To go for birdie or play it safe?

[clard]

If you want to improve then run all of your putts. The experience of trying these shots will give you valuable practice, and lots of information about how to run those shots safely. Once you have many rounds of running every putt and a mental catalogue of what worked and what didn't and what ended in disaster you will have the knowledge to approach those situations during a competitive round. Since you aren't playing for cash you should try to make every putt.

There are also some practical things you will learn about approaching certain high risk situations by running everything. For example, one situation I see lots of ams mess up is uphill putts. These always pose some danger because if you hit the basket at all then there is a decent chance you will roll away, but if you want to run the putt as safely as possible then you should make sure your disc is flat. A disc that hits the ground flat is MUCH less likely to roll away, so when someone throws a slow, lofty shot thinking that a "soft shot" is a safe shot they are actually introducing more risk by letting the disc hit edge down rather than flat.

 

[clard]

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.

:thmbup::thmbup::thmbup::thmbup::thmbup:

 

[mike.sepulveda.73]

Run chains or go home! Haha. I run a fair bit of putts. If there's no clear danger (water, bunker, 100' roll) then I will make a run from about 70' out. That's about as far as my Wysocki inspired stance will get me in a controllable manner. If I miss, I have Maybe 20-25 for the comeback and I am very confident in that range.

Thumb smashed on my Galaxy Note 4

 

[chainedwraith]

yep. We miss 100% of the putts we leave short, so keep running those putts and over time the comeback putts get easier and easier.

 

[ThrowBot]

It's all situational, depending on the green and sometimes your relative score near the end of the round. Laying up is underrated IMO, but that doesn't mean it's always the right decision.

The best way to learn is to make mistakes, so I'd say run everything until someday you don't want to. Eventually you'll step up to a birdie shot and think "Wait a minute! Last time I tried to run this shot, I had a 45' comeback that hit the pin and rolled away...I took a 5...why not lay up for the easy par?"

As long as your heart still says "Run It!" then I'd say keep running it. There are statistical and strategic reasons to lay up, but you don't want to walk away from the course wondering what would have happened if you'd gone for that tough birdie shot.

A final thought:
Practice a variety of throws for the short game. BH, FH, spike hyzers, flex shots, turbos, grenades...so many usable shots in this range. As you get comfortable with more and more of these shots, you'll be able to run for the basket in different ways that will leave you with an easy comeback shot if you do happen to miss.

 

[ohtobediscing]

Unless it's a tourney and you're trying to preserve a lead, go for it!:thmbup:

 

[Shamis]

Unless there is OB, you should almost always go for it if the putt is at a range you can hit occasionally in practice. The key is to have a putting style that enables you to go for it and still make a comeback putt. You have to be really solid inside 30 feet to have confidence to go for it at 50 feet and not worry about a bogey.

 

[DanJon]

During leagues I run it.

During tournaments I play safe.

Oftentimes that one hole you blew up on in a tourney will come back to bite you in the a**.

 

[sumo21]

If I go for it, I think of how that second shot is going to be: distance, obstacles, etc. If the second shot is not going to be any better than the shot that I have now, I'm laying up. Otherwise, I'm making a run at it. With that said, my range is probably only 20 feet. Need more practice and in game play to improve that.

 

[brentjacobs]

It's all situational.

Ding, Ding, Ding...

You can make all sorts of blanket statements about when to run the putt or not. If you acutally care about your score at the end of the round, every putt should be evaluated individually.

 

[Consult20]

Since my putting has improved dramatically this year I pretty much run everything and don't think about missing (unless there is jail very close to the basket, which isn't very often). The two biggest things that have helped are 1) settling on one specific putting putter and buying a handful of them to practice with, and 2) settling on a spin putting technique that allows me to throw flat putts directly at the pole (most of the time). It's always going to be a work in progress, but the putting enjoyment factor has gone up quite a bit. There's something about putting well that just makes life better overall

 

[cboucher]

I would say run it every birdie opportunity, because birdies = more fun. And whoever has the most fun wins. I think someone famous said something similar...

