[Aaron757]

I'm your basic average length driver (240-ish), typically wind up with 200-220 yards in on ALOT of par 4's, or if something for whatever reason goes wrong somewhere in the first two shots. I hate that distance & I'm torn - never know if I should go for the hero shot if it's a nice fairway lie (3 wood - if I force myself to swing easy & make good contact, I can't get more than 200 out of it plus a goodly amount of roll) --- OR --- pull the PW or 9 iron & lay it up for a sand/gap wedge in. I'm improving, but having trouble consistently breaking 90 - do it less than 50% of the time. I'm just having a hard time coming to grips with giving a shot away by laying up, but often, I give more than one shot up recovering from an errant 3wood.

Which route would you recommend to maximize my scoring potential on this common yardage ?

Thx

[skydaypat]

Move up to the next tee box....

[LarpBulaBus]

I say find your favorite iron and lay up every time to that distance.

The best thing to do to improve your score, however, is to work on the short game. That is always the best way to reduce the number.

[sanddrareyk]

From 200-220 I would be hitting 3w or hybrid depending on how the green is protected. If you are talking a 220 carry, then I would likely be laying up.

No offense, but if you are playing courses that have a a bunch of 440-460 yard par 4's (going off of the distances you provided), as a 19 handicap - I would suggest moving up a tee box.

[cialviagra]

Are you actually talking par 5's here?

[medifastwoman]

I'm your basic average length driver (240-ish), typically wind up with 200-220 yards in on ALOT of par 4's, or if something for whatever reason goes wrong somewhere in the first two shots. I hate that distance & I'm torn - never know if I should go for the hero shot if it's a nice fairway lie (3 wood - if I force myself to swing easy & make good contact, I can't get more than 200 out of it plus a goodly amount of roll) --- OR --- pull the PW or 9 iron & lay it up for a sand/gap wedge in. I'm improving, but having trouble consistently breaking 90 - do it less than 50% of the time. I'm just having a hard time coming to grips with giving a shot away by laying up, but often, I give more than one shot up recovering from an errant 3wood.

Which route would you recommend to maximize my scoring potential on this common yardage ?

Thx

In your case here, I would say lay up until you get better with longer clubs. Golf is best played by playing to your strengths, whatever they are.

[Clilmence]

I would say lay up, but if you're playing a course that is requiring you to think about laying up from the fairway on a par 4, like others have said, I would think about moving up a tee box.

[quorceopporce]

Are we talking about par 4s or par 5s? If we are talking all par 4s I would think moving up would make the game more enjoyable. Aren't we all out to have fun? I understand no one wants to play from the lady tees but if you're going into all the par 4s with 3 wood it doesn't sound like much fun!

[mtvlover571]

Play It Forward.

[Aaron757]

Sorry, I should have clarified ... not all par 4's involve this distance - some would be narrow par 5's where a 3w is the tool of choice off the tee, could be circumstances (bad shot) that often finds me at that distance. Just seems like it happens alot & I'm never comfortable playing that yardage (FYI - I do play the whites, never blues) ...

[cialviagra]

If there's no hazard to worry about and you hit your fairway wood/hybrid decently I say go for it.

[Metalhead]

Like others have suggested, perhaps playing up a tee box is the best/most fun solution?

[ansarigf]

i'd get new clubs so i could hit it longer.

if you want to get better, i think you need to learn to hit that 200 yard shot, so my recommendation would be to keep trying it.
if you want to lower your score more quickly, probably laying up is the best way to achieve that.

i'm middle aged and there is nfw i move up a set of tees. it will happen to me soon enough, but i'm playing them as long as i can. i play blues but my scores from the tips are not significantly different than the blues.

as an additional alternative, i am experimenting with hitting it to 30- 40 yards and trying to see if i can get up and down from there instead of 9i-w as you suggested in your original post.

[sanddrareyk]

This really comes down to basic course management. To consistently score better, you must play the shot that you know you can play and not going after the "hero" shot that you execute less than 10% of the time.

Then, I would be spending time on the range working on the issue. Do you need a club that provides better turf interaction than what you have now. When you miss it from 220 with the 3W - what is the miss? Top, fat, giant slice?

[Reftsheette]

If there's no hazard to worry about and you hit your fairway wood/hybrid decently I say go for it.

agreed. If there is no danger, I'd bash the 3w up there. Or I'd take my 4 hybrid and leave myself 30-50 yards.

[cialviagra]

Worst case scenario, you top it 60 yards and hit an iron in. Keep in mind that I suck at golf, but that's still what I'd do.

[Stovegeothnon]

By your description your game sounds very similar to mine. I will agree with others have said about moving up one tee box. This was my response in the Distance vs Handicap thread and I think it applies here as well:

I learned my lesson earlier this year about what distances to play from. I used to always hit from the blue when I played with my buddies on the weekend, it was just what we did without thinking about it. Then I went out on my own and played the same course from the whites and scored much better. I refused to believe it and charted it up to being with strangers that round I focused better on my game. Well the following weekend with my buddies I made an effort to put male ego aside and I stepped up to the white tees. My friends ( who are all better than I ) did not give me any grief, one even applauded my decision. By the turn my friend who is closest in skill level to me was up there at the whites teeing off with me. I shot my best round ever with my buddies and have been playing up front since. As we all know golf is a game that will quickly bring down the biggest ego, I am glad I put mine aside.

[9enackivegliva]

I gotta go with what Craig Mac and a couple others have said, move up a tee box if this is really happening A LOT like you say. Why not?

[Aaron757]

I checked & my course plays 6716 yds from the white tees. You guys have me thinking - with an average ho hum 240 yard drive, I never even considered backing it down to the reds (I guess because everybody I've ever played with goes from the whites). Now that we've established my approach shots are in the crapper, this thread has me well on my way to developing a complex that I'm a short hitter (just kidding) ...

[Clilmence]

Sorry, I should have clarified ... not all par 4's involve this distance - some would be narrow par 5's where a 3w is the tool of choice off the tee, could be circumstances (bad shot) that often finds me at that distance. Just seems like it happens alot & I'm never comfortable playing that yardage (FYI - I do play the whites, never blues) ...

Do your course have red tees?

If it's a par 5, then depending on your strength. Either give it a go and rely on your short game if you get in trouble or don't make it or just simply lay up to a good distance. Same goes for the par 4's you are finding yourself in the same predicament.