What affects your score more? Driver, woods, irons, wedges, putter... pick only one!

[ChaosTheory]

11 hours ago, jjfcpa said:

wedges are critical to my game.... and I see more affect on my game than changing any other club.

 

 

Fellow slower swinger here.

 

I like your wedges answer. 

 

For me the answer is irons.  I had a very hard time finding irons (shafts) that time up my swing the way I want.  Once I got ones that worked, my scores have improved.   Especially my worst scores.

 

Next would be the 6 hybrid.  I have not solved it.  I need it on a couple of par 3s.  If and when I get it right, I will probably drop a stroke.  Which is big.  You know, for old guys like you and me, I could make a good case that hybrids and fairway woods are the most important clubs to get right.   Most of us slow swingers can keep the driver in play so it's not as big of a variable for us.  Other than hitting it farther, which of course is big but rarely accomplished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tipperi]

4 minutes ago, Birdieputt19 said:

That exactly what happened with the Tyne H I bought. Made some insane putts the first few month. 60’, 35’, 25’. But struggled inside 10’. Found a stroke for inside 10’ and started making 90% but they were my 2nd putts since my lag putting was so bad. Now I’m trying to sell it to fund the next “miracle” putter lol

 

I would try the rossie, but I can’t get over the shape. I did try the odyssey eleven 2 falls ago and it was a pretty good putter for me, but was just too flat. So I’m trying to find a middle ground. I’ve seen the Scotty 5.2, and 9.2 and think those would be good options but just can’t stomach the price tags

In the new Phantom line when on Cameron's website there's a description of what/who each of the 3 alignment options is for.  I am very intrigued by a 5.5 with the 3 dots vice any lines.  

"Three Dots- For the player who prefers more traditional subtle alignment and may find lines confusing on breaking putts or uneven lies"

It's crazy when they wrote that they didn't just put my name at the end 😄

[Bow Hunter]

6 hours ago, Red4282 said:

This is interesting, would like to see what handicaps are with replies. For me, driver and putter are almost always solid, never going to hurt me too bad. When I look at my best rounds over the last few years its almost ALWAYS, Im on fire with irons and wedges 100-200 yards. 

 

Agreed on a correlation between handicap and club selection. I am a scratch so I've always hit driver well going back to when I was a kid. I generally can keep it in play. I am going to say the putter because a lot of strokes can be lost if you cant convert putts under 10 ft. The other stat for me is GIR. Thats why I practice my approach shots a lot.

[Birdieputt19]

3 minutes ago, tipperi said:

In the new Phantom line when on Cameron's website there's a description of what/who each of the 3 alignment options is for.  I am very intrigued by a 5.5 with the 3 dots vice any lines.  

"Three Dots- For the player who prefers more traditional subtle alignment and may find lines confusing on breaking putts or uneven lies"

It's crazy when they wrote that they didn't just put my name at the end 😄

I think the original phantom x 5 line has the 3 dots but they didn’t have the slant neck option.. can’t win lol

[MidwestHacker]

The way I approach this question would be slightly different from what you posted. Im thinking what club would be the most detrimental if I had to use a random, off the rack replacement to my current club. Similarly to you I switch putters pretty regularly and my putting stats dont change all that much. I think driver for me would be the most detrimental. The faster you're swinging the club the more it can go wrong, so the more important it is to have the club react in a predictable manner. And Im using it on 14-15 holes, more than everything except maybe wedges and the putter. 

[naval2006]

From going through this thread quickly I assume the most critical club is closely related to a golfer's weakest part of the game.  

 

In my case too it's my wedge game, especially around the green.  On any 50/60% GIR day I have a decent or very good score.  On my average 35% GIR round I either have to miss it on the right spot or else I'm usually doomed if I have to pitch 4 or 5 times a round.  

[Lord Helmet]

Im a firm believer that the T game, wedge game, and flatstick are the 3 most important.  After that IMHO it becomes player dependent.  For me, Im strong off the T.  Had to work hard at it for years but I have settled into either a straight ball or a cut shot that I can rely on.  Putting I am fairly consistent.  I practice 25ft, 12ft, 5ft all the time at home so on the course I have the muscle memory for lagging.  Wedges are the most important for me by far.  2025 has seen my wedge game be hot and cold as I have new wedges for the first time in ages.  I had 3 sets of identical SM5 loft, grind, bounce, lie, shaft.  I finally used them all up heading into this season.  I started searching for new wedges late summer of 2024 in preparation.  Still working thru it.  If I am on with them Im a mid 70s shooter.  If I struggle that balloons into the low 80s.  Ive bounced between all summer.  I hope to really work on getting to know them (wedges) better so I am more confident with them.  But for me - wedge game is the most important.  Good topic and discussion.

