Of all the golf idioms that I know of,the one that claims "drive for show,putt for dough"baffles me.

Everyone talks about how putting and short game in general are the reasons for game improvement.From my perspective this is way off the mark.The name of the game is driving the ball in play off the tee.It can be off the fairway in the rough as long as it gives you a clear second shot you are fine.

There are only so many shots you can lose on the green.Three putting is about the worst you can reasonaby do.

On the other hand,a bad drive can lead to endless trouble.Hit it 225 yds but 50 yards left or right into the woods or a swamp or water or 2 fairways over and you are in severe trouble.Top it off a tee with water in front and your score is screwed.

By comparison,even if I have a 100 ft putt,4 is the most likely number I can add to the hole.A bad drive can easily cost you seven or eight strokes just getting out of the mess your in and eventually getting to the green.

Most all of my bad rounds were not caused by poor putting but by horrid tee shots.I think this is the case for most players.

I agree...much easier to recover and save the hole once you get on the green...however, I did golf with a guy once whose drives were probably averaging 310 and in the fairway...followed closely by skull shots to the left and right with his irons and 3 putts on the green.....

Funny , but I don't remember playing golf with you.

In my short golf career, my first par on a regulation par 4 went like this: 1)Absolutely horrible slice at least 50 yards left of the fairway, about 200 yards.
2)Pretty good uphill 150 yard rescue shot through a gap in the trees right into the green side bunker. 3)Very good sand wedge shot to 8 feet from the pin 4)Decent eight foot putt for par.

My take home? Par required several decent shots in a row. Just one bad drive, or one excellent shot wasn't the key either way. jaaanson

Whenever I make a par usually one shot makes little diference either way also.This however misses the point.Tell me what happened when you made your first 10 on a regulation par 4 and you will see the point.

This is a cruel memory to relive, but it wasn't a bad drive that got me in trouble. Dogleg left with a ravine/water hazard beyond the dogleg, lateral water hazard to the left of the green. 1) Hit the fairway with my 3w right at the dogleg. 2,3) Skulled the ball into the ravine. Stroke plus distance. 4)Poor fairway shot off the toe just cleared the ravine, into an unplayable lie. 5,6) Took a drop, pushed the ball into the lateral water hazard. 7, Took a drop, chipped on to the green. 9,10)Two putted to finish.

Granted, a long drive could clear the ravine, but it would have to be 240 yards in the air and shaped right to left; given that most OOB's are bogey golfers, I don't konw how many could do that. A reasonable drive plus a good second shot would've been just as good. Then you still need to get on the green and make the putt, which I believe is the point.

PUTTING is Numero Uno.....

there are 18 hole and everyone had a 3 putt or more
for some, that would leave you with 18/strokes.

now given that most courses have only about 14 driving holes
that would leave you with 14 strokes for bad drives.

14 is lower than 18 any day....

poor drives are way easier to recover from than poor putting. you can have short drives, and still get there
in 2 you can be on the next fairway and get a GIR.... you can even take a drop and still 1 putt for a par. but getting 3/4's on the putting green is rough... and if your a good putter and chipper, heck you may even get just one putt on 1/2 the holes which is better yet...

no poor driving only takes up about 1/4 of the game, and if your a really bad driver chances are you use a 3W or Hybrid off the tee and get it in play that way.

don't kid yourself, putting is huge, and chipping or your short game is second. after that its just keeping it in or around the center to get there...IMHO

blue_crush wrote:

PUTTING is Numero Uno..... there are 18 hole and everyone had a 3 putt or more for some, that would leave you with 18/strokes. now given that most courses have only about 14 driving holes that would leave you with 14 strokes for bad drives. 14 is lower than 18 any day.... poor drives are way easier to recover from than poor putting. you can have short drives, and still get there in 2 you can be on the next fairway and get a GIR.... you can even take a drop and still 1 putt for a par. but getting 3/4's on the putting green is rough... and if your a good putter and chipper, heck you may even get just one putt on 1/2 the holes which is better yet... no poor driving only takes up about 1/4 of the game, and if your a really bad driver chances are you use a 3W or Hybrid off the tee and get it in play that way. don't kid yourself, putting is huge, and chipping or your short game is second. after that its just keeping it in or around the center to get there...IMHO

i'm with Blue on this one. "you're my boy blue!" ok, enough quotes from Oldschool.

