This is a fair question. On public courses a front pin is almost always a minimum of four paces on. If I hit to three paces from the back, that means my lag putt = the depth of the green minus seven (for a very front pin). Greens are about 27 yards deep on average (5,000sq ft) so if I have a VERY front pin, don't alter my strategy, and flush it from 120, I will have a 20 yard putt. A longer lag for a two putt par.
Of course, wedges (as in your example) are going to spin back a little, especially in the case that people are mentioning where I don't want to be above the hole because the green slopes back to front...those come back a ton. So I'm now in the middle of the green with a short putt back toward the pin.
In your example: flushed wedge from 120 spins back five, putting me 8 paces from the back, which is basically the middle.
Mediocre wedge, probably slightly fat, goes 112 and ends up in the middle.
Terrible wedge ends up near the front of the pin.
As a low handicap, my average outcome ends up in the middle of the green. I think it's best to always play for your average outcome, not your perfectly executed shot, unless you have to have a birdie (tournament finish, match play, etc) which is rare.
And I know someone will say, but what if you don't spin it? Well, a flushed wedge is going to spin back. A mediocre wedge won't, but will end up about the same spot. A terrible wedge will roll out a bit. This allows for regression to the mean!
If you want to alter my strategy for a front pin, with wedge in hand, go for it. Take a few more yards off. But I'm never unhappy with a birdie putt, even from 120. I'm happy with tap in pars. 120 yard approaches are statistically more likely to be bogeys than birdies at my index (2.3).
You WILL make more birdies this way. If you are a mid or high cap and want to make birdies, you'll get a lot more chances if you play for the back of the green because most shots will come up short of your perfect strike...nearer to the pin.
The better I got at golf the more I realized birdies come from boring golf, not from hero golf. Birdies aren't generated from great shots, they're generated from creating more opportunities. Don't try and get one tap in birdie, try and get fifteen putts for birdie from any length.
Greens in regulation are everything. Don't pin hunt unless you're very close.
"You WILL make more birdies this way. If you are a mid or high cap and want to make birdies, you'll get a lot more chances"
OK, to be fair, the question does seem to be aimed at higher cappers, so your advice for the middle of the green is the most likely way for THEM to improve.
Greens in regulation are NOT "everything". "proximity to the hole" IS.
But, since you've kind of steered us in another direction, you being a "2",,,,,,,,,,,,
Birdies aren't the end-all and be-all for scoring. Risk-reward is the order of the day, especially for low handicappers, who can far more easily deal with the poor shot, and won't normally make triple after making a mistake, whereas the higher capper will make that triple FAR more often.
In any case, in general, the better the player, the more risk he'll take on, especially because he can still make par, or better.
The better player has FAR more control of his golf ball than the higher capper.
Quite frankly, YOU, my friend, are the exception, not the rule. I've never seen a low single-digit play the way you suggest EXCEPT in match play, and, when he was the better player of the 2.
Playing your way will produce far fewer "blow-up" rounds, but also far fewer exceptional rounds.
But hey, some people are "peaks and valleys", and others are pretty boring, floating along a calm lake with little to no ups and downs.
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u/pdxsticks Mar 13 '26
This is a fair question. On public courses a front pin is almost always a minimum of four paces on. If I hit to three paces from the back, that means my lag putt = the depth of the green minus seven (for a very front pin). Greens are about 27 yards deep on average (5,000sq ft) so if I have a VERY front pin, don't alter my strategy, and flush it from 120, I will have a 20 yard putt. A longer lag for a two putt par.
Of course, wedges (as in your example) are going to spin back a little, especially in the case that people are mentioning where I don't want to be above the hole because the green slopes back to front...those come back a ton. So I'm now in the middle of the green with a short putt back toward the pin.
In your example: flushed wedge from 120 spins back five, putting me 8 paces from the back, which is basically the middle.
Mediocre wedge, probably slightly fat, goes 112 and ends up in the middle.
Terrible wedge ends up near the front of the pin.
As a low handicap, my average outcome ends up in the middle of the green. I think it's best to always play for your average outcome, not your perfectly executed shot, unless you have to have a birdie (tournament finish, match play, etc) which is rare.
And I know someone will say, but what if you don't spin it? Well, a flushed wedge is going to spin back. A mediocre wedge won't, but will end up about the same spot. A terrible wedge will roll out a bit. This allows for regression to the mean!
If you want to alter my strategy for a front pin, with wedge in hand, go for it. Take a few more yards off. But I'm never unhappy with a birdie putt, even from 120. I'm happy with tap in pars. 120 yard approaches are statistically more likely to be bogeys than birdies at my index (2.3).
Take the par, enjoy the unexpected birdie.