[mikedejong33]

For me it is driver easily. As a 2-3ish handicap, when I drive it well I find it hard almost to shoot too much over par... but if I drive it poorly, I can shoot in the 80's pretty easily. I putt pretty well, I don't make a ton of one putts, but I very rarely three putt. I don't chip great, but I usually hit a lot of greens (on or very close, close enough to putt often). So for me it is always about my driver, it can be the best or worst club in my bag from day to day. I hit 3 wood very well off the tee, and I do use that for basically any hole under 400 yards. But get into the 450 yard par 4's and that isn't really an option. Driver makes or breaks my rounds every time. 

[Jose c.]

irons for me, got fit into jpx925 HMP.  changed my game by more, GIR. another thing not club related is A putting routine, which has been  amazing.

[Milk Diesel]

Driver 100% for me. I struggle with getting stuck. So if i'm off? No saving it. I hit it far enough that a hard block will be OB right, and a snap hook may be in the rough to the left. 

[JohnKHawk]

For me it varies. My inconsistency is really what I seem to fight. It's rare for me have every facet of my golf game working simultaneously. One day driving the ball well & irons shots are terrible. Next time irons are back on point driver still ok but putting is awful. And so it goes...

[Tmintx]

Driver/Putter-muy bueno

Irons-no muy bueno

[jjfcpa]

7 hours ago, redshirtgolfer said:

Wedges. Had quarterfinals season matchplay yesterday and everything felt horrible. No confidence with the driver (warmup was great), duffed all longer irons (safest clubs for me) and woods were ok. But thanks to my wedges I had 4 one putts (could have been 5) and 3 others were tap ins he gave me. 
 

So pretty clear answer: wedges. 

 

I can really relate to this.  When my wedges are on, they can make up for all my other flaws.  If my drive is 50 yards off the normal distance, I can usually make up for it with a wood or iron, but the wedge is what can turn a poor drive into an up-and-down to save par.

[jjfcpa]

3 hours ago, ChaosTheory said:

 

Fellow slower swinger here.

 

I like your wedges answer. 

 

For me the answer is irons.  I had a very hard time finding irons (shafts) that time up my swing the way I want.  Once I got ones that worked, my scores have improved.   Especially my worst scores.

 

Next would be the 6 hybrid.  I have not solved it.  I need it on a couple of par 3s.  If and when I get it right, I will probably drop a stroke.  Which is big.  You know, for old guys like you and me, I could make a good case that hybrids and fairway woods are the most important clubs to get right.   Most of us slow swingers can keep the driver in play so it's not as big of a variable for us.  Other than hitting it farther, which of course is big but rarely accomplished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a decision a few rounds back that the reason my irons were not reliable was because I wasn't using them enough, so I now only play a wood or hybrid off the tee (typically on par 3's or very short par 4's) or 2nd shots on par 5's; otherwise, I will use an iron even if I know I won't get close to the green with it.  For example, in my round yesterday, I hit my driver, which was in play, but had 176 to the green.  I don't have an iron in my bag that will let me reach the green since I'm 77 years old and not a long hitter.

 

I hit my 5-iron which got me about 50 yards from the green.  Pulled my Ping 54* wedge and put the ball within 6 feet of the pin and knocked it in for a par.  

 

This is very typical of my game.  My iron play has improved considerably and my confidence with them has also improved.  

 

My limited practice time consists primarily of chipping and putting.  Still I am still working, I don't really have time to practice anything else.  Focusing on the short game keeps my score in the low to mid 80's with an occasional score in the upper 70's.  

[Rtojos]

Driver. The better I'm in play the better my scores are. Can't score well if your always OB or in the trees. A constant good drive always sets up for a decent round.

 

 

2nd would be putter and its pretty close to being the top spot.

[blopar]

Heavenwood:  permits many GIR on long par 4’s from fairway and long par 3’s.  A can’t live without.  Even fitted putters come and go, same with drivers. 

 

Edited July 23 by blopar
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[buckrogers71]

For me its my driver. If I cant put the ball in play, im doomed. I went through a spell where I couldnt get off the tee, so much so that it left me with a billion yards for a 2nd shot. I relied heavily on wedges and putter. I got really good with those clubs. If my driver is on, I can go low (low 70s) if it isn't, im high 70s-mid 80s

[JohnBrew]

Gotta be the putter for me.

Edited July 23 by JohnBrew
addition

[subcrazy12]

5 hours ago, Birdieputt19 said:

I’m left eye dominant, so I feel I can never get the line to match how I set the line on the ball with setting up in the middle of my stance. And trying to move it up causes me to pull everything.
 

My late fall purchase was a Tyne H with a white sight line. I ended up covering it up with electrical tape and I found I wasn’t so fixated on setting up “perfect”. I also found that the horizontal line was to close to the heel on that putter, so I felt extremely uncomfortable with how the putter sat behind the ball and would hit it out of the heel very often.

Out of curiosity how much offset have been putting with?

The Tyne H appears to be a full shaft offset putter.  I too am left eye dominant I found moving to as little offset as possible really helped me line up. I also found I did a lot better with the aim lines on the Bettinardi Inovai 9

[subcrazy12]

With all the people saying driver in here I would love to know the playing length that everyone is going with on their driver.

 

I think most of us would benefit from a shorter driver to tighten dispersion and only drop a few yards