Accuracy versus Distance with the Driver

[jubilee_links]

Accuracy all day - so much of the focus on strokes gained (measured for PROFESSIONAL golfers) is about big drive and wedge out the rough. Your average tour pro is orders of magnitude stronger out the rough than a handicap golfer so they can get the benfit whereas your handicap golfer is just as likely to make a mess of a wedge from the rough as an 8 iron approach from fairway.

This was discuessed on the most recent MGS video when discussing fitting myths - distance sells drivers but doesnt lower scores as much. Get the longest accurate driver that fits your game - dont just get the longest.

Do what suits your game and minimises your penalties - if you play regularly on a wide open course with litlle 'stroke and distance' hazards then long and loose is great.

Personally my scores are destroyed by OB and lost balls in the rough ...... short knocker as well - so getting dispersion sorted would be the game changer.

 

 

[davep043]

Without some real numbers, the question is difficult to answer. I'd want to see percentage of fairways or first cut), percentage in the rough, and percentage in real trouble. The way I read the question, its seems to me that the choice means going from 75% fairways to 25% fairways for the added 10 to 15 yards off the tee. That's a no-brainer, I'll take the fairways. But in real life the difference is likely to be one more ball in the rough per round for the extra yards, and THAT trade just might be worth it.

[Albatross71]

I would say that I definitely have both shots, I am normally a straight driver but there are a few times that I enjoy the extra carry even if my chances of being in trouble are there. That being said I think the chances of being in trouble tend to help you out in the long run as it helps to teach you to scramble and work on shots that are typically not the "norm". It makes me really think of my next shot, brings some excitement to my game and gives me a little more confidence in my risks.

[Albatross71]

Also makes it more rewarding in my opinion

[bulls9999]

I can't believe all the comments favoring accuracy. I recently started playing with a slightly older group at our club, 1 day a week, who play from a shorter tee (and I get an appropriate smaller handicap for that), and suddenly I'm the 'long drive guy' and 'low handicap guy' (they zero out my handicap strokes and subtract mine from theirs) but it does feel good knowing you can knock it 20-50 yards further; great for confidence. I'm no straighter with my drives than I am one-tee back, but i'm closer to the green and that makes a ton of difference in my scoring which is about 4-5 shots lower per round. So I can't see where people are saying accuracy over distance. Now maybe they would 'prefer' to be accurate than long (me too), but you have to experience it to appreciate the impact it has on scoring. And my (artificial) advantage when I play with that group is merely being 1 tee closer and distance for me is a 1-time event per hole as it is just manifest by playing from a shorter tee; all my other shots are the same distance I hit my other clubs; Bryson is 'longer' with all his clubs, not just his drives.

[Oqvist]

But how do you score when you hit the ball in the woods? Sounds like you even on inaccurate days never miss the fairway :)

[ShortSticks]

Thanks to all that participated in this discussion. I should have made it a poll, but in hindsight that may not have generated as many comments. Either way I am surprised to see the variety of answers to what I thought was a simple question. I guess each person plays this game for different reasons and in different circumstances which can change their priorities greatly.

With the recent win by the bomb-n-gouge crowd it begs the question is distance king? Do the young athletic bombers rule the roost? Kind of like the 3 point shooters in the NBA, is this the future of golf?

[davep043]

The OP asked about a 10 to 15 yard difference, not 20 to 50 yards. I agree with you, if I can average 30 yards longer, I'll take the distance as long as it doesn't come with a complete loss of accuracy. And I'll take 10 to 15 as long as the loss of accuracy is small. But if its 10 to 15 yards with a significant loss in accuracy, that's when accuracy becomes more important.When the distance difference is a large as what Bryson had, distance IS king. Its also important to remember that he was hitting the fairways at 350, he wasn't in the trees all that much. AND he had the guts to hit driver most of the time, he wasn't laying up to wedge range, he was getting as close as he possibly could. AND he was the week's leader in Strokes Gained Putting. Drive it long and straight, putt better than anyone else, you're going to do really well.

[1mcozik]

Accuracy over power. What good is a 300 yard drive if you land in trouble every hole vs someone who is always on the fairway. Yeah, the one guy who can drive it 300 yards might get it on the fairway 1/14 tries but OB or in trouble the rest of the time = pass.

Unless you mean Accuracy = 200 yard drive max then I'll take the 300 yard OB every time haha.

[bulls9999]

I'm not sure what you mean or where you get the idea that I never miss the fairway(?), but what I'm saying, my playing with this group from the next tee box (compared to what I score when I play from my normal blue/mens tees, further back) is like the difference Bryson is seeing being that much further ahead then his competitors. On some of the longer par4's, playing 1 tee up, I'm able to reach the green on my approach shot with short iron (8i-PW); playing from the blue tees, I may need 5-wood, 4-iron, or hybrid. I'm like everyone else when I get a 7 on a par-5 because I just played ping-pong off the trees in the woods and I look back and think, gee whiz I could have just gone 6/7-iron all the way from the tee box and been on the green in 3.

[bulls9999]

Good point, I wouldn't want to be in the rough for just a mere 10-15 yards (at least not the way our club is letting the rough grow lately.... not sure if it's because they're prepping for the club championship :-(.

[callawayjay]

I will disagree with this analysis as I’m physically only able to swing 85-90 mph with any consistency. I have never been long. I have always been straight.

