Is driver for show and putt for dough just BS?

[Not a hacker]

I think this may be my first ton on GR. Added to my 5,000 plus posts and frequent castagations from Fred 3, I may have covered all criteria for HOF nomination.

Anyway, to contradict everything I've said so far, today I hit the ball super off the tee, long drives and lots of GIR. But thanks to the worst greens in Sydney, if not Australia, I shot one over my cap with at least 38 putts. So today at leas, putting was more important than driving, but I would defy any golfer on earth to putt well around our track at the moment. Not only are the greens furry, slow as shite and bumpy, but the lazy grenskeepers raise the hole when they cut them, so every hole is on a mound so any putt that isn't hit firm directly over the front of the hole will miss. It's driving me insane.

[mentaloaf]

I've changed my mind on driver being the most important club. I didn't miss a drive the other day and had a pretty bad round. Something happened to my iron swing where I was releasing too early and I skulled two 100 yard shots over the green. Every other shot was thin and I finally figured it out on the last two holes. I even topped a 3 wood, something I haven't done in probably 5 years.

Aren't you one of the best Iron strikers around? Actually the fact that you had some brain damage with your irons kind of gives me hope. Something happened to my iron striking abilities a couple of weeks ago but I figured it out and was hitting beautiful irons two days ago, driving was OK at best, and putting was horrendous...couple of skulled chips from just off the green, ended up with a 45. Made par on both par 3's as a result of perfectly struck 6 iron on the 198yard and P iron on the 123yarder. All in all a very frustrating round despite the nice iron play.

[Not a hacker]

Aren't you one of the best Iron strikers around? Actually the fact that you had some brain damage with your irons kind of gives me hope. Something happened to my iron striking abilities a couple of weeks ago but I figured it out and was hitting beautiful irons two days ago, driving was OK at best, and putting was horrendous...couple of skulled chips from just off the green, ended up with a 45. Made par on both par 3's as a result of perfectly struck 6 iron on the 198yard and P iron on the 123yarder. All in all a very frustrating round despite the nice iron play.

For amatuers, good ball striking is very fleeting. It only takes such a small difference to ruin your swing. It's hard to keep the same swing form more than a round, sometimes a few holes.

[lunchiebizzle]

If it wasnt for my putting i would be a respectable golfer lol...

[famousdavis]

Aren't you one of the best Iron strikers around? Actually the fact that you had some brain damage with your irons kind of gives me hope. Something happened to my iron striking abilities a couple of weeks ago but I figured it out and was hitting beautiful irons two days ago, driving was OK at best, and putting was horrendous...couple of skulled chips from just off the green, ended up with a 45. Made par on both par 3's as a result of perfectly struck 6 iron on the 198yard and P iron on the 123yarder. All in all a very frustrating round despite the nice iron play.

I was but I guess now I'm not. It was great while it lasted. If only I could go back...

[SDB1]

I played today and putted reasonably well. Had one 3 putt. Didn't miss any 4 footers (which are my achillies heel) but only made one 15 footer for birdie. However i drove the ball really well, hit every faiway which gave me the chance for GIR's of which I had 15. I shot 75 without doing anything much with the putter. I shot 3 over without too much effort; just steady, percentage golf. Sorta proves to me the importance of driving well in contributing to a good score.

Opposite story with me today. Terrible off the tee which wasn't helped by the fact that I went out cold. I got to five over after only 4 holes but I was putting lights out and still managed to save a ton of pars and three birdies. The putting didn't matter much though as I still shot an 80. Every bogey or double today could be attributed to an errant tee shot. I play this coarse often and on days I drive the ball well I shoot around even and don't putt near as well as I did today! Tee shots reign supreme for my game!

[Not a hacker]

I shot my lowest ever competition 18 hole score today, 2 over, and I can say that of the few times I had to use driver on the goat track, I hit it long and in the fairway every time (except once when I drove the green). I putted pretty solid on everything inside 6 feet, but I by no means had a great day on the greens. I putted well but left at least 6 putts dead in the hole less than afoot short. So on today's round I would say you drive for dough compared to putting, but I must admit that the reason for the low score was great chipping. I got up and down heaps today from disgraceful lies ( the only kind we get). A couple of chips I had to hit form the cabbage just off the green were spectacular. I got up and down twice from lies where I could just see the top of the ball. Not surprisingly the shots I did throw away today, and there were 2 of them so that cost me a par round, were poor chips that left me too far out from the hole to make par. There is no doubt in my mind that chipping and other short games shots from within 10 yards of the green is the most important part of the game when it comes to scoring, especially on a goat track like my home course where the greens are so small that you can never expect to hit more than about 10-12 a round.

