What type of player are you?

[caeye0710]

For me, I'm the worst ball striking 4-5 handicap you've ever seen. My rounds typically consist of hitting 6-8 greens in regulation, but gouging the ball close to the hole with my wedges and somehow making par. I hit a ton of fairways, miss a ton of greens, and chip a ton of balls inside 5 feet (or better) and walk away thanking God. 

 

A GREAT day for me is 12 GIR's. The weird thing is, I don't necessarily hit the ball completely off the map very often on approach shots (there are the tendencies to pull one way left or chunk one 40 yards short, I'm not pro obviously), but for the most part I'll fan a short iron to just off the right side, or hit a little tug just off the left. On top of that, depending on the shot itself I'm more comfortable being short-sided then having an extremely long chip where I have to gauge run-out or a landing spot a considerable distance away from me.

 

Now, the bad thing is: if my driving is off, I'm shooting high-80s, and it happens probably 8-10 times a year. 

 

The beautiful thing is, once (MAYBE twice) a year I'll bust out an under par round if I've got it all figured out that day. 

 

What's your game like?

[jholz]

I'm just like you except about 3-4 strokes worse. Terrible off the tee. Close with irons. Great chipping. Sketchy putting. 78 -82.

[James the Hogan Fan]

A typical 400 yard par 4 for me:

 

A 250 yard drive in the fairway or close to it. 

A 120-175 yard something to somewhere near the green, (or not) occasionally even hitting it.

A chip to 15 feet

Splash for par

(or not for bogey)

 

 repeat as necessary for an 80-85

[JDCON]

Miss the fairway, miss the green, get up & down for par. I really need to find consistency.

[caeye0710]

Just now, JDCON said:

Miss the fairway, miss the green, get up & down for par. I really need to find consistency.

 

Consistency comes with practice, something I never do. 

[PJE]

A golfer, for whom half the holes are good (par with a birdie now and then) and the other half not so good (bogey or worse). No rhyme or reason. I've shot 80 and 81 countless times. Ha ha

 

[MtlJeff]

I started a thread a while ago that was a lot of fun, you had to give yourself a handicap in each aspect of the game and it had to average out to your true handicap. I thought it was an interesting thought exercise

 

For example i'm a 0-1

 

But i feel like i have the tee to green game of a +3 or +4 

 

However i have the short game and putting of a 3 or 4

 

The math works

[Pepperturbo]

I stopped keeping track of my stats many years ago.  It wasn't benefiting my game.  In ways, I am similar to the OP.

 

My driver is in the fairway over 90% of the time.  It's GIR that are off; only that's dependent on the tee yardage I pick, which are 6300-6700yds.  Long Par 4s and Par 5s pressure my short game forcing me to get up and down quite often to save par and get birdies on Par 5's.  I get more birdies +/- 6300yds and fewer playing 6500+yds

 

I am a course management - kind-of a-guy.  I stand on the tee and look to for the spot where the designer tells me to hit to and do so, unless the game circumstances dictate me pushing the edge to win.  Example, last weekend I gambled by cutting through the dog-leg corner to have a shorter iron in the green, and win the hole.

Edited April 7, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[cardoustie]

Driver: scratch

Putting: scratch

Sand play: scratch

Chipping; 3 cap

Hybrids and fairways: 4 cap

Irons / approaches / pitching ... 5-7 cap

 

Everything on point I can be 68.  All systems misfiring  ... 84

 

My low rounds are when my irons are dialed in because I don't have many bad driver days

[cardoustie]

I am the opposite of Pepper

 

Unless it is a big stroke play event I play very aggressively for skins / birdies / eagles.  Making 16 pars and 2 bogies to shoot scratch 74 does not win cash in our club's money games.  4 birdies and and eagle .. go home with up to $250-$300

 

It is very hard for me to lay up on a par 5 under regular conditions

[Boricua Golf]

I agree so much with this, same here 3-4 cap, however, if I am off from the tee it's going to be a long day with scrambling for par, then the 78-82 score comes in, if playing well from the tee scores are much better between 74-76, irons are somewhat my strength, putting is at times suspect, chipping is what saves my rounds...but I totally understand, great topic btw...

[Pinky5]

I'm probably the worst 3.5 handicap youve ever seen. If I drive the ball well, Ill shoot somewhere around 73. Most of the time I drive it poor, and Ill shoot in the 80s. I guess that shows that I am not good at scrambling.

 

And don't even get me started on my putting. If it weren't for gimmes, I'd probably be 3 strokes worse every round. I'm good for at least 2 three putts a round.

 

That being said, maybe 5 times a year I put it all together and make a run at par. Hence why my HC is 3.5.

[jwhite86]

I'm a fairly strong player with my driver... but my iron play is extremely inconsistent... my short game is pretty weak, but I'm a good/ very good putter... If I hit greens I score well

[STL_Baller]

Kind of a boring 4-6 here.....if I can hit greens...which usually means I'm hitting fairways or close to them.  My low rounds touch the 70 mark, my high rounds hang around the mid 80s...especially if the puts aren't dropping. 

