Extremely important.... I don't think you can put a %age on it. But ultimately golf is a game of inches and feet....drive it in the rough and you don't control the approach as well, have trouble from 200 yds and you miss a couple of greens etc and people with major flaws hit it all over the place ...you don't get up and down from water...You just can't make many 15+ foot putts. And if you hit it too crooked you can't get yourself in positions to hit chips and pitches inside 6 or 7 ft. Clearly birdies come from good approaches or rare (at least for me rare)on the green in 2 par 5's ... you aren't on in 2 on a par 5 if you haven't hit it solid on your intended line.
Another related point... it is hard (not impossible, just hard)to have a good short game if your full swing isn't good. You can putt good with a poor full swing, but generally shots inside 100yds are mildly effected by the same issues that cause your full swing to suffer.
The first 6 months of this year I believed I had a real breakthrough... I'll spare you the details but I had a number of firsts and got my index down to .8.... but this is what I've found... I am hitting the ball straighter and more solidly than I've ever hit it... however, if I can't hit it further I'm not getting any better. I can't hit 175yd+ shots inside 15 ft. very often, so I may hit 14 gir... but if I'm not close enough it doesn't mean birdies.
I think high hc's can impact their score more quickly with short game... then, full swing is more important from say 12-13hc up to fairly high levels of amateurs... then pretty much everyone has a good full swing and short game becomes more and more important right thru to the pros, but you aren't going to chip in much and you don't make a lot of long putts so if you are going to win, you gotta control your golf ball.
Check out the PGA stats for par 5 birdies.
Seems to be the most revelant stat other than scoring average.
Long and straight off the tee and fairway seems to rule.
I heard Mr. Nicklaus talking about this once... he said he practiced his long clubs the most...Driver--Long irons. He thinks driving it long and straight is very important.
Check out the PGA stats for par 5 birdies.
Seems to be the most revelant stat other than scoring average.
Long and straight off the tee and fairway seems to rule.
Don't agree. I believe the more important stat is GIR. The long hitters on average out drive the short hitters by 20 to 30 yards and they tend to have better GIRs. When they're in the short grass they can have one to two less clubs into the greens (the second shot advantage). So, let's hit'em LONG AND STRAIGHT.
DG
Last edited by Delaware Golf : 05-05-2007 at 12:13 PM.
It seems to me that, as a higher handicapper, the full swing is more important, and that the pendulum shifts toward the short game the better you get. I'll give you an example. My brother and I played 9 today. I'm about a 25, he's a single digit handicap. On decent hits, length is about equal. Now my putting is a little better than his, particularly this early in the season (only the second round for both of us). Of course he dusted me. But I beat him on 2 holes, because I was able to match him on the full swing shots; only in those instances did the short game matter. On the rest of the holes, as far as our "competition" was concerned, my putting touch became a moot point, because I could barely get the ball airborne. My point? Most higher handicappers are such because they can't get the ball to go anywhere near where they want it to go on a consistent basis. When they can get around the green in regulation on a regular basis (the result of an improved full swing), then the short game's importance increases relative to the player's overall game. You could be a short game genius, but if you finally reach the green only after 4 or 5 shots, your score will still suck
It seems to me that, as a higher handicapper, the full swing is more important, and that the pendulum shifts toward the short game the better you get. I'll give you an example. My brother and I played 9 today. I'm about a 25, he's a single digit handicap. On decent hits, length is about equal. Now my putting is a little better than his, particularly this early in the season (only the second round for both of us). Of course he dusted me. But I beat him on 2 holes, because I was able to match him on the full swing shots; only in those instances did the short game matter. On the rest of the holes, as far as our "competition" was concerned, my putting touch became a moot point, because I could barely get the ball airborne. My point? Most higher handicappers are such because they can't get the ball to go anywhere near where they want it to go on a consistent basis. When they can get around the green in regulation on a regular basis (the result of an improved full swing), then the short game's importance increases relative to the player's overall game. You could be a short game genius, but if you finally reach the green only after 4 or 5 shots, your score will still suck
Amen Brother.
You have just spoken for 90% + of the golfing population, even though most of them are loth to admit it.
Only the remaining few % experience the joy that a decent short game can bring them.
Hybrid Mode
