I played a round without my driver and a 3 wood and my scoring didn’t really suffer.
I’m eagerly awaiting my new set of clubs, following my custom-fitting, but before getting them into my bag there was a round of golf to be played. My current irons have a home waiting for them but my driver and 3 wood were quickly snapped up by a close friend which left me with two options; play the round without the two longest clubs in my bag or ask the club’s golf shop for a rental.
I went with the former and actually really enjoyed the challenge and surprisingly it didn’t effect my scoring negatively.
Sure the long par fours were a challenge – I didn’t get on board in regulation on them – but my ability to play the par fives and short par four was unhindered. In fact, I would say I hit more par-five greens in regulation than I usually do when my driver is in the bag.
Playing from further back has two advantages, as far as I can tell, with the first being playing from the fairway.
A 4-iron off the tee box isn’t the worst idea when you consider that your next shot will be played from the shortgrass. I get quite a big draw on my irons so the top spin also helps advance the ball nicely and for the most part, on ‘normal’ length par-fours I was playing a 6-iron or so into the green. Yes, an 8 or 9 would’ve been easier but I’ve missed enough fairways in my time, to sit back and enjoy the view as my playing partners wandered off to the left and right of me in search of their balls behind trees or next to rocky outcrops.
The second advantage was taking ‘going for it’ out of the equation.
I really only play golf one way and that way is always hitting the most club possible when faced with the chance of reaching a par-five in two or hitting a pitch into a short par-four. As much as I love the thrill of occasionally reaching in two, there was a sweet satisfaction in keeping my ball in play throughout the round and still having enough chances for birdie to make the day enjoyable.
Going into the round knowing what the ‘game plan’ would be and what the limitations would be, I can tell you I had a tremendous amount of fun. Who knew hitting 12 fairways in a round would be so fun?
My final score matches my current run so my handicap didn’t really suffer as a result. Maybe it was the relaxed mood but I made almost every putt inside six feet, got up and down more often than not and never three-putted which was a vey welcome change.
If you had the choice between distance limitation off the tee and not three-putting, what would you choose? It certainly proved to be an interesting exercise.
Even when my new set arrives, I foresee a few more rounds where I take a few clubs out of the bag and adjust my game.
*Wade Pretorius is the Digital Editor of Compleat Golfer and a struggling 12 handicapper
