short game or long game?

An all round solid game is required to be competitive, but to be a winner one must have a short game.

Short game. They are not called the "scoring clubs" for nothing

I think John is spot on. One can see this clearly in the professional game.

Drive for show....putt for dough....enough said....

Has to be both. If your not on the green to be able to score you'll struggle and if you're there in a position to score and you fail with your short game you won't improve. Long game is the foundation and short game is the roof!

It really does depend on what is meant by 'long game'. For example, I have a pretty solid long game but im not long, and my short game is better.

You can make birdie/par from not hitting the fairway......if you chip to 3feet and miss the par putt, you get bogey....

Just watch any pro tourney at any given time, you will see them get up and down from the sand/rough etc, even when they hit centre of fairway from the tee...

There is no doubt that you need to be striking the ball well off the tee to set up your game, but that's all it does is set it up. To score well your short game is the most important. It's true that a good long game promotes confidence, but it still doesn't make as much difference as on and around the green. This is something I really need to improve on. I am often long off the tee but average 4 three putts per round and don't often get up and down. One day it will all come together !

If you miss the middle of the fairway by 20yds you'll probably still be on the fairway. Miss the middle of most greens by 20yds and its a struggle. Miss the middle of the green by 20yds AND have a poor short game and you will score badly.