To go for birdie or play it safe?

[Pymm]

To preface my comment, I am new to the sport (less than 6 months) but have improved rapidly. I have only played in one tournament and am definitely a recreational player with no intention, really, of being anything else, at least in the foreseeable future.

I have noticed that when I have a birdie putt, even one with a fair chance of a rollaway, or one with trouble around the basket (water, woods, lava, whatever), I tend to go for it, sometimes ending up with a bogey for my efforts. When I have a par putt with trouble around, I will often play to not miss by much, so that my bogey is assured instead of something worse.

Logically, I know that I should not try to make the birdie but should lay up for a par but, emotionally, I want that birdie and am willing to risk a bogey to try to get it. I don't get many birdie opps, so each is pretty special. Conversely, I get lots of bogeys, so missing a par put and probably taking a bogey but potentially take a double seems acceptable. I feel that this is wrong and I would probably save myself a couple of strokes by playing smarter, but, you know, birdies! Do you guys do this also; do you act differently in a tournament round vice a casual round, etc.?

Obviously, this is for all putts outside my 20-25 foot comfort zone; anything inside that I am trying to make it, no matter the score.

 

[DiscFifty]

The more I play this game the more I realize one of the biggest differences between the pros and ams is the aggressive nature of the pros, they seem to always go for it. But while your rating is rec, definitely learn to play par golf and take those birdies when you can.

 

[mfcastillo17]

The more I play this game the more I realize one of the biggest differences between the pros and ams is the aggressive nature of the pros, they seem to always go for it. But while your rating is rec, definitely learn to play par golf and take those birdies when you can.

The pros can be aggressive because they know that if they go for it from 60ft and miss by 25, they are going to hit the 25 footer 95% of the time.

 

[zenbot]

There are also different styles of putting that will keep you on the safer side of things should you miss.

 

[joshmo65]

In rec. and intermediate, and even in some cases advanced, shooting par will gain you strokes on the rest of the field, so I would say to lay up. If you aren't confident in a putt, I definitely wouldn't say to run it. As you get better and push your putting circle out, you will be able to run more and more putts.

If you know that you will make all 15' putts, obviously you can run all putts from there and in, but if you think about it, you can also run all putts where you know that you will land within 15' if you miss. This is the biggest reason that putting practice is so important. If you can push your circle out to 20', you now will make all putts within 20', as well as being able to run any putts that you know will land within 20'. This is where you will start to get much better. I know that I am going to make most of my comeback putts, so I am able to play very aggressive and run a lot of putts from 50'+, but like I said at the start, you really don't need to to win rec. or intermediate.

 

[JC17393]

The pros can be aggressive because they know that if they go for it from 60ft and miss by 25, they are going to hit the 25 footer 95% of the time.

This.

I've always preached that the way to improve your skills from 30-60+ feet is to improve your skills from 5-20 feet. The less concerned you are about making the comebacker if you miss, the more aggressively (and often successfully) you can attempt to sink putts from distance. Confidence breeds confidence.

To the OP, you say you go for birdies when the opportunity presents itself because "birdies!" The best way to counter that is to stop thinking in terms of birdie, par, and bogey (I know, easier said than done). If you want to improve your overall game, which generally means shooting lower total scores, the number of birdies and bogeys shouldn't matter. It's only the total number of throws. Play the percentages regardless of whether you're throwing for your birdie, par or triple-bogey. You'll improve your scores much faster that way.

 

[DiscFifty]

The pros can be aggressive because they know that if they go for it from 60ft and miss by 25, they are going to hit the 25 footer 95% of the time.

Not all pros....I've played with low rated pros and high rated pros, and they all have that same aggressive mentality. At local minis I'll even beat the lower rated pros once in awhile due to this aggressive mentality, but I always give them props for going for it. I'm trying to dial in a more aggressive style of playing...until that 4 (or worse) pops up. lol..

 

[DiscFifty]

The best way to counter that is to stop thinking in terms of birdie, par, and bogey (I know, easier said than done). If you want to improve your overall game, which generally means shooting lower total scores, the number of birdies and bogeys shouldn't matter. It's only the total number of throws.

Nice. :clap:

 

[m_Krakov]

I'm always pretty excited to a bogey-free round (no 4's), and as a beginner I would say take the 3 and beat your buds. However, there seems to be a developmental threshold where laying up for the easy putt will not improve your putting/upshots/score...at least for me...so at this stage in my "career" I find myself going for pretty much anything that I think I can hit metal on unless there is a serious roll-away hazard. So at some point, if you feel like your scores are not improving, I'd wager that its time to start stretching out your putting circle.

 

[Pymm]

The pros can be aggressive because they know that if they go for it from 60ft and miss by 25, they are going to hit the 25 footer 95% of the time.

In rec. and intermediate, and even in some cases advanced, shooting par will gain you strokes on the rest of the field, so I would say to lay up. If you aren't confident in a putt, I definitely wouldn't say to run it. As you get better and push your putting circle out, you will be able to run more and more putts.

I practice putting more than anything else, so I'm definitely making all 15 footers and 95% ish of the 20 footers, so maybe I should just keep going for them and my "make" circle will extend over time.

This.

I've always preached that the way to improve your skills from 30-60+ feet is to improve your skills from 5-20 feet. The less concerned you are about making the comebacker if you miss, the more aggressively (and often successfully) you can attempt to sink putts from distance. Confidence breeds confidence.