[Saint John]

You can have a philosophical or a statistical discussion about about length vs. accuracy but, for you personally, this is an equipment question. Something doesn't add up. The FWs hit percentages between 2 drivers should be even smaller than the FWs hit percentages between a driver and 3-wood -which Shotscope says is only 1.5%. That accounts for approx. 2" length and 5* loft. Your drivers are likely less dissimilar than that. Either the short one isn't fitted for length or the long one for accuracy.

[Oqvist]

Yes but it only helps Bryson when he hits the fairways. Just about if not all Tour Pros including bryson do give up yardage by hitting power fades more often then not. They are just hitting scary long anyway :p

[ShortSticks]

This was just a discussion (philosophical or statistical) but if you want to make this personal, no problem.

Yes it is an equipment issue, and I do not hit my 3 wood as accurate or as long so that is out of the equation.

Diver A (Accuracy): PING G400 Max 10.5 with PING Tour 65 s @45.25 inches. Average total distance 276 yards, Average Fairways hit 11.2 of 14.

Driver B (Distance): PING G20 10.5 with Graphite Design DJ6s @45.25 inches. Average total distance 288 yards, Average Fairways hit 5.8 of 14

[ShortSticks]

As far as fit is concerned, I was fit for both drivers and the specs match up pretty close to perfect.

Could I make Driver A longer? Sure I could change to a longer shaft (with different specs) to add a little length, but that would sacrifice the accuracy.

Could I make Driver B more accurate? Sure I could cut the shaft down or use a shaft with different specs, but that would take away the distance.

It would make both driver the same and that was not the intent of this discussion.

[nsxguy]

"The FWs hit percentages between 2 drivers should be even smaller than the FWs hit percentages between a driver and 3-wood -which Shotscope says is only 1.5%"

Dewd. Care to provide some source/data/stats for this ? Seems impossible. 2 different drivers can provide incredibly disparate results, even in the hands of a scratch player. Make the player a 20 handicapper and,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[nsxguy]

G400MAX is the most forgiving driver I've ever hit,,,,,,,,,,, but it spins a lot.

Not sure about the G20 but the "regular" version should spin less. Also not familiar with that DJ shaft.

So I plugged in 3000 RPM for the G400MAX and 2300 for the G20, both at the same ball speed. That accounts for just about the distance difference you're suggesting.

As for accuracy, as I mentioned above, different drivers (can) produse wildly different stats, especially in dispersion. I don't wing nearly as fast as you do but last year, in thorough testing, M5, F9, G410, TS2 (&3), did the Army March (left, right, left right). All over the place. Epic Flash SZ and Honma, consistently down the middle with the occasional pull hook or small block right.

Then again, I believe my test results were mostly shaft related.

[ShortSticks]

Thanks for your insight nsxguy, and that is exactly what I am thinking that spin is the difference as it would explain the distance and accuracy differences. Until I can get both on a launch monitor I will not know for sure, but so far the stats I do have tell me enough to see a difference and that is what I was curious as to what most people want in their driver, Accuracy or Distance. So far I have not noticed a big difference in my scores, so I am curious what make a bigger difference in scoring. I have only had the Max for a couple of months but have played the G20 for almost 9 years so it will be interesting to see how this plays out before I start messing with the Max setup.

[nsxguy]

No worries.

The Tour shafton your MAX has a very good reputation. A solid shaft. I expect you can find lower spin shafts for it but I'm not sure you could get the spin from the MAX head "low enough" just changing the shaft - but maybe. Ping was supposed to come out with a G410MAX, I believe this Summer, but with this CV-19 stuff going on, who knows ?

The heads from the major manufacturers have gotten uber forgiving along with lowering spin, a heretofore very difficult combination. I don't think there's a "bad" head in the bunch. Just a matter of finding the right combo for YOU.

Good luck.

[ShortSticks]

Yeah, I am sure with enough experimenting I can find a shaft that could bring the spin down some, but the Tour shaft is already a lower spin shaft so to get the spin down enough I would probably need to go down to a 9 degree head in the G400 MAX. That would probably be the best of both worlds, but for now I will continue with what I have.

[nlinneman20]

Lets put it this way...I just shot a 79 last week, best round of my life. The ONLY hole where I wasn't accurate off the tee (i.e. lost a ball) I carded a triple. That was my only crooked number of the day, so you see how important accuracy is.

 

Assuming you play by the penalty rules, nothing will kill your score more than a lost tee ball.

[St Jimmy]

15 yards is nothing. I take accuracy over that.

 

Now if you're talking 30-40 yards, I take the wild distance.

[GLF4EVR]

If it is a guarantee in either the fairway or 1st cut every time as opposed to 10-15 yards more & a big question mark on where it ends up.......no brainer for me...Driver A.

[2Down]

We get to make the decision on every tee box. I’m usually swinging about 85% or so. I can, occasionally, crank it up if it’s worth the risk.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

You are pretty spot on. Lou Stagner who is a SG guru on Tour and other players has said, there would need to be close to a 40 yard difference in distance firvthe longer drive to make any noticeable difference in Strokes Gained Driving

[ChaosTheory]

I just realized I have both of these drivers. And I play Driver B, distance.

I'm going to give Driver A a shot for a while. I hit <60% fairways with B. The misses are usually good, but my stats show a significant improvement in GIR and scoring from the fairway vs the rough. (I'm tracking with TheGrint.)

[tannyhoban]

It's a rare bird that one that is wild off the tee and accurate with their irons.

At least amongst amateurs.

Golf isn't binary but gIven A or B, I take A as described all day long.

If it were 20-25 yards might be a different story.

[nitram]

Given this information it's Driver A, all day every day.

[ChaosTheory]

Everyone says Driver A, but Driver B is what sells. I think every OEM would agree.