Apr
12
2007

Drives Are For Show, Putts Are For Dough

Posted by Double Eagle in Driving Tips, Golf Philosophy

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I think this phrase is one of the most overused pieces of misleading advice that circulates around the golf world. It’s most often heard after one player in a group bombs a big one down the fairway and the others are feeling a little inadequate.

Certainly, those who have given it real thought realize that the intent is correct. That is, to stress that putting (and the short game overall, for that matter) are critical for scoring. That’s certainly true. But a person who is both long and straight off the tee is at a distinct advantage. Taking a nine iron or pitching wedge into a longish par four is a much better scoring proposition than trying to reliably get the job done with a five or six iron. That holds even for a touring pro.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should stop working on your short game in favor of bombing drives at the driving range. But if you can, try to work in some practice time to improve distance and accuracy off the tee. You’ll be leaving yourself in a much better position to score.

Putts may be for dough, but drives are for a lot more than show.

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There are currently 3 responses to “Drives Are For Show, Putts Are For Dough”

  1. 1

    HappyRock said:

    I think the trick is shedding the care of what other people think of you.

    Whether we admit it or not, there a a ton of egos on a golf course. Egos probably hinder peoples scores more than most physical mistakes and shortcomings. I would suspect that it is vital to focus on the things that will cut off strokes rather than make you look good.

    People like to focus on driving, because it is fun and it has the WOW factor. It can also have the embarrassing factor, like when you end up in the woods or the drink. When you 3-4 putt, people don’t really take much notice.

    Posted on April 12th, 2007 at 3:55 pm

  2. 2

    Mike said:

    If you can’t keep it in the fairway off the tee it doesn’t matter if it goes 350 yards!! Swing at 70% and keep it in play…you’ll probably hit it farther anyways :)!

    Posted on September 11th, 2007 at 9:06 pm

  3. 3

    Double Eagle said:

    That’s true, except the “bomb and gouge” is becoming all too common. Players would rather have a sand wedge out of thick rough than a 6-iron out of the fairway.

    Maybe when the USGA dials back the grooves things will change.

    Posted on September 11th, 2007 at 9:22 pm

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