Your preference for a solid round: "up and down" or "tons of great shots, nothing dropped"

[RoyalMustang]

Does your answer depend on the kind of player you are, or is it something else? Do you get more satisfaction from scrambling to save a bunch of pars when your game is not 100%, or one of those days where you barely make a mistake with swings yet can't get a single putt to roll in? 

 

I am always happy to get through a round with minimal damage: I like scrambling as it shows I can recover from adversity. I like playing well though and scrambling doesn't give the feeling of "coulda woulda shoulda" that a nearly great round gives me. 

 

I suppose I will take the "good but coulda been great" round as it gives me more confidence that I have the skillset to be a mid single digit handicap.  

[RoyalMustang]

And to my answer and why:

 

I have had both recently; I mostly play a par 60 near my house (rating of 60, slope 118 when the tees are back like today).  There are a few fairly easy holes but hazards on all but 3 holes and the 2 long par 3's are quite intimidating.  it isn't a gimmie executive course. 

 

Last week, I shot a 67.  I made 9 of 18 greens, had some bad misses but also scrambled well. No 3-putts; 33 putts on the day. Best score up until today: I had been trending around 69-71 fore the past 2 months. 

 

Today I shot a 65.  I had a shanked chip, 2 3-putts, and 5 other putts that changed direction on the lip yet didn't drop. 7 birdie putts inside of 14 feet and I made one birdie.  I didn't make single putt that wasn't a high probability putt. Yet, I made 13 of 18 greens and was never more than 20 feet from the other greens I missed.  Heck, I drove the 300 yard par 4 into the wind with the drive of my life!  I just can't help but think what would have been without a shanked chip (wasn't paying attention) and a couple of putts dropping. I had 35 putts.  My playing partner said multiple times to me: "oh man, robbed again!" as yet another putt that looked like a birdie didn't drop. 

 

Don't get me wrong: 5 over is the best score I have shot there. I started playing again back in July and didn't break 80 out there until the start of September.  Improving by 15 strokes over the past 10 weeks or so is fine by me. 

 

But dang, just a little more luck with the putter and I could have put together a fine (for me) round.  

 

My overall goal is to be in the 70's consistently on a par 72 from the back tees, and I am almost there. I shot 82 from the back tees yesterday on the 18-hole course nearby on a super windy day.  

[MtlJeff]

I am typically a more steady player, so i always enjoy the rounds where i have a lot of birdies. 

 

One of my best rounds ever was shooting 70 in a tournament round (-2) , and i had 6 birdies, including birdieing the 4 toughest holes on the golf course. 

 

Obviously i made 4 bogeys in that round and i have had rounds with less. But that was the most fun round. 

 

In a non-tournament round, i have made 18 straight pars. It's not as fun as it sounds

[noodle3872]

My answer depends on my level of focus and how on I am with my swing on a given day. 

[cardoustie]

I like rounds where I hit it solid

 

72 scraping it around feels like cheating, unless you are picking the pockets of your good friends

[Mookieb10]

Up and downs!! I’m a dreadful putter and with my short game. Two days ago played my best round, +4, but had 4 three-putts. Man, If I get up and down twice and only have two three putts, I’d be happy as could be. 

[Mookieb10]

3 minutes ago, cardoustie said:

I like rounds where I hit it solid

 

72 scraping it around feels like cheating, unless you are picking the pockets of your good friends

 
heck no!! Haa. I feel so differently. I mean, I understand what you mean, I could never shoot 72 if I’m super scrapey. But those up n downs are back breakers. 

[aenemated]

Definitely take a great ballstriking day. 

 

I'll always think of my round at Carnoustie last year. I didn't make one single putt all day (I recall my awesome old Irish caddy saying to me after my 38 on the front ... "Lad, you go back to California, learn how to putt and come back ... that should have been a 34") but it was easily my single best ball striking round I may have ever played. 

 

Hell, just for my tee shot on 16 alone. So much daunting history on that hole ... and I stuck it to like 15 feet from 220. AAAAAAND, of course ... missed the putt. But man, that tee shot. 

Edited November 23, 2020 by aenemated

[RoyalMustang]

38 minutes ago, aenemated said:

Definitely take a great ballstriking day. 