 

[SuperDave1981]

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

You should invest in getting the DGCR App - No pen and paper needed, and it keeps track of your stats for you! I hated the idea of spending $5 on an app, but this app is worth it! It's also a great tool to find local courses when you're traveling out of town. You can get pics of each hole, check the weather, read reviews, and a lot more.

 

[mm1315]

First thing is practice practice practice those putts, like the earlier posts say if you know you can make that 20-25 foot comeback putt it makes the long putts easier. Second not all putts are the same, if there are just some trees or open ground behind the basket run the putt all day, but if there is OB or a lake etc don't be afraid to take the garuanteed 3. I think it also depends on how everyone is doing in your bracket, if you know your best competition is in your group is a few strokes behind then yeah lay up make them earn it. Conversely if they have a few strokes on you I'd be more likely to run it.

*note of caution I run everything

 

[corin_brown]

Ding, Ding, Ding...

You can make all sorts of blanket statements about when to run the putt or not. If you acutally care about your score at the end of the round, every putt should be evaluated individually.

I'm assuming that you meant to say you CAN'T make blanket run it or lay up statements, in which case I 100% agree.

Every golf shot should undergo a separate risk/reward calculation. Obv these calculations are fast, otherwise we'd take all day to play one hole. I've been surprised how seldom tournament players do this. Or, I guess, their rewards in this risk/reward calculation are different than mine lol.

 

[corin_brown]

When I have a par putt with trouble around, I will often play to not miss by much...

"... not miss by much..." This jumped out to me. With any putt, like with any shot, a player should come up with a plan and try to execute that plan with 100% conviction. Otherwise, the probability of successful execution plummets. If a player is putting with their focus split between making it and not missing by much, the probability of making the putt goes down AND the probability of laying up successfully (not missing by much) goes down. That's no way to throw a putt, or any other shot.

So, decide to either run the putt or lay up and focus 100% on executing that decision. Base tha decision on a basic risk/reward calculation.

Also, I agree with the others about forgetting about birdies, pars, bogeys. Who cares if you get a birdie on a hole? What if everyone birdies that hole? All you should care about is your total shots in relation to the field. That's how we determine who wins and loses, right? That's how the PDGA determine rating too, btw, if you're into that sort of thing. I've never understood this fixation, by tons of players, on par. It's meaningless.

 

[CreemCheese]

I have the opposite issue. My putting is horrible, so I find myself playing it safe. Got a practice basket, first day with it I was laying up.

 

[RomServo]

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.

I just wanna say that this^ is what i experienced as well.

 

[RomServo]

...Your score at the moment does not matter as much as the learning proccess.

Troof.

 

[TAFL]

I reckon playing moneyball is an approach you'll want to consider.

What is it? It's an approach based on statistics.

First, what's your cleanup range? The range at which you can count on making 90+% of your putts is your cleanup range. If you can look at every putt 20' and shorter as sure things, then you have a cleanup range of 20'. Note that cleanup range can vary when faced with uphill and downhill putts, so you'll need to figure it out for those circumstances, too.

Next, what's your effective range? The range at which you can count on making a significant percentage of your putts. Now, you get to decide what a significant percentage is--40%, 50%, 60%, whatever. Anything in your effective range is unlikely to end up outside your cleanup range if you miss, so you can go for it and expect a cleanup putt. Note that the effective range can vary due to terrain--a ravine behind the pin can remove a missed putt from cleanup range, so you might want to lay up unless you're close to cleanup range.

Anything outside your effective range is where you have to use your best judgement to decide whether to run it or not. If you generally end up outside your cleanup range when missing from the distance you're at, it's not a good bet--lay up. And if you're well outside your effective range, even though you might be able to launch a putt far enough to have a ghost of a chance to hole out, you're most likely better off laying up.

It all begins with getting a very good understanding of what your ranges are. Dig out a stack of putters and go putt. Record your percentages at various distances and in various conditions (headwind, tailwind, uphill, downhill). Then you'll be able to make good decisions about when you putt.