To the OP, you say you go for birdies when the opportunity presents itself because "birdies!" The best way to counter that is to stop thinking in terms of birdie, par, and bogey (I know, easier said than done). If you want to improve your overall game, which generally means shooting lower total scores, the number of birdies and bogeys shouldn't matter. It's only the total number of throws. Play the percentages regardless of whether you're throwing for your birdie, par or triple-bogey. You'll improve your scores much faster that way.

I like the idea of simply counting throws; less throws=better game. I definitely think I'm going to do this for the next couple of months and see how it goes. It would also make it easier to keep track, as most of the places I play don't have scorecards and I never remember to pack a pen and paper

 

[mfcastillo17]

Not all pros....I've played with low rated pros and high rated pros, and they all have that same aggressive mentality. At local minis I'll even beat the lower rated pros once in awhile due to this aggressive mentality, but I always give them props for going for it. I'm trying to dial in a more aggressive style of playing...until that 4 (or worse) pops up. lol..

Well maybe not the pros on at the local mini but the ones on tour that you watch on video is what I was referring to. The term pro is used very loosely in disc golf.

 

[SonicGuy]

Think of it as a math problem. To me 40% is about the odds I need to know that going for it will generate a positive scoring differential. If you shoot about 40% from the range you are standing then you can go for it without worry.

If you really are curious start tracking your putts. Note the # of putts and the range you went for it. You should be able to pick out a correlation over time.

 

[Pbmercil]

The more I play this game the more I realize one of the biggest differences between the pros and ams is the aggressive nature of the pros, they seem to always go for it. But while your rating is rec, definitely learn to play par golf and take those birdies when you can.

I strongly disagree with this. I play with advanced level ams who are wide open aggressive all the time even though they don't have the skills to back it up.

 

[slowplastic]

You putt better in a round by not thinking about your score on that hole (or the last one, or the next one), and not thinking about missing the putt. But, if your skills don't match that way of thinking yet, you might take some 3-putts.

Eventually you'll get your putting consistent enough that cleaning up 15-20' misses will be automatic for the most part. That will then give you the confidence to not worry about missing. And that confidence will make you sink the putts more often. It's a cycle that leads to good putters being a lot better at it than mediocre putters.

 

[DiscFifty]

I strongly disagree with this. I play with advanced level ams who are wide open aggressive all the time even though they don't have the skills to back it up.

Not debating the results (skill set), just saying that aggressive mentality seems to be a big difference in the pro mindset vs ams. Perhaps those adv level ams have hopes to play pro some day. And I'm not just talking about putting.....more aggressive lines off the tee, approaches, etc, etc.

 

[Hampstead]

As with most things in life, it depends on the situation. Are we talking hole #1 or hole #18? Am I in the lead or behind by a few strokes? If I'm behind, are there any birdie chances left?

In general, I hate to play it safe and will be aggressive most of the time. But again, it depends on the situation.

 

[SonicGuy]

more aggressive lines off the tee, approaches, etc, etc.

More aggressive off the tee for sure, mainly because of the distance gap. I think you would find Ams that throw over 450' (ie baggers) will also throw aggressive lines. A more powerful arm can take much more direct lines to a target.

The one aspect that I never really see aggression is the short approach game. You don't find many players trying to put it in the basket from 120'.

 

[Smigles]

I'm always pretty excited to a bogey-free round (no 4's), and as a beginner I would say take the 3 and beat your buds.

Not if your buds constantly play under par...

Laying up and taking easy pars only gets you so far. IMO this question should not be about your current ability but more about your ambition. Just keep going for it like the pros do and practice till you are good enugh to play well with going for it Your score at the moment does not matter as much as the learning proces.

 

[VictorB]

A lot of this boils down to a number of things. I feel like the biggest factors in learning how and when to play aggressively are 1. comfort and knowledge of your own game (strengths and weaknesses), 2. knowledge of the course you're playing, and 3. putting ability/consistency.

It's really difficult to play with those things factoring in if you're not very experienced yet. I think the first thing to focus on is learning how to not give strokes away. For example, you've got a 50' putt with a slight drop off behind the basket - you're likely going to want to play as safe as possible so you don't 2+ putt on the way back if you miss. Lay it up, take the drop in, and move to the next hole. Watch as the other guy on your card goes for it and 2 putts back up, and you just got a stroke on him

Just remember, when you're still inexperienced, pars are good. Well, par is usually always good, since you're not giving up strokes to the course that way. The birdies will come, you just have to give it time and not try and force it so hard.

As for playing a tournament round versus a casual round - casual rounds are for fun/practice for me. I've been playing long enough on the local courses that I know what my high% shots are on each placement and each hole. I might take a different disc and/or try a different line in a casual round that I'd not normally throw. Most tournament rounds I try to have a plan of attack and stick with it. Last weekend I got away from my plan on a very tight course and my score got out of hand, pushing me out of the prizes. Live and learn, this is why I'm still an amateur

 

[Pymm]

So I played last night and matched my best scored ever +8. I tried to can everything from 40 feet in. Two of those putts were ones I would normally be safe on and try to ensure no rollaway as they play significantly downhill. One I made from 22 foot or so and the other I missed from about 25 feet, got a rollaway but only to about 16-18 feet, which I made. So, I didn't get hurt by playing aggressively, which seems to be the general tendency of most here in the comments. I think I am going to simply go for everything I think I can make and eventually I will make more as my skills improve. I already feel that putting is the strongest part of my game, so maybe I overthink things a little bit and should just try to put it in the basket and not worry about the next putt unless the danger is extreme.