 

I'll always think of my round at Carnoustie last year. I didn't make one single putt all day (I recall my awesome old Irish caddy saying to me after my 38 on the front ... "Lad, you go back to California, learn how to putt and come back ... that should have been a 34") but it was easily my single best ball striking round I may have ever played. 

 

Hell, just for my tee shot on 16 alone. So much daunting history on that hole ... and I stuck it to like 15 feet from 220. AAAAAAND, of course ... missed the putt. But man, that tee shot. 

 

Oh yeah, nothing like crushing a 4 or 5 iron from 220 and giving yourself a shot at a low score! My favorite part of golf is the feel of a well struck long-iron, and I don't get that on days when I am struggling.  Twice around today I had a 6-iron at 185 into a slight headwind, and struck it so well both times that it carried 195 and was barely on the backside of the green.  Amazing feeling, even if a bit too strong of a strike.  The pleasure of a good up and down day is different; there is something to be said about not having your A game and still salvaging a good score.  

[dan360]

I'd rather scramble for up & downs than be 100% GIR and want to snap my putter in half at the turn.

 

Missing putts just flat sucks and when the putter is cold it's like a punch to the gut all...round...long...

[Socrates]

While I can appreciate a round where I chipped and pitched really well (because I have chipping yips occasionally), there is no doubt I would rather have a round where I struck it solid.  Even striking it solid, you can still hit shots that miss the green or fairway.  Slight alignment errors or club choice or miss-calculating the wing are factors.  Now if I can combine a solid striking round and chip it well for those greens I miss - it's a stellar round.

[swagee]

4 hours ago, RoyalMustang said:

Does your answer depend on the kind of player you are, or is it something else? Do you get more satisfaction from scrambling to save a bunch of pars when your game is not 100%, or one of those days where you barely make a mistake with swings yet can't get a single putt to roll in? 

 

I am always happy to get through a round with minimal damage: I like scrambling as it shows I can recover from adversity. I like playing well though and scrambling doesn't give the feeling of "coulda woulda shoulda" that a nearly great round gives me. 

 

I suppose I will take the "good but coulda been great" round as it gives me more confidence that I have the skillset to be a mid single digit handicap.  

 

I'd prefer having a round with as lil drama as possible.

However, given the same results, having a lot of up-and-downs would boost my confidence in my overall performance, since I know that I could swing all out and miss a few fairways and still be okay. 

[b.mattay]

For sure tons of "great shots, nothing dropped". It's not even a contest for me-way less stressful. It may be a bit annoying during the round, but at least I'm able to sleep at night afterwards hahahaha

Edited November 24, 2020 by b.mattay

[Titleist84]

Don't really care what score is but I try to avoid stupid mistakes.  If I can go the entire round without a lost ball, penalty, double bogey, or 3 putt then I'm pretty happy.

 

Sadly it doesn't happen very often .

[Soloman1]

Priorities. I'm getting close to 70 years old and I'm grateful that I can still play, shoot par of less, drive the ball as well or better than scratch golfers 20 years younger than me. I don't care how I do it - short game or fairways and greens.

 

Life is short. Enjoy every round. You could die tomorrow.

[lefthack]

I don't take my putting seriously yet, so for me I like a round with clean strikes. Still getting my yardages down, so I am happy hitting greens in regulations.

[Roejye]

I would say I'd take both at my skill level lol. However, I'd prefer the good ball striking round. If I'm scrambling on 7/9 holes but still scoring well I'll take it, and it'd be a confidence boost, but too stressful, golf is a hobby for me. Of course, if it's just lip out after lip out, it would be kind of annoying too, but I can be kind of streaky with the putter anyways so I would probably chuck it up to having an off day.

[Roody]

I think I get a bigger laugh out of when the putts are just dropping all over the place. Earlier this season I shot 72, and that was with 6 birdies. Don't get me wrong, I was striking the ball well most of that day, but the putting was just ridiculous (26 total putts). The two guys I was playing with that day were shaking their head and laughing at some of the putts that dropped.

 

It's a lot of fun when the putter is hot. 

[James the Hogan Fan]

I would have more fun, I think, having a solid result (around 80 for me right now) getting up and down and making crazy putts from bad leaves, solid cross-green lag and taps, etc. 

