Most Important Club, Driver, Putter, Wedge

[KARL M]

Course dependent.

 

My current home course score is heavily dependent on fairway woods, as they are used more than my driver.

 

My old home course was very open and spraying the ball around rarely mattered. Iron shots into the greens made the most difference.

 

In a scramble, you should always have at least one useable drive. Good iron shots make for realistic birdie bids.

[Tiptx1122]

You don't have to be a good driver to score well unless of corse you duff it or hit it OB. You don't even have to hit every GIR either as I find myself just off the fairway quit a bit but somehow when Im trying to save par or make that long birdie putt that means more to me. I feel that you are using your putter the most so making those 1 putts really help me out. The Putter gets my vote

[Jstdoit95]

For me it all about getting up and down.

I agree 100%... You one drive one tee shot every hole....how many do you one putt?

[tobiasjd]

Driver and Putter I think. Because those are the 2 areas that can be disastrous. Usually irons don't have to be that great, just decent. I just want to be anywhere close to the green in regulation. I want to make putts inside 6 feet. If I can do those 2 things I will have a great score. Doesn't seem like it should be that hard. It's maddening.

 

For the pros or top level amateurs it's often iron play where you see the separation. They are all consistently good inside 15 feet uphill. It then becomes a matter of who can put themselves in that position most often. Getting hot with the putter is often a result of staying below the hole. Chipping/pitching is pretty automatic for them when not short sided.

[nsxguy]

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

 

Probably pretty close.

 

Rough guesstimate.

 

14 driving holes x 1.5 (2 for OB, 1 for water) = 21 shots wasted.

 

18 3 putts = 18 shots wasted.

 

Then again, anyone doing either one of them,,,,,,, should probably consider knitting,,,,,, with dull needles of course,,,,,,,, :D

[NoTalentLefty]

After rethinking my answer, it’s all of them working in unison. GIR or NGIR is big. Irons as well comes into play in all this.

[LaymanM]

All clubs are equally important. Its approach or tee shot on par 3 that matter. GIR is by far the most important aspect to scoring well.

[bamagolf]

No way to score if you're chipping out of the trees. It's the driver.

[cmatthews77]

D R I V E R is the MOST important club in the bag.

 

You can hit great putts that don’t go in. Sure on Tour the guy who gets a hot putter may win but almost all would say driver is the most important club.

 

 

[buckeyefl]

Since most call many tournaments a putting contest I wouldn't put any money on "almost all". For reference Google "bomb and gouge".

[garagehacker]

Driver. Can’t make birdies or par from behind trees or OB.

 

Can’t make par most of the time from behind trees or in a hazard either

[oldschoolrocker]

No matter in which manner you arrive, you have to be able to finish, so I’ll say putter.

[NEhomer]

I took this more like which club (equipment) is more important in how it can help you so I'd go with the driver.

 

You could give Tiger any of several putters from the 50s and he'd fair better than if he used their drivers.

 

You can putt with anything, a high tech driver will do the most for you.

[MelloYello]

Don't get it twisted guys, there is no single most important club for everyone.

 

 

The point of this myth is to remind us that we can't play good golf without being decent at the 3 critical areas:

 

(1) Driving

(2) Short Game

(3) Putting

 

 

 

Each of those areas is a potential score-killer.

 

 

 

The most common mistakes are what?

 

You drive it OB. You miss a short putt. You hit a bad lag putt. You fail to escape a bunker with your first attempt. You chip it poorly or even duff it.

[Tiptx1122]

Drive for show......Putt for Dough

[pinestreetgolf]

After rethinking my answer, it’s all of them working in unison. GIR or NGIR is big. Irons as well comes into play in all this.

 

We had a long thread on this already. Rawdog linked it earlier. Its pretty interesting, IMO.

 

The big mistake here is people thinking putter is the most important club to their putting. Its not. Irons are. Even if you think putting is the most important part of the game (which is correct) that doesn't mean putter is the most important club. It doesn't matter how good you are or hot you are with your putter if you start at 15 feet and I start at 10 I will kill you in a putting contest.

 

And 10 feet versus 15 feet is an iron (and driver) skill.

 

How well you putt has very little to do with your actual putter or putting skill when you don't adjust for distance.

[Mych]

Whichever one is costing you unnecessary strokes is the most important.

[NorthMNgolfer]

Once you realize that all your clubs in your bag are important your scores will drop.

 

Until then you will just struggle with whatever ones you are not putting the time in with.

 

 

Wise words from a High School Golf coach 20 years ago.....

[BrockPSU]

Once you realize that all your clubs in your bag are important your scores will drop.

 

Until then you will just struggle with whatever ones you are not putting the time in with.

 

 

Wise words from a High School Golf coach 20 years ago.....

 

Agreed, but I can honestly say that you can get away with not being good with certain clubs. Examples include long irons when you have a great short game that you can get up and down. Or a great ball striking ability but a terrible putter. Imo though to be consistently great the short game, the putter is needed to be great 100% of the time or you are risking a bad round. I have saved a couple of bad ball striking ability rounds with the putter and I have blown a lot of great ball striking abilities with the putter.

[pinestreetgolf]

Drive for show......Putt for Dough

 

Putt for dough

Drive for a little more dough

Hit irons on the green and close for a metric ton of dough

 

Not as catchy.

[stryper]

Whichever one is your weakest?

 

I've hit the driver terrific here lately. Probably out of my last four or five rounds I've had mid irons into the par fives on at least half of them. I've made about three birdies. My irons are not awful, but bad enough to miss the green. And then don't get up and down. I've been told several times lately after we finish the hole, "nice drive". Mean. And so true.

