Hitting Fairways And Greens

I have noticed over the last four rounds that if I hit the fairway with my tee shot then I will miss the green with my approach shot, and vice versa, if I miss the fairway I will then hit the green.

Has anybody else noticed this in their game?

Russ

Yeah Russ, I noticed you doing that at Rutland..

Russell

I am the opposite. If dont hit the fairway, I hardly if ever hit the green in regulation.

Usually try too hard instead of taking my medicine, and end up with a double.

Dave cac handed geordie.

Messing up your next shot after a perfect tee shot is just a rule of golf!

Seriously though, for me, its the mental side of the game.  You hit a cracker off the tee, leave yourself a simple apporach to the green and there is an expectation in your head, almost thinking ahead to the bridie chance.

The expectation, pressure to hit this 'simple' shot into the green is not your normal mental game, or expected routine, so you usually end up fatting, thining, chunking it.

Just my thoughts to this mystery.  

Same rule applies to hit a 74 then next time you play hit an 84, but of course par or birdie the last to get you coming back.  Golf is an evil sport, treat you mean keep you keen!

 I think you're right Chris, it's as if people can't possibly expect to hit more than a few good shots in a row. I say dare to think the improbable, what's the worst that could happen?

Darren you're always in the fairway........................not necessarily the one you're playing

On anything other than a par 3, the second shot is the most important. Get that right and a good score will follow.

Unfortunately, this is the poorest part of my game at the moment!

Keep it up Dave I will get some to have a look at you at the NvS ok ....Monday afternoon

Buzz off ley, you'll be crying in your soup on monday afternoon.

David H, the most important shot for a player of any standard is the third one. For the amateur it takes the pressure away from the first and second shots and for the Pros it is the scoring shot.

I would have to disagree, but only from my personal experience.  If i've hit a good drive the second shot is key, it means my third stroke will be a putt, hopefully from close range. Unless its a really long par 5.  If I make a mess of my second shot, the hole willbe a bogey at best.

That said, I accept your point John as I am not a player of a good standard.

Even if you hit the green, David, your third shot is still the most important, or you could possibly three putt.

Anyway, off your current handicap you are not supposed to hit greens in regulaion, if you are hitting quite a few then  your handicap is too high and if you are only hitting a couple then the third shot is still the most important.

 David it is a sweeping statement and important to you as you are currently in that frame of mind. There are some holes you will play where every shot is as important as the one you've hit or the one that follows. Id like to think that I could go round Muirfield and score well hitting just good second shots. As it was I hit many good shots playing off 6 at the time and still managed 100+

Last year I was hitting plenty of GIR, I was getting away well off the tee and hitting some great second shots into greens, but putting was awful. I hoped with plenty of putting practice that my handicap would slide this year but now my second shot is letting me down. So for me, hitting a good second shot is now my main focus!

On the plus side, my putting is a lot better.

On a day I am hitting the ball well, many of my playing partners have said that my handicap is a joke, but believe me, when its bad.....

Consistency is the key!!

 David as one who can bugger it up big time I totally agree. If it's only the people lower than you complainig then you'll just have to take the niggling and tell them to go b*llocks but if the moaners are 20+.... 

Fortunately they are lower, a lot lower!

John YOU ARE SPOT ON!

More than any other stat apart from score. GIR denotes how good a player is. We all should be able to 2 putt the vast majority of greens.

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

At last someone on the same planet as me. David P, it is nice to know that you appreciate that those who hit more GIR's are the better players. I am the handicap I am because I don 't hit greens in regulation figures , yet some high handicaps are always stating how many they hit, yet their handicap does not reflect this statistic.

Personally I would like to see the handicap system changed to reflect this. If one hits six greens then he is 12 handicap and so on. The present system is a joke.

I agree 100% that GIR is the measure of a good player. If we a talking about golf experience then I am not on the same planet as you John, probably never will be, but as the majority of holes ar par 4's, clearly the second shot is important to reach the green in reg, hence my point.

David, you are missing the point entirely. No matter whether you hit greens or not the third shot is the one that dictates your score for that hole.

You say that you hit a lot of greens, which tells me that your third shots, even though they may be putts are not what they should be.

John, I get it completely.  My initial point, as it states refers to me, my personal experience and identifying the weakest part of my game, surely thats the way to improve.

Are you sure you know what is the weakest part of your game, David?

Your initial point was:

On anything other than a par 3, the second shot is the most important. Get that right and a good score will follow.

All I have said to you is that no matter where your second shot finishes it is the next one that determines whether or not you make par. You cannot gurantee your score with the second shot, you should know this, if you are hitting lots of greens, as you state you are, but still maintaing a handicap higher than playing to bogey.

Look forward to seeing you next week-end.

Thats the point John, last year I was hitting lots of greens, the point I made at 16:29 yesterday being that I have improved on my putting but now my second shot is letting me down and I am trying to get back to what I was doing last year.

If my second shot is topped or in the trees, the chance of a good score has gone!

My comment should have been, get on in 2 and an awful score will be avoided, rather than a good score will follow!

Definitley looking forward to next week, see you there.

Going back to Russells opening point, I have a strange thinking here.

Higher Hcp's find it difficult to hit consistent shots off tightly cut fairways and are far more happier to play off longer grass. A chance to get under the ball and so get it air-borne. It's the lower Hcp's who want tight lies to get spin. So some players are better off in the semi rather than actually on the fairway.

To add to JP's point, I will want my third shots to be:- A tap in on par3's, A birdie Putt on 4's, and a chance for a birdie on the 5's. But if I miss a par 4 green in two, I want my third to be to help make par, so that one is very important.

TheLyth

Thank you, Lyth, at last, perhaps I did not explain it as well as you have done.

Well summed up Lyth. I would take that selection of third shots all day!

JP, essentially, I think we agree but you see the game from a much better players perspective given your experience and the level you have played at. I wish I had the benefit of seeing the game that way through being a better player.

Its all a bit of a struggle for me at the moment, started the year believing I could get to low teens but at the moment I would settle to stay in the teens!  A bit of your coaching wouldn't go a miss because the pro i've being seeing doesn't seem to work for me.

Dave, you've got the technical ability & potential to be low teens but I think you put too much pressure on yourself. I've seen you play your best golf in casual rounds. You kept it all square with me up to the 17th last time playing off scratch!