 

I get frustrated with putter pretty easily and would feel like I left something on the table with 36 putts or so. Way more fun scrambling all day, if the scrambling is working. (it rarely is, after all)

[Hawkeye77]

If my ball is going where and how I intend it to go it is a gift from above. Those are the days I love, and don’t come often. 

[Warrior42111]

For me I'd say getting up and down all round. It's more confidence inspiring, ending the hole on a good note rather that a bad note.

[SnapHooker_307]

I'd say up and downs from all over the yard. For some reason getting up and down and saving a par that you were not planning on feels so amazing. It is even better when you are playing match play and the other guy is striping it but still can't gain any holes. Seems to make them frustrated and then they start pushing more. 

[phizzy30]

Easy answer for me.  I'd rather hit a ton of good shots and have a so so day on and around the greens.  My issue has always been ball striking.  On my good days, I'm hitting bombs off the tee that are either in the fairway or in the first cut.  I'm also hitting lasers into the greens and racking up the GIRs.  On bad days I have to rely more on my short game to get my out of trouble.  My short game is decent already so I'm not too concerned about it although it could always be better. 

[Fairway14]

I don't consider "solid round" to mean lots of up and downs.

[MikeW2]

I really enjoy both ways. My last full 18 I shot my personal best 70. The front I only hit two greens even though I didn’t hit any truly bad shots but pieced together an even par 37. On the back I hit every fairway and green and carded a 2 under 33. Doesn’t always work out that way but that 18 was a best of both worlds scenario. Played 9 today with a kid who was 50 yards longer than me easily. I missed every fairway😔 but hit 8 greens and shot -2. He totaled up the scores after, had shot a 48, and could not believe I had beaten him so badly. But he chunked 3/4 chips and 3 putted about 5 times. At the end it’s only the score that matters and thankfully we do not have enough room on the scorecards to draw pictures of what happened.

[bigred90gt]

For me, it's kind of both. At the end of the day, I am more satisfied by a good score, no matter if I hit every green in regulation and 2 putt all day, or get up and down from everywhere. But during the round, I do not get any enjoyment from getting up and down aside from the relief of saving par when I do. But, hitting poor shots off the tee or approach will ruin my mood at the time in a hurry. If I miss the fairway and miss the green, but still get up and down for par, I'm more pissed about the two bad shots than I am happy about the up and down. I know it's counter productive, but that's just how my brain works.

[uitar9]

On 11/23/2020 at 7:07 PM, Titleist84 said:

Don't really care what score is but I try to avoid stupid mistakes.  If I can go the entire round without a lost ball, penalty, double bogey, or 3 putt then I'm pretty happy.

 

Sadly it doesn't happen very often .

Exactly.

 

I am trying to avoid stupid shots, thinking I can recover after a bad shot.

 

Strategicall laying up

 

My goal is to play boring down the middle golf

[tannyhoban]

I like days where I strike it clean and hit greens. Having looks is good enough, can't make them all.
 

Didn't play at all this year and I am really looking forward to a day like that next year.

[bigred90gt]

On 11/23/2020 at 5:14 PM, aenemated said:

Definitely take a great ballstriking day. 

 

I'll always think of my round at Carnoustie last year. I didn't make one single putt all day (I recall my awesome old Irish caddy saying to me after my 38 on the front ... "Lad, you go back to California, learn how to putt and come back ... that should have been a 34") but it was easily my single best ball striking round I may have ever played. 

 

Hell, just for my tee shot on 16 alone. So much daunting history on that hole ... and I stuck it to like 15 feet from 220. AAAAAAND, of course ... missed the putt. But man, that tee shot. 

While not nearly the prestige of Carnoustie, I played a local course a couple of weeks ago and had one of my best ball striking days I think I've ever had. I hit 72% GIR and 79% FIR and shot a 77, with 36 putts, lol. I average 30 putts per round according to my stats, so I should have been 1 under if I putted to my average. On 18 that day, into a headwind, par 5 hit the tee shot down the middle, hit my second shot from 215 with a hybrid to pin high about 8 feet left of the flag. Walked off the hole with a par, lol. Wasn't thrilled, but wasn't mad about it either. I had been putting horribly all day, so I kind of expected it.

[Obee]

I definitely prefer an up-and-down round of 72 where I hit 5 greens and get it up and down over and over to one where I hit 18 greens and 2-putt everything.