 

This goes back to several earlier threads where several people will tell you that the final and authoritative answer. I still maintain that it's different for each person

 

Shoulda stopped there...probably the best answer to this question I’ve seen.

[Chef23]

To play really good golf you need to be a good driver of the golf ball. You don't have to be the longest but you need to be in between the trees. You can't be in the 70s if you are a poor driver of the ball taking penalty strokes and having to punch out.

[WidespreadPanic]

Hitting your irons well is the only way to score. If you hit them well, you can putt decent and still have a good round. If you hit your irons well you can save yourself from missing fairways.

 

There's obviously outliers, but most my best rounds have come with great iron play. I have had great rounds where I drive it all over the map and great rounds where I putt poorly, but rarely do I have a great round if I hit my irons poorly.

[Stanks]

Putter. You're a moron if you disagree.

 

You're most importantly club will forever be the one you handle the most and you putt every. single. hole.

 

If you're driver ain't hanging off the tee, then you can 3 wood, hybrid, 4 iron off. People do it all the time.

 

Wedges are fickle for some. I am doing okay with mine lately so I can't say much.

 

Live by your dads words as I am sure they are the same as my dads, "Drive for show, putt for dough". I can hit he ball 300+ all day but, what good if you can't putt?

[deadsolid...shank]

Putter. You're a moron if you disagree.

 

You're most importantly club will forever be the one you handle the most and you putt every. single. hole.

 

If you're driver ain't hanging off the tee, then you can 3 wood, hybrid, 4 iron off. People do it all the time.

 

Wedges are fickle for some. I am doing okay with mine lately so I can't say much.

 

Live by your dads words as I am sure they are the same as my dads, "Drive for show, putt for dough". I can hit he ball 300+ all day but, what good if you can't putt?

 

Wow, "a moron if you disagree". Just wow.

[mallrat]

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.

 

I might disagree with this.

 

A good putting day is what, 28 -34 putts? A bad putting days is upwards of 40 or if you 3 putt half the holes and 2 putt the other nine you are looking at 45 putts.

 

A bad driving day (say 2 lost balls and 4 punch outs) is 8 strokes.

 

I’ve always seen it as a good putting day can make up for a lot of bad everything else days.

[nsxguy]

Putter. You're a moron if you disagree.

 

You're most importantly club will forever be the one you handle the most and you putt every. single. hole.

 

If you're driver ain't hanging off the tee, then you can 3 wood, hybrid, 4 iron off. People do it all the time.

 

Wedges are fickle for some. I am doing okay with mine lately so I can't say much.

 

Live by your dads words as I am sure they are the same as my dads, "Drive for show, putt for dough". I can hit he ball 300+ all day but, what good if you can't putt?

 

I guess I'm a moron. :cry:

 

I'll tell you what.

 

I'm about average as a putter. You may be the best amateur(?) around.

 

You putt birdie from 25 feet for 18 holes and I'll put birdie from 10 feet for 18 holes.

 

Got cash ? ;)

 

As for the old cliche', just as in most of them, there's some truth in them, but often not much,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

cli·ché

 

noun

 

1. a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

[2putttom]

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.

aww pepper. ur my hero :superman:

[chris975d]

Quite often I can hit my driver 20 or 30 yards in just about any direction from my intended landing area and it doesn't cost me a stroke. Quite often I can hit my irons 5 to 15 yards from my intended target and it also doesn't cost me a stroke. If I miss by 3 inches left or right, hit it too hard or too soft, a putter always costs me a stroke. I'll go with putter.

 

I have to say putter, at least for me personally. If I miss the target (fairway), it doesn't necessarily cost me a stroke. With irons/wedges, if I miss the target (green), it doesn't necessarily cost me a stroke. With the putter, if I miss the target (cup), it ALWAYS adds a stroke to my score. So I have to say putter for that reason. Other clubs missing their target do not ALWAYS add strokes to your score. But missing a putt always does.

[pinestreetgolf]

Quite often I can hit my driver 20 or 30 yards in just about any direction from my intended landing area and it doesn't cost me a stroke. Quite often I can hit my irons 5 to 15 yards from my intended target and it also doesn't cost me a stroke. If I miss by 3 inches left or right, hit it too hard or too soft, a putter always costs me a stroke. I'll go with putter.

 

I have to say putter, at least for me personally. If I miss the target (fairway), it doesn't necessarily cost me a stroke. With irons/wedges, if I miss the target (green), it doesn't necessarily cost me a stroke. With the putter, if I miss the target (cup), it ALWAYS adds a stroke to my score. So I have to say putter for that reason. Other clubs missing their target do not ALWAYS add strokes to your score. But missing a putt always does.

 

Most putts have pre-determined outcomes. Missing a putt from fifty feet doesn't cost you a stroke. You never make that putt anyway. Its like saying it cost you a stroke that you didn't drive the green on a 450 yard par 4. Its true, but meaningless.

 

If you want to think that way, driver is by far the most important club. Every time you don't hit it directly in the hole off the tee you add like 3 or 4 strokes! If a shot has a less than 10% chance of success (i.e. every putt outside 15 feet) then it doesn't cost a stroke.

 

The putter costs you a stroke when you miss a putt you "should" make. For tour players, this is about 7 and a half feet and in. For us its probably around six feet.

 

So count the number of putts inside six feet you miss, divide it by about a third or a quarter depending on your skill (since nobody makes them all) and that's how many strokes your putting actually cost you.