 

I'd say tee to green I'm a 2.5

On/around the greens a 2.5

 

I'll have one half working most of the time....so i'll hit 4 greens and have 14 one putts or I'll hit 14 fairways and two-putt everything....average round 75.

[aenemated]

I either stripe it 280ish down the middle, stick it to 15 feet and either make the birdie putt or walk away with par or ... 

 

... or snap hook either my drive or approach and scramble like a crazy clown in the bozo circus to save double. 

[caeye0710]

2 hours ago, Pinky5 said:

I'm probably the worst 3.5 handicap youve ever seen. If I drive the ball well, Ill shoot somewhere around 73. Most of the time I drive it poor, and Ill shoot in the 80s. I guess that shows that I am not good at scrambling.

 

And don't even get me started on my putting. If it weren't for gimmes, I'd probably be 3 strokes worse every round. I'm good for at least 2 three putts a round.

 

That being said, maybe 5 times a year I put it all together and make a run at par. Hence why my HC is 3.5.

Couldn’t have said it any better. Got out of playing the smaller CGA Amateur tournaments when my daughter was born. For about two years I just played weekend golf with a few guys, and they’d be raking 3-footers back to me every hole. 
 

Got back into the tournament scene last year during Covid, and that first hole I had a 2.5 footer for par. Might has well have been ten feet. It was pure luck that I made it. 
 

However, missed quite a few of those over the next few tournaments and I haven’t accepted a gimme since. 

Edited April 7, 2021 by caeye0710

[BIG STU]

Me I play the ugliest golf you ever saw to be a 5 hdcp. My driving I am not really long anymore but hit a lot of fairways. I figure out a way to get it to the green but at times my GIR sucks. But I can get creative especially around the greens and still putt well. My short game saves me. I have never considered myself a ball striker but more of less a shot maker or shot inventor. Look at any of my irons I have played for a while they do not have dime sized wear spots but wear all over the face. Was looking at my black Adams 4 wood I have gamed for 5 years now and it is worn all over the face plus some high toe hits too. Like I say I play ugly golf

Edited April 8, 2021 by BIG STU

[phizzy30]

6 hours ago, caeye0710 said:

For me, I'm the worst ball striking 4-5 handicap you've ever seen. My rounds typically consist of hitting 6-8 greens in regulation, but gouging the ball close to the hole with my wedges and somehow making par. I hit a ton of fairways, miss a ton of greens, and chip a ton of balls inside 5 feet (or better) and walk away thanking God. 

 

A GREAT day for me is 12 GIR's. The weird thing is, I don't necessarily hit the ball completely off the map very often on approach shots (there are the tendencies to pull one way left or chunk one 40 yards short, I'm not pro obviously), but for the most part I'll fan a short iron to just off the right side, or hit a little tug just off the left. On top of that, depending on the shot itself I'm more comfortable being short-sided then having an extremely long chip where I have to gauge run-out or a landing spot a considerable distance away from me.

 

Now, the bad thing is: if my driving is off, I'm shooting high-80s, and it happens probably 8-10 times a year. 

 

The beautiful thing is, once (MAYBE twice) a year I'll bust out an under par round if I've got it all figured out that day. 

 

What's your game like?

That's me in a nutshell.  Play off a 5 atm, but my ball striking is and always has been suspect.  It's gotten better over the years though.  I hit maybe 13 GIR on a good day but typically average closer to 10.  However, a lot of my approach shot end up on the fringe or just off the fringe in the rough.  I've always been long off the tee as my daddy used to say "Hit the ball as far as you can and we'll worry about accuracy later."  Good thing I followed his advice as I ended up only being 5'7".  I don't spray as many OB now which is good.  I consider myself a good putter and decent from 80 yards and in which saves my a**.  Honestly, if my ball striking was better I would like to think I would play off scratch.  Wishful thinking I suppose, haha.  

Edited April 8, 2021 by phizzy30

[Stinger83]

2 cap. 

Ballstriking. Driving. and wedge play are my strengths. Iron play has been historically average - but the work ive put in has paid off and I'm improving quickly there. I'm right at about 280 carry - 300ish total off the tee. Usually play a slight push draw. 

Problem areas for me (lately) are long game (4iron - 3w). All of my worst shots are coming from that part of the bag. IT's making me play very conservative into par 5's. So I will probably make some equipment changes there this year. Putting is streaky and tends to get better as the season progresses. My big numbers are currently coming from dogleg right (off the tee) holes. So I'm working on manufacturing a fade with the driver again. Which means I'm working on neutralizing path at the moment. 

[golfgirlrobin]

I always keep the ball in play, knock it up around the green and chip and putt you to death.  No doubles, no penalties, no 3-putts.  Scores fall within a very narrow range because I don’t take big chances and I don’t make big mistakes. Probably would bore a lot of people to play this way but I like consistency. 

[GolfTurkey]

At the moment I am a trying to be less of a moron player. The inner struggle continues...

[getitdaily]

Scratch or plus.

 

9-11 fairways 

11-14 greens

33-35 putts

 

Until 2 weeks ago. Last 3 rounds I put renewed focus on speed and better reads. I also bought a birdie ball matt and have been using it every night. Last 3 rounds and fairways and greens stats are the same but 29-29-28 putts. My short game is usually pretty solid too. 

