (tour average 1 putt from 8ft is 49%, so yea, anyone reading this is missing more than half of those putts).

 

They key is GIR, and the closer the better.

[Shifty76]

For me it's no contest whatsoever: Driver.

If I'm struggling off the tee I could be as high as 3-4 strokes in, even before I hit my approach to the green. At that point, my score for the hole is blown up anyway. Doesn't matter if I hit the green then one putt, I'm still looking at a triple or worse.

 

For better, more consistent golfers than me the difference between a good drive and a bad one may just mean that you're hitting out of the rough, or 20-30 yards back from where you'd be normally. For me it's OB / lost ball / hacking out of trees for who knows how many extra strokes.

[buckeyefl]

I understand where others are coming from with saying driver/drive is their most important as well as putting. Starting off in a good position and capitalizing it with minimal strokes on the green are essential. For me personally, it may also depend on the course. Wide open links I'm going with irons/wedges 9/10. If I'm mishitting my driver I'd aim to compensate. But that puts extra pressure on my irons/wedges to pick up the slack as I'm now probably anywhere between 30-60 yards off of where I needed to place it. Close approaches kind of negates below average putting. I don't necessarily need my putting to be my best aspect if I can stick it within 10-15 feet. Tight parkland course though I'm going with driver/drive 10/10. Scores skyrocket when I have to start playing punch shots under trees every hole. If I get it near my desired target off the tee, I can play my irons/wedges that I know my misses wouldn't be near as offline compared to a driver.

 

I think one also has to look at strokes gained from poor shots at each of the club levels OP designated. I am just beginning to explore strokes gained, so I don't quite understand it fully yet, but if a poor shot with one level of clubs consistently drops ones strokes gained compared to the other levels, then that should be your most important club level.

 

I’m not a big stats proponent. But if I were I would guess my SG driving would be very good right now. My scores however are not.

 

Driving can certainly set you up with the opportunity to score well (or completely take away any opportunity), but you can also score poorly even after driving it well.

 

Or very well. A good drive is nice but it's just the first step.

[deadsolid...shank]

I understand where others are coming from with saying driver/drive is their most important as well as putting. Starting off in a good position and capitalizing it with minimal strokes on the green are essential. For me personally, it may also depend on the course. Wide open links I'm going with irons/wedges 9/10. If I'm mishitting my driver I'd aim to compensate. But that puts extra pressure on my irons/wedges to pick up the slack as I'm now probably anywhere between 30-60 yards off of where I needed to place it. Close approaches kind of negates below average putting. I don't necessarily need my putting to be my best aspect if I can stick it within 10-15 feet. Tight parkland course though I'm going with driver/drive 10/10. Scores skyrocket when I have to start playing punch shots under trees every hole. If I get it near my desired target off the tee, I can play my irons/wedges that I know my misses wouldn't be near as offline compared to a driver.

 

I think one also has to look at strokes gained from poor shots at each of the club levels OP designated. I am just beginning to explore strokes gained, so I don't quite understand it fully yet, but if a poor shot with one level of clubs consistently drops ones strokes gained compared to the other levels, then that should be your most important club level.

 

I’m not a big stats proponent. But if I were I would guess my SG driving would be very good right now. My scores however are not.

 

Driving can certainly set you up with the opportunity to score well (or completely take away any opportunity), but you can also score poorly even after driving it well.

 

Or very well. A good drive is nice but it's just the first step.

 

Agree 100%.

 

 

[rawdog]

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1570362-what-club-most-dictates-your-score/page__st__150#entry16526632

 

Who said it... me or PSG? If you click the link, you'll be rewarded with a cool chart.

 

"I'll parrot a common refrain... if you haven't read "Every Shot Counts," do so! You'll like it. There is a cool chart that I reproduced below that shows where the strokes come from as typical golfers progress in skill. Note, I said typical :) The biggest improvement in scores comes from the approach game, then driving, then short game. Putting is only 14% of the reason a typical amateur advances from a 90 to an 80 golfer."

[earleyrc]

http://www.golfwrx.c...0#entry16526632

 

Who said it... me or PSG? If you click the link, you'll be rewarded with a cool chart.

 

"I'll parrot a common refrain... if you haven't read "Every Shot Counts," do so! You'll like it. There is a cool chart that I reproduced below that shows where the strokes come from as typical golfers progress in skill. Note, I said typical :) The biggest improvement in scores comes from the approach game, then driving, then short game. Putting is only 14% of the reason a typical amateur advances from a 90 to an 80 golfer."

 

Very true. Putt for dough is a BS statement. Tee to green is really where your round is made or broke. Tee and iron play are so closely related in improving GIR.

[rawdog]

In the thread I referenced, PSG, North Butte, ThinkingPlus and DeadSolid hit on some awesome points. DeadSolid even coined a new stat (LaGs - looks at green).

