Do the majority of your shots come from 3 clubs?

[LeftyMatt24]

After tracking with Garmin this golf season I hit about 78% of my shots a round with driver, 54 wedge and putter. 
 

I tend to use my 54 for anytime I miss green and a lot of my home course if I hit a drive well I have a 54 in to the green. When I looked at this stat it almost makes sense to spend the majority of my practice time honing in my wedge game, driving and obviously putting. Maybe only spend a handful of balls a practice session on irons? Just found it very interesting. Anyone else have similar findings?

[naval2006]

My dad is 78. He’s still a decent player by all means. He uses Driver, 3 wood, wedge and putter 95% of the round. He’s still moaning about the new set of irons he’s bought. They’re mint LOL

[Sean2]

I use my putter and 58º the most. 

[Sean2]

15 minutes ago, naval2006 said:

My dad is 78. He’s still a decent player by all means. He uses Driver, 3 wood, wedge and putter 95% of the round. He’s still moaning about the new set of irons he’s bought. They’re mint LOL

If he isn't using his irons much, is he playing too far back?

[SNIPERBBB]

For practice time, remember the law of diminishing returns. Hitting GIRs lowers scores faster. If you're plateaued with your irons greens, then it makes more sense to focus more on shortgame. 

[chippa13]

If I play a round without using every club in my bag then I am disappointed.

[LeftyMatt24]

Just now, chippa13 said:

If I play a round without using every club in my bag then I am disappointed.

I know there are plenty of rounds where 4 and 5 iron stay in bag. Often times driving iron too if my driver is on. 

[SNIPERBBB]

2 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

If I play a round without using every club in my bag then I am disappointed.

Reverse for me.

[MtlJeff]

Driver and Putter certainly. I only use my 60 when i miss greens, so i last used it in 2014 or so

[Nard_S]

Half the card is short game, a metal, either driver or fairway is good for a dozen off the tee box. That's 2/3 by default. That's why GIR matters but not near as much as good wedge, putter & tee ball skills. Scratch player averages 10 greens. I do that now and am not near scratch. And yes I do spend too much time with an iron in my hand and not enough with the key three.

[ChipNRun]

5 hours ago, LeftyMatt24 said:

When I looked at this stat it almost makes sense to spend the majority of my practice time honing in my wedge game, driving and obviously putting. Maybe only spend a handful of balls a practice session on irons?

 

Uh, NO. You can cut down on number of greenside 54* shots if you improve your iron approaches. Plus, when you play longer courses, you likely will need more full iron shots. Might this occur if you play in more formal tournaments?

 

The Lowest Score Wins guys argue that while bad short game can hurt your scores, a good short game has limits on how much it can improve scores. Major improvement depends on learning to hit more accurate approach shots. Not sure what your HDCP is, or how many GIRs you hit.

 

------------------------

 

As to your original question: My most used club is the putter, that goes for everyone. Next is driver, I'll use it probably 12 times a round. (It's my most accurate long club, and I forego it only is when driver length would carry through the landing area).

 

I'll have 12-14 full shots with irons (5i-PW). When they're on target, this cuts down on number of greenside wedge and chip shots... and... heroic recoveries from treeline!

 

Sounds like you hit the ball fairly long, so your 54* strokes might best be split into wedge (short) and iron (full) shots for tracking purposes.

Edited December 3, 2020 by ChipNRun
Rewrote para. #2

[naval2006]

5 hours ago, Sean2 said:

If he isn't using his irons much, is he playing too far back?

I’ve been telling him so for like two years. 

[LeftyMatt24]

12 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

 

Uh, NO. You can cut down on number of greenside 54* shots if you improve your iron approaches. Plus, when you play longer courses, you likely will need more full iron shots. Might this occur if you play in more formal tournaments?

 

The Lowest Score Wins guys argue that while bad short game can hurt your scores, a good short game has limits on how much it can improve scores. Major improvement depends on learning to hit more accurate approach shots. Not sure what your HDCP is, or how many GIRs you hit.

 

------------------------

 

As to your original question: My most used club is the putter, that goes for everyone. Next is driver, I'll use it probably 12 times a round. (It's my most accurate long club, and I forego it only is when driver length would carry through the landing area).

 

I'll have 12-14 full shots with irons (5i-PW). When they're on target, this cuts down on number of greenside wedge and chip shots... and... heroic recoveries from treeline!

 

Sounds like you hit the ball fairly long, so your 54* strokes might best be split into wedge (short) and iron (full) shots for tracking purposes.

