Short tees vs long tees for practice?

[coupe]

Throwing holes that leave you with a short upshot are a whole lot less useful for practicing those shots than ones that leave you with something like 150-250' upshots.

Maybe so, but they're a helluva lot more useful than throwing holes that leave you with a putt every time.

If you're struggling with 50' upshots the course isn't the place to be trying to fix that anyway.

Not every problem can be solved by field work.

I've run across plenty of people who can park 50' upshots in a field all day, every day, but put them on a course where they need to negotiate schule/trees/a narrow gap/low ceilings/other obstacles to get their upshot to the basket and they can't hit the line they need to hit to excecute the shot reliably.

 

[mashnut]

Maybe so, but they're a helluva lot more useful than throwing holes that leave you with a putt every time.



Not every problem can be solved by field work.

I've run across plenty of people who can park 50' upshots in a field all day, every day, but put them on a course where they need to negotiate schule/trees/a narrow gap/low ceilings/other obstacles to get their upshot to the basket and they can't hit the line they need to hit to excecute the shot reliably.

I disagree with the first part, I think it's a lot more useful to work on actually getting a close to max controlled distance drive in the circle than just throwing as hard as you can on a hole you can't reach so you're not punished for inaccuracy. There's no pressure on a hole where you're not ever going to birdie, the difference between a 50' upshot and an 80' upshot isn't generally enough to make the drive very important at all, it's a 3 either way.

The second part may be true, but you're going to get those short approach shot opportunities after you mess up drives on normally reachable holes, no need to create situations where a good drive leads to that kind of shot.

 

[teemkey]

I also play solo a lot. I'm retired, and (as surprising as this sounds) most of my playing friends have these "jobbie things" (whatever they are). So I play against myself which causes me to use my next-best disc for the shot, or compare two discs competing for the same slot.

You might try this, but also take a pair of dice. The first die determines the tee; the second the basket (odd=long, even=short). The second you gets the other pairing of tee & basket.

 

[scotnt73]

If your goal is to get better for tournaments and you are already doing fieldwork then do whatever it takes to add pressure to your shots. Also try to play a second or third round(depending on your endurance level) and on that last round really try to work on your focus while you are mentally and physically wiped out.

 

[scarpfish]

It's practice. Do you really need an established tee?

To me the only fruitful point of practice rounds is to take what you've learned in your practice drills and apply them to a game situation.

You are doing drills aren't you?

 

[shep proudfoot]

^^ not really doing any drills per say.. Mostly just driving in the field trying to hit different lines. And working on upshots aiming at my bag.

 

[bradharris]

It's practice. Do you really need an established tee?

To me the only fruitful point of practice rounds is to take what you've learned in your practice drills and apply them to a game situation.

You are doing drills aren't you?

This is my general philosophy as well. The field is for practice and skill development while the course is for putting those skills to the test.

 

[IHearChains]

Long tees to long baskets, especially if the shorts are par 3 and long-to-long is par 4. It's all about the second shot on par 4 holes, which is always different. Different footing, different line to hit, different distance. Every time it's a fresh new challenge. Unlike par 3s, where the drive is always the same, or field practice which is about repetition.

 

[The Last DJ]

I like the idea of playing odds long and evens long. If you have time for two rounds, you can do both and play the entire course. I wouldn't go beating myself up by playing longs until you can consistently shoot par playing half of the tees from the long position. Good luck!

 

[1978]

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but here goes. I play a lot of rounds by myself at my local course. Each hole has long and short teepads and baskets. I usually just play short to short and shoot around -1 to -3 (mostly 3's, a few birdies and the occasional 4). I occasionally play long to long (I did today) and just get my ass kicked (a few 3's, lots of 4's and 5's, sometimes 6's). It's borderline demeaning. I was wondering what people think is more beneficial for practice rounds; shooting under par short to short or getting walloped long to long?

Field work is the best practice. Do not mistake "play" for "practice." You can practice shaping lines on a course but then you wouldnt be playing. If you truly want to practice and get better. You might say, I need to practice 250' anhyzers. Find that hole, bring a stack of like plastic and throw 30-40 times. That is practice. For play, play what ever you want, mix it up and have fun.

 

[IHearChains]

Field work is the best practice. Do not mistake "play" for "practice." You can practice shaping lines on a course but then you wouldnt be playing. If you truly want to practice and get better. You might say, I need to practice 250' anhyzers. Find that hole, bring a stack of like plastic and throw 30-40 times. That is one kind of practice. For play, play what ever you want, mix it up and have fun.

It is also worthwhile to practice making a shot in realistic situations when you get only one chance.

 

[Timeetyo]

I would be wary of answers like "play longs" or "play shorts". You need to look at your own game and at what tees are the most appropriate level of challenge for you. The holes that are the best for practice are the ones that you have a pretty good chance to birdie if you execute the best you can, and punish you if you miss your line or don't have a great shot. Throwing holes that leave you with short upshots every time because they're 50' longer than your max controlled distance isn't going to help you a whole lot, you should either play holes that are barely reachable or that leave you a second shot that challenges you. That might mean playing some mix of long and short tees and pins to find the right shots to test your skills. Make sure that mix includes a bunch of different line shaping skills too if possible, don't let yourself choose mostly hyzer holes if you're already better at that.

Among other things, it depends on the course. On some courses, the short tees offer plenty of challenge for almost anyone; on others, they're putter practice.

If you have to choose one, without regard for how they play out for your particular skill level, I'd guess that the longs are better for practice. If nothing else, they result in throwing more throws.

Oh, and don't get hung up with how your score relates to "par". How it measures against your average is much more meaningful.

I disagree with the first part, I think it's a lot more useful to work on actually getting a close to max controlled distance drive in the circle than just throwing as hard as you can on a hole you can't reach so you're not punished for inaccuracy. There's no pressure on a hole where you're not ever going to birdie, the difference between a 50' upshot and an 80' upshot isn't generally enough to make the drive very important at all, it's a 3 either way.

The second part may be true, but you're going to get those short approach shot opportunities after you mess up drives on normally reachable holes, no need to create situations where a good drive leads to that kind of shot.

All of the above.

It really depends on the course, your skill, and what you want to practice.

One course in particular comes to mind for me. I throw 275-300 on a good day and this course has MANY holes that are 350-375 with relatively forgiving fairways. Practicing here for me is mostly a waste because unless I put my drive in jail - it just doesn't matter how I threw it. Its a 50-100' upshot and drop in 3. Not all that great of a practice environment. If there were decent short tees they'd probably be better practice.

But...

There is another course where the longs leave me playing for 3 as well....but they are technical and longer - requiring an accurate drive - a tougher approach shot to get that chance at the 3. In this course I feel like it is a much better practice environment as I am challenged on every shot.


The key here is that a good course to practice on should have a challenge on any shot (unless of course its a drop in bird after an excellent drive / upshot). Don't worry about your score in relation to par. Don't worry about playing from long/shorts. Just make sure you have fun & have a challenge (that is within or close to your skillset) on each shot. This may mean playing some holes on long & some on short.

 

[DG_Before_Breakfast]

I totally feel you. It feels awesome when I can get near Par at Dela on the short pins, but I'm also aware its just a lie. Place 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26a, and 27 in long and it is a totally different result. Just gotta be super happy to get a Par (or a Bogey on 13) and realize you are getting better at key game mechanics like drive length, fairway driver/Mid approaches, getting out of trouble and the approach game with those long challenging holes.

At Dela you don't really get a choice though, because the Pins determine the hole length and they get moved per the Club's wishes on a schedule.