 

Among the points were:

• The most important club could be considered the one you have your most variance with, in terms of strokes gained. I share this view. Meaning, on a round by round basis, there is one part of your game that has more variance between good and bad than the rest. For the vast majority of people, this will be irons/approaches.
  
• Improving putting is great, but improving iron play improves putting exponentially. As PSG noted, if you make X% more putts, you make X% more putts. But if you improve your iron play (proximity) X%, you make more than X% more putts because putts become exponentially easier as you get closer to the hole.
  
• Putting and short game aren't good ways to improve your score unless you really suck at putting and short game.
  

[DK<80]

Good topic.

 

I used to think putting was the most important part. Would still agree if you're really a bad putter (multiple 3 putts per round, consistently missing 3 footers, etc.)

 

Now I'm leaning more towards driver. My approaches and putts usually come along as I concentrate IF I put a ball in play off the tee. Lately I am plagued with losing at least 2-3 balls off the tee.

 

I do believe answers will be biased depending on each player's strong/weak points.

[Naptime]

Since putter gets used most I would say putter. Asked a bit differently, if you had to play a round with a single club what would it be. For me prob a 7 iron.

[Pepperturbo]

Since I can effectively get around 18 holes without using a driver (opting for 2i or 3w) and often putt with my LW, LW is my most important club. :beach: I've played 6000 yards using 6i, PW & LW.

[dciccoritti]

Most important is the weakest part of your game IMO. For me it's my irons. Much improved but still a little inconsistent.

 

However maintenance of your strengths is just as important. Made this mistake last year working hard on the iron game and assuming everything else would just stay intact. It didn't :-)

[kiw1982]

putter without question

[FadeFace]

Putter. That’s one pretty specific club for one pretty specific area of the course. Other clubs can be played in and out on the course but putter really only has one job. I could get around with forgetting just about any other club but if I left putter at home we’ll...long day

[Dan Drake]

LaG's and nGIR's could arguably be the most important stats in golf!

[ago33]

Depends on what you are looking for

 

Most important to win drinks for low net-Wedge

Most important to brag to the chicks at the bar with- Driver

Most important to take your friends money- Putter

[Johnnypenso]

Driver - or whatever you are hitting off the tee. If you're missing left/right and are behind trees all day and need to punch out, you're never going to score well.

If you have a two way miss and are behind trees all day you're a very high handicapper and no part of your game is going to save you.

[Sir edward of putternut]

Putter..

U can salvage a roumd when ur driver is off. U can salvage a roumd when ur irons are off. But the flat stick will just destroy ur card

[dubbelbogey]

This is normal stuff for those who work in certain analytical fields like engineering, manufacturing, finance, etc... It's almost always a form of weighted cost/benefit, and will always be unique to each situation. I.e. the most important area to work on is where you're losing the most strokes weighed against the cost (or equivalently, likelihood) of improving that area.

 

Example:

If you hit your driver OB a lot, and that's where you lose a lot of strokes, find a more reliable way to hit off the tee. This could be done via equipment (less likely to work) or take enough lessons to get more reliable with your driver (much more likely to work.) I know one guy who simply learned how to hit a 60% effort drive more and though he only gets 225-ish yards, it's now a pretty reliable shot. The same guy used to be in the trees and on the wrong side of the white stakes several times a round. Easy decision.

 

On the other hand, if you lose strokes because you're short off the tee (maybe it's purely a physical limitation), and you're reasonably sure you can't get more distance with equipment (again, not likely) or lessons, then that's just a "sunk cost", and there's no point in spending time or $$ improving that area. You'll have to look elsewhere, even if those parts of your game are already better than your tee shots.

 

If you think putting is your problem because you have a lot of three putts, don't forget to consider how far away your first putts are. If your first putt is often from the complete opposite side of the green, I might argue your real problem isn't putting.

 

Find the worst part of your game that you can do the most about and start there. It could take the form of directly improving that skill, or managing your golf so that skill isn't needed as much anymore. Don't waste time with those bad parts of your game you have little chance at affecting.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

I'd say wedge and in particular my 60 degree. Full shots from 90 yards and in, out of bunkers, around the greens, I know how it reacts, how much it checks etc. I can get away with playing a different driver and putter as the all fairly similar. Wedges are more personal and can be used in various situations.

[cliche]

well. what does hurt more? 3-Putting every green, or hitting every driver OB or into the hazard?

[Fubuman]

Wedges all the way.

When my short game is off, I have a very long day.

That being said, if any of the other two are off, my game also suffers but not as much.

Driver off = Hybrid & 3w

Putter off = focus on shoulders & breathing & I can usually rescue something, however if I’m chunking or thinning it around the green = Disaster

[kenwiggins11]

Ability to drive the ball. Tons of guys on champions tour and Women on LPGA are amazing around the greens. I read some where the further you move back from the pin the greater the gaps increase between amateurs and pros. Also part is knowing your own strengths and weakness.

[ahdong]

wedges definitely

[Joelsim]

The one you use the most.

 

In my case that’s the driver as I use it at least twice off every tee!