 

My mistakes often come from being too aggressive. For example, Saturday's round. 204 to pin. Slightly downwind off my right shoulder. Par 3. Pin cut 3 paces right of center and 3 paces past middle. Smart play is to hit a stock fade 5i to about 20-25 feet under the pin and 2putt for par. I decide to try to stick a 5i by hitting a slight draw to get a few more yards. Miss the green right. Tough up and down. Made par only because I made a 25 footer.

 

320 yard par 4. Downwind. Drivable. Hazard all down the right. 700 yards of openess left. Fairway curls right and the green sits just off the hazard. I take too aggressive a line and drive it in the hazard instead of playing out left and having a very short pitch into the green. Green runs away from.left to right and I wanted an uphill pitch...

 

I'm just dumb sometimes. 

[Roejye]

similar game to a fair amount of people here, just not as good. I'm a 17 handicap, with ball striking as the biggest weakness. Driver ok, can get on a hot streak and be great, iron play is biggest weakness, short game ok, putting can be good. Lack of practice doesn't help a lot. If I look at my strokes gained on my golfpad app, putting is usually my best. Thinking back on it, off the tee is possibly a bit of a weakness too. I don't hit too many OB, but I'm often not in the best spot to attack the green, not that I can take advantage of it too often when I can lol.

[2bGood]

I really wish I could answer. I can do everything part of the game well and I can do everything poorly but Putt. Putting is the only consistent part of may game (it gets hot and cold but on average pretty good).

 

Some times all things are good, sometime some things are good and sometime no thing are good.

 

 

[Smokingbs]

i am the one who can always  find the water no matter what.... 

 

[bigred90gt]

17 hours ago, caeye0710 said:

For me, I'm the worst ball striking 4-5 handicap you've ever seen. My rounds typically consist of hitting 6-8 greens in regulation, but gouging the ball close to the hole with my wedges and somehow making par. I hit a ton of fairways, miss a ton of greens, and chip a ton of balls inside 5 feet (or better) and walk away thanking God. 

 

A GREAT day for me is 12 GIR's. The weird thing is, I don't necessarily hit the ball completely off the map very often on approach shots (there are the tendencies to pull one way left or chunk one 40 yards short, I'm not pro obviously), but for the most part I'll fan a short iron to just off the right side, or hit a little tug just off the left. On top of that, depending on the shot itself I'm more comfortable being short-sided then having an extremely long chip where I have to gauge run-out or a landing spot a considerable distance away from me.

 

Now, the bad thing is: if my driving is off, I'm shooting high-80s, and it happens probably 8-10 times a year. 

 

The beautiful thing is, once (MAYBE twice) a year I'll bust out an under par round if I've got it all figured out that day. 

 

What's your game like?

Mine is very similar to yours, except I’m the worst 6 handicap you’ll ever see. I literally average 47% FIR and 35% GIR (per all rounds in the front over the last couple of years), but I chip and putt much better than everything else historically. 
 

most of my rounds consist of considerable frustration at how poorly I’m hitting the ball, only to be shocked when I add it up and come out with a 77-80. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by bigred90gt

[caeye0710]

Actually, a lot of you made me realize something: I'm not that great off the tee, I just normally don't hit anything off the map, but I sure do miss a lot of fairways by a yard or two. 

[LeoLeo99]

I'm the opposite of the OP.  Ball striking is fine.  Scoring is horrible.  It's a between the ears problem.  

[Obee]

I'm a 53 year old, out of shape, short-hitting +1 to +2 tournament-level am when healthy.

 

Since I revamped my swing 3 -4 years ago to take pressure off my back, I regularly hit 10 to 14 fairways a round, but 235 to 250 only, including roll-out.

 

Decent talent from 180 to 210, but where I really shine is from 150 and in. My game from 80 to 150, when I'm healthy and it's during tournament season, is professional caliber.

 

My short game has always been a strength, but it was never elite, because I would make too many unforced errors. Could always hit the "flashy" shots and was not afraid to try them, even under pressure, but now that I've made some adjustments there, as well, my short game is a definite strength and also professional caliber.

 

Putting is probably now the best part of my game.

 

Bottom line: I'm just too short to be an elite am. When you only hit driver 235 to 250, all in, and your 3-wood only goes 215 in the air, virtually no par 5 is reachable in 2, and long par 4's become quite challenging and I need to rely on my creativity to get the ball on/around the green and let my short game/putting do the rest.

 

On shorter courses, I can play very, very well at times shooting in the mid-60's several times every year. But truly long courses I just can't go too low anymore. Very happy to shoot 70 - 72 on a 7200 yard course with a rating of 74.5, for instance.

[lefthack]

When my game is on, it can be pretty. 90% of my rounds are solo practice around the course hitting 3 balls. I have a 33% chance of selecting the right club, aiming square, and executing the shot I have in my head. I struggle most with my driver, the rest of my bag is coming along well.

 

My irons have been the best. I have not been putting because the greens are still pretty wet. But my putting isn't terrible.

 

I come away with a lot of crazy saves for par and at least a few birdie looks per 9.