[oldplayer]

I shot my lowest ever competition 18 hole score today, 2 over, and I can say that of the few times I had to use driver on the goat track, I hit it long and in the fairway every time (except once when I drove the green). I putted pretty solid on everything inside 6 feet, but I by no means had a great day on the greens. I putted well but left at least 6 putts dead in the hole less than afoot short. So on today's round I would say you drive for dough compared to putting, but I must admit that the reason for the low score was great chipping. I got up and down heaps today from disgraceful lies ( the only kind we get). A couple of chips I had to hit form the cabbage just off the green were spectacular. I got up and down twice from lies where I could just see the top of the ball. Not surprisingly the shots I did throw away today, and there were 2 of them so that cost me a par round, were poor chips that left me too far out from the hole to make par. There is no doubt in my mind that chipping and other short games shots from within 10 yards of the green is the most important part of the game when it comes to scoring, especially on a goat track like my home course where the greens are so small that you can never expect to hit more than about 10-12 a round.

I totally agree with this. When I evaluate a good round it is the par saves by getting up and down that keeps the momentum going and makes a low score possible. Unless you are FD no matter how well you are playing you will miss GIR.

[Not a hacker]

I totally agree with this. When I evaluate a good round it is the par saves by getting up and down that keeps the momentum going and makes a low score possible. Unless you are FD no matter how well you are playing you will miss GIR.

Agreed. I parred the first 7 holes straight, but only hit 4 GIR. And none of the par saving putts were outside 6 feet. Getting up and down certainly keeps the roll going.

[Dyna]

If you suck with the driver there is no way you will recoup any sort of decent score with the putter. The days I go out & right off the first tee my driver swing is just not working right, I can tell it's going to be a long day. Hit those first couple drives decent though & everything is sunshine & unicorns.

[Kiwi Player]

If you suck with the driver there is no way you will recoup any sort of decent score with the putter. The days I go out & right off the first tee my driver swing is just not working right, I can tell it's going to be a long day. Hit those first couple drives decent though & everything is sunshine & unicorns.

I think where everyone is going wrong here is comparing driving badly versus long drives. The saying "Drive for show, putt for dough" is talking about putting accuracy versus driving length. If we are talking about terrible drives into the trees, OB etc that is different altogether. Of course good putting won't help much in that situation. But if two guys are driving well and hitting fairways consistently and one guy is consistently out driving the other by say 20-30 yards he will have an advantage in that he will have shorter approach shots. But if the other guy is an accurate iron player and can still hit GIR as well as having a killer short game including great putting he can still whip the butt of the longer hitter. Especially if the longer hitter has a poor short game and is a poor putter.

This is borne out when I play my Dad. I out drive him and his buddies consistently but he has a much better short game than me and usually beats me.

[Kiwi Player]

I totally agree with this. When I evaluate a good round it is the par saves by getting up and down that keeps the momentum going and makes a low score possible. Unless you are FD no matter how well you are playing you will miss GIR.

... or LarryRSF who hits 93.7% of GIR.

[Not a hacker]

I had to bump this thread after today's round. I played a Vardon evfent on a 6,300 metre beast. Vardon events are the top flight amatuer events, meaning from the tips, long rough, fast greens and diabolical pin placements. Luckily the weather hasn't conducive to fast greens so it didn't play quite as tough as it usually would in a Vardon. Anyway, my observations of todays round of 89 (almost a 90s hacker like Omen) is that every time I hit the fairway I got a par, and every time I hit a bad drive I racked up big numbers. The course I played had widish fairways but is tree lined so if you miss the fairway you are absolutely dead. On a course like I played today driving is ten times more important than putting. Every time I hit a good drive I had an easy par, usually shaving the hole for birdie, but every time I hit a crooked drive I was struggling to make bogie and usually had worse. I noticed the same thing with my playing partners, driving ws more important than putting. I conceed that on a different course with less trees and slicker greens putting would probably be more impotant than driving, but on a course like I played today the only way to score was to drive it straight.