You are right. I currently spend the most time practicing my irons because I simply love hitting my t100s. This thought process of what clubs you hit the most had me thinking Am I practicing wrong?. My course is not very long and I hit my driver between 280-310 depending on strike ect. 
 

you are spot on that if I hit more GIR my scores would drop the quickest. 

[phizzy30]

Driver, 54 and putter as well.  I hit the ball long enough where I have a lot of short irons and wedges into greens.  I prefer using my 54 around the greens unless the shot calls for a high spinner that has to stop quick. 

[Santiago Golf]

When you can control your distance with each one of your wedge from 30 to 70s yards (9i, PW, GW, Sw, LW) and also be able to hit high and low shots with each wedge around the green ... its amazing how much your iron play will automatically get better because your skill of the control the club is improving

 

The key with driver isn't hitting fairways but hitting it in the sweetspot and making sure you aren't losing balls or having to punch out

[Duffer222]

2 hours ago, naval2006 said:

I’ve been telling him so for like two years. 

I’m like your Dad, just not quite as old. It’s hard for guys after 60 to accept the “senior tees”, but it sure helps.  I play a course close to me that is fairly short, so I only use the sr. tees on the 5’s. But it’s a start!

[GSDriver]

I'd say my most used clubs are Putter, Driver and my lob wedge (in case I missed the green) in that order.

[TLUBulldogGolf]

Majority for sure between driver/putter/60 degree. I use a lot at the top of the bag off the tee but it would still be driver 8-10 times a round. 

[acekun]

I average 32 putts per round and typically hit 14 drivers per round. 46 shots -- so a majority of my shots come from two clubs. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by acekun

[chippa13]

On 12/3/2020 at 10:11 AM, SNIPERBBB said:

Reverse for me.

If you aren't pulling all or at least almost all of your clubs at least once during a round then is the course really challenging you?

[LeftyMatt24]

8 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

If you aren't pulling all or at least almost all of your clubs at least once during a round then is the course really challenging you?

That’s a good point. Maybe I should try playing my home course different ways to use irons off tees to set up other irons ect. 

[SNIPERBBB]

54 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

If you aren't pulling all or at least almost all of your clubs at least once during a round then is the course really challenging you?

98% of my golf is competition. I'm trying to destroy the competition.  How many different clubs I hit in a round is irrelevant. If I'm on vacation I'll look for courses/tees that aren't driver wedge. But I want driver wedge in competition.

[chippa13]

40 minutes ago, SNIPERBBB said:

98% of my golf is competition. I'm trying to destroy the competition.  How many different clubs I hit in a round is irrelevant. If I'm on vacation I'll look for courses/tees that aren't driver wedge. But I want driver wedge in competition.

This reminds of those guys who play levels below where they should in beer league hockey and win every game 10-2. I've never understood that mindset. If one is on tour and a professional, that is one thing. If you want to get your name on the city trophy 15 years running, well, hooray for you?

[SNIPERBBB]

Cash games

[Hawkeye77]

In general, driver and putter are going to be the majority of shots in a round, not really a revelation there. Toss a wedge in there and no doubt a wedge of some kind will make up the next most significant number. I would guess that’s been the case for 60 years or more. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Hawkeye77

[TheDeanAbides]

23 hours ago, LeftyMatt24 said:

You are right. I currently spend the most time practicing my irons because I simply love hitting my t100s. This thought process of what clubs you hit the most had me thinking Am I practicing wrong?. My course is not very long and I hit my driver between 280-310 depending on strike ect. 
 

you are spot on that if I hit more GIR my scores would drop the quickest. 

Do you play other courses? I'd get bored hitting driver/wedge on every hole. 

[MPAndreassi]

2 hours ago, chippa13 said:

If you aren't pulling all or at least almost all of your clubs at least once during a round then is the course really challenging you?

Hitting different clubs isn’t what makes a course challenging, IMO. My home course is driver wedge if you can hit it fairly long and in the fairways, but the green complexes are a nightmare. Missing the green or even hitting the green in the wrong spot can be a card wrecker.

[TheDeanAbides]

5 minutes ago, MPAndreassi said:

Hitting different clubs isn’t what makes a course challenging, IMO. My home course is driver wedge if you can hit it fairly long and in the fairways, but the green complexes are a nightmare. Missing the green or even hitting the green in the wrong spot can be a card wrecker.

That may be true of your course, but that isn't the case with every course. 

[nsxguy]

Is it any surprise that the 2 most expensive clubs in most(?) golfers' bags are the driver and the putter ?  

[Mcgeeno]

I average 30 putts and usually pull driver 8-10 times.

 

So I'm over 50 percent with two clubs (Scoring average near 74)

Edited December 4, 2020 by Mcgeeno