Post by Richie3Jack on Dec 10, 2013 10:28:41 GMT -5
Early in the 2013 season, I wanted to research one of the key questions golfers have often asked themselves: Is it better to hit driver off the tee on a tight par-4 or should golfers leave the driver in the bag and lay up?
To learn the answer, I had to study data from PGA Tour players using the PGA Tour’s Shot Tracker system. Furthermore, I needed to find holes where there was roughly an even split between golfers who hit driver off the tee versus those who laid up off the tee so there was a large enough sample size for both golfers who hit driver and those who laid up.
The numbers supporting laying up. There are two methods of looking at whether or not to “go for it” off the tee or lay up. One method is to look at the average proximity to the cup on shots from the fairway versus shots from the rough on Tour.
There is a clear advantage to being able to hit a shot from fairway rather than from the rough, as shots from the fairway finished 33 percent closer to the hole. In fact, we see that average Tour players hit the ball closer from 175-to-200 yards in the fairway (34.2 feet) than they hit it from the 125-to-150 yards in the rough (35.8 feet). This data clearly argues in favor of laying up off the tee so that golfers can find the fairway and hit their approach shots closer to the hole.
Read More: www.golfwrx.com/145045/hit-driver-not-3-wood-for-better-scoring-on-tight-holes/
3JACK