[Kiwi Player]

I had to bump this thread after today's round. I played a Vardon evfent on a 6,300 metre beast. Vardon events are the top flight amatuer events, meaning from the tips, long rough, fast greens and diabolical pin placements. Luckily the weather hasn't conducive to fast greens so it didn't play quite as tough as it usually would in a Vardon. Anyway, my observations of todays round of 89 (almost a 90s hacker like Omen) is that every time I hit the fairway I got a par, and every time I hit a bad drive I racked up big numbers. The course I played had widish fairways but is tree lined so if you miss the fairway you are absolutely dead. On a course like I played today driving is ten times more important than putting. Every time I hit a good drive I had an easy par, usually shaving the hole for birdie, but every time I hit a crooked drive I was struggling to make bogie and usually had worse. I noticed the same thing with my playing partners, driving ws more important than putting. I conceed that on a different course with less trees and slicker greens putting would probably be more impotant than driving, but on a course like I played today the only way to score was to drive it straight.

Yeah but I think the expression 'Drive for Show Putt for Dough' is applied where both guys are in the fairway but the guy who hits the longer drive doesn't necessarily score better if the other guy is a better putter. e.g. one guy drives it 300 versus say 270 both in the fairway. This expression is applied to professionals after all who are playing for dough and it is a given that they will be in the fairway or thereabouts. Not weekend hacks hitting banana balls into the trees.

[Not a hacker]

Yeah but I think the expression 'Drive for Show Putt for Dough' is applied where both guys are in the fairway but the guy who hits the longer drive doesn't necessarily score better if the other guy is a better putter. e.g. one guy drives it 300 versus say 270 both in the fairway. This expression is applied to professionals after all who are playing for dough and it is a given that they will be in the fairway or thereabouts. Not weekend hacks hitting banana balls into the trees.

You're interpretation of the saying is probably right, and in that reference you are correct. But if I woke up tomorrow and had a choice to pure all my drives or putts I'd pick drives.

[Kiwi Player]

You're interpretation of the saying is probably right, and in that reference you are correct. But if I woke up tomorrow and had a choice to pure all my drives or putts I'd pick drives.

I dunno, I've had days where I have pured 12 or 13 drives out of 14 and still only shot about 81 due to poor putting. Then I have had rounds where my driving has been pretty average and I have shot 76 thanks to my putter getting hot. So certainly for me, whilst both the driver and the putter are important, the putter is definitely the club that will lower my scores.

[lorenzoinoc]

We have a saying around here that I consider to be my guiding light. It's: Drive for p.ussy, putt for a blow job. I'm not really sure what it means, but it's my mantra.

[Home-slicer]

We have a saying around here that I consider to be my guiding light. It's: Drive for p.ussy, putt for a blow job. I'm not really sure what it means, but it's my mantra.

Could you translate that into Latin for me so I can put it on my families coat of arms?

[SDB1]

I dunno, I've had days where I have pured 12 or 13 drives out of 14 and still only shot about 81 due to poor putting. Then I have had rounds where my driving has been pretty average and I have shot 76 thanks to my putter getting hot. So certainly for me, whilst both the driver and the putter are important, the putter is definitely the club that will lower my scores.

This has to be the other extreme then. My putting is never so horrific that I couldn't break 80 if I hit 90% of my drives decently. On the other hand my driving is frequently bad enough to cost me 4-6 strokes a round. I've had days where the driver was off but I still shot around even but it was more because I still hit most greens in regulation.

[Kiwi Player]

This has to be the other extreme then. My putting is never so horrific that I couldn't break 80 if I hit 90% of my drives decently. On the other hand my driving is frequently bad enough to cost me 4-6 strokes a round. I've had days where the driver was off but I still shot around even but it was more because I still hit most greens in regulation.

Yeah, well to be honest I think I had about 3 or 4 3 putts that day and there may even have been a 4 putt in that round. My putting was atrocious that day.