Which would improve your game in the long run?

[Uncle Dougie]

Do you think playing with local top players regularly would improve your game more or just trying to play every course you can play do more for your game?

I understand that getting out to other courses will round out your game. I think that playing with top players gets you to look at holes differently.

What do you guys think?

 

[JSurmann]

If I could only choose one, I would choose.....top players. You can learn more from a person than a bunch of trees in the woods.

 

[Jedi-D85]

Top players. You can hit 20 courses in a month but playing with other players who are challenging you to keep up in score with them will make you figure out the game and different tactics to get yourself to improve. if you get to play with a really high level person you can watch their form and lines to see other ways.

 

[bradharris]

More courses. It's easy to get complacent on your own course. The familiarity eventually takes a lot of the mental game away. Once you step onto a new course for a tournament, you have no ability to properly analyze the shot you need.

 

[chrishysell]

get out and play courses, see the world, expand your horizons.

This post brought to you by your local chamber of commerce.

 

[Uncle Dougie]

Also, I apologize for not making this a poll. Haven't figured that out yet. Thanks for the responses so far!

 

[dmbrun2]

If you have the opportunity to play with someone better than yourself at different courses, do that...it has improved my game drastically. Seeing how they take lines on all different types of shots really helps

 

[Jedi-D85]

Good point too Brad. I know that alow of people will do this

 

[BIGHAFNER]

Just do both! I love playing different courses, but screwing up on every course known to man won't help any, playing with better players will. I've played with guys at the closest course to me, I play it every day almost, and seen lines taken that I never saw, much less thought of. So better players if I had the choice from the two. But better players at different courses will help keep you from getting used to one course and not seeing shots.

 

[JoshEpoo]

Competitive players often play many different courses, so there is no reason you can't do both. There's cheap weekly leagues at half of the courses around here, and tournaments, points series, and other junk happening on the weekends. You could probably play in a pretty solid advanced amateur field on a different course every day of the week in quite a few areas around the country.

 

[slowRoll]

Simply getting to play more than once a week would benefit me greatly right about now. :wall:

As for your question, good players make the difference if you are willing to shut up and listen to them. That rules out about half of you on here.

 

[jtreadwell]

If I HAD to choose I would play with better players. I played Pleasant Hill with my chucker buddy and shot a -4. A month later I played with a very skilled local and shot a -13. When you play with better players, especially in a competitive setting, you play to the level of the group and improve.

 

[Jedi-D85]

Simply getting to play more than once a week would benefit me greatly right about now. :wall:

I am with you on that one....

 

[whitefedora]

Simply getting to play more than once a week would benefit me greatly right about now. :wall:

As for your question, good players make the difference if you are willing to shut up and listen to them. That rules out about half of you on here.

lol, agreed. For awhile I was playing a ton and at that time I was sinking massive putts. Now... I play once every week... maybe twice. It's been killing me. Especially because I play like I can still make anything. :wall:

Also agree on top players. It wasn't until I played with a really great player that I realized I wasn't following through with my arm. Got me an extra 50 feet easy on my drives.

 

[bholy08]

I really enjoy playing new courses to satisfy my thirst for exploration, but I am not sure that playing a new course once is really going to have a long term benefit to my game. How about playing new courses with top players from that area? I learn more from watching better players, but do not want to get complacent.

 

[pchitti]

Better players hands down.

 

[mashnut]

I've played 605 courses, and I'm still a low level Advanced player (940 rated). It helps some areas of my game, playing with great players helps others, I think both are great ways to get some new ideas but neither is going to instantly make you a top level player.

 

[bazillion]

Somebody said "Play shots, not holes", which I took to mean "get out on an open field and practice" rather than "learn the courses you play really well".

Sure, learning a course will teach you about lines that first-timers may not see, but if you can shape shots at will, then dangerous holes start to look pretty tame.

Of course, playing with someone who's really good may help (at least it'll give you something to admire) but without committing the motions to muscle memory you're really not going to improve all that much.

My vote goes to practicing on an open field, which is what I've done maybe twice in the past 10 years. That might have something to do with why my max D is about 280 and I've played courses at par maybe half a dozen times.

Sa-a-a-a-ay ...

 

[mjoyce]

My vote goes to better players. I know for a fact that going to leagues and playing with better people helped my game.

 

[mashnut]

Field work is great for learning lines, but I do feel there's similar benefit to playing new courses where you have to figure out your line rather than walking up to the tee knowing what you're going to throw at your home course.