14 driving holes, for the average golfer on oobgolf, 34-38 putting strokes, and that's using the 1.9 ppr average with some cushion. that encompasses a little less than half your strokes during the entire round...from my experience, my driving can be foul, my GIR's can blow, and my chipping can be sub par, like it usually is, but if my putting is off, i know i'm gonna barely beat bogey golf that day. and going into this year, when i tossed my odyssey and went to a redwood anser which i dubbed "blax-caliber," 3 putts are rare, which dipped my handicap from 9 to 4.8 these days.

5pam, I dumped my Odyssey 2 ball putter also, and have actually started to break 80 now. Something I never thought I'd be able to do after dancing around the mid 80s for so long.

When you figure how many strokes it cost you on the green to 3 putt,the answer is that three bad shots cost you 3 strokes.Let us go to the tee now.If you hit 3 tee shots in the water or ob,how many shots did that cost you?

merlin2driver wrote:

5pam, I dumped my Odyssey 2 ball putter also, and have actually started to break 80 now. Something I never thought I'd be able to do after dancing around the mid 80s for so long.

merlin, i think i'm just not a fan of insert face putters. especially for long putts. with my anser, i feel i can take a smooth swing and know that ball will get there. maybe it's the sexiness of a black putter, who knows i just know i feel a whole lot better and it shows in my putting.

Werepuppie wrote:

When you figure how many strokes it cost you on the green to 3 putt,the answer is that three bad shots cost you 3 strokes.Let us go to the tee now.If you hit 3 tee shots in the water or ob,how many shots did that cost you?

werepuppie, i'm not trying to say driving distance and accuracy aren't major factors in the game. obviously, all things considered, every part of your game is of consideration. statistically, all we are trying to say is that most players will spend more strokes around the green than anywhere else, ie chipping, pitching, sand shots, putting, etc. while having a bad day off the tee box, ie Tiger Woods 2005 Masters, will make your day much more difficult, IMHO your short game/putting are more central to scoring better.

anyhow, if you put 3 in the water, i think putting off the tee might be the better option.

Refer to my post "GIMMIES". When the ball "FALLS IN THE HOLE" is when the hole is "OVER". Take 2 pro golfers one can drive 380 yards consistantly to the middle of any fairway, but is only an above average putter. The other pro is an above average professional ball driver, but is an amazingly accurate putter. Since they are professionals they both will hit the second shot to 4 feet. The great putter sinks his putt. the above average putter hangs his on the lip. Everybody went "oooooo" at he first guy's drive "SHOW" but the good putter got the "DOUGH" ...What's not to understand?

now on that point I can agree with you.At the PROFFESSIONAL level,putting is the key.Everyone drives it in play,maybe not in the fairway,but in play.

At the level of the weekend golfer though,I still believe the guy who putts the tee shot in play is the winner.

Werepuppie wrote:

now on that point I can agree with you.At the PROFFESSIONAL level,putting is the key.Everyone drives it in play,maybe not in the fairway,but in play. At the level of the weekend golfer though,I still believe the guy who putts the tee shot in play is the winner.

that is because to generally create a theory about something, one needs a constant. the article and merlin is basing the stats off of the most consistent variable they can relate to, ie Professionals. the weekend golfer is so unconsistent that its too hard to identify what variable would assist them more: putting or driving accuracy.

cheers.

1. Hit a ball OB. You're now hitting 3 with the same yardage to the hole.
Get on in 4-5.
Make the putt putts. Score 5-6.

2. Hit the ball in the fairway.
On in 2-3.
3-putt. Score 5-6.

3. Hit a decent drive.
Duff the 2nd shot. Bad chip. Finally chip onto the green.
2-3 putts. Score 6-7

4. Hit a drive to the rough.
Pound the 2nd shot to the green.
2 putts. Score 4.

Rationale: IT's the in-between shots that make a hole good or bad. That's just my opinion.