Every golfer’s dilemma
Picture the scene. You’ve smoked a drive on a par 5 and now you stand over the ball, too far to reach the green.
You’re faced with a choice. A dilemma every golfer faces. Do you select a club to lay up 100 yards short of the green, or do you take the longest club you have and try to leave it 40 yards short of the green.
Is it better to have a full club from 100 yards, or an awkward half swing from 50 yards? It’s a question that if you ask any golfer, they’ll only tell you the right answer at the end of the hole.
Well Zeon Golf’s friends at Arccos Golf have completed a study of golfers to answer the question, is it better to lay up, or go for it?
Here at Zeon Golf, one of our mantras is to dress well, feel good, and play better. Now our modern, fitted golf apparel range more than covers the dressing well and feeling good, but we also want to help you play better.
So lets break down the stats from Arccos Golf:
- 19 out of 20 golfers are more likely to score better when they try to hit the ball as far as they can. Only 1 out of 20 golfers scores better with a full wedge into the green.
- Again, only 1 in 20 golfers had a better chance of hitting the green with a full wedge, compared to 19 out of 20 golfers who had a better chance of hitting the green, even with that ‘awkward’ 50 yard half wedge.
- In terms of proximity to the hole, 97% of golfers had a better chance of getting closer to the hole with a half wedge, when compared to a full wedge.
- For up and down percentage, it’s a familiar story. 85% of golfers had a better chance of achieving an up and down when hitting an awkward wedge from 50 yards, when compared to 15% of golfers hitting a full wedge.
- And finally, the chance of getting a bogey on a par 5. It’s a feeling we know far too well! But when standing over your third shot, you are 94% likely to get a bogey or better when hitting that 3rd shot as far as you can, compared to laying up.
So the answer to every golfer’s dilemma?
Look, we aren’t the biggest fan of stats. We all know stats can lie. But when taking a step back and looking at the summary above, the answer is clear. For the vast majority of golfers, the advantage of being closer to the green is huge.
95% of golfers had a better scoring average from 50 yards vs 100 yards.
The reason for this is simple. From 50 yards, you will have a far tighter dispersion of shots than you will from 100 yards, even if you are convinced the pitching wedge is your favourite club. Unless you are reading this blog as a professional, you’ve more than likely hit the odd rogue slice in your time. So it’s best to minimise the chance of that happening by not trying to hit the green from 100 yards!
I myself have got a 64-degree wedge that I cannot hit over 80 yards. I told all my friends about it. I’d deliberately try and lay up 80 yards from the green so I can swing my sweet 64-degree wedge and put it 5 feet from the green. That was of course until I thinned it and sent a golf ball 120 yards long of the green.
So don’t be like me and instead, listen to the stats. Try and hit your clubs full, even if that means you have an awkward half-wedge into the green at the end. All of the stats say, that’s your best chance to hit the green in regulation and score well.
And if you need any tips when you are on the green, make sure to check out our three tips to sink more putts blog .
Until next time, swing easy out there brothers.
Zeon Golf