Of all the answers I've seen so far, I personally resonate with yours. That's not to say that I agree it's the right answer -- whatever that is. Just that I want to talk about it...
At 06:46 AM 5/27/04 -0700, Alan Brooks wrote:
To answer that I think you have to ask "Why do we play the game?" I don't think we play to score well, perhaps not even the pro's. I think we play for the challenge of hitting the ball well.
That certainly applies to me. Yes, my scores and handicap have actually come down in the past 10 years -- and some of that is the maturity implied by your comment. But I'm still not nearly as elated by saving par with a 1-putt as by hitting the green with a full 5-iron or longer. And I'm not nearly as bothered by 3-putting as by slicing a drive.
...We don't do the things that would cause us to score well. Most of us would score much better if we left our drivers in the attic, including the pros. Mickelson is doing better because he is hitting his three wood off the tee more often. Woods probably would too. But they, and we, drag our drivers out at every chance.
Interesting!
I just got back from a round at Hominy Hill. Shot my second best career score for that course, which I play about once a week. I know it pretty well by now, and I only use driver on 8 holes. I use 3-wood on 5 holes, and 5-wood on the remaining "driving hole" -- which happens to be a par-5. This is a Robert Trent Jones Sr course that most golfers seeing for the first time call "a muscle course"; it is pretty long for a public course.
My stats certainly support your contention. Today I parred all the holes where I teed off with 3- or 5-wood. I only parred half the driver holes.
Twice during the round, one of the other guys in my group (different guy each time) asked why I didn't hit driver on such an obvious driver hole; in both cases the hole was a par-5. In each case, the answer was, "Look at the shot that I hit. Now think about the second shot I'd have if I hit the same line but 30 yards further. With my current shot, I have a no-sweat layup to wedge distance in the fairway. 30 yards further and I'd have a very difficult shot." (Trees in my face in one case and hitting off a steep slope in the other.)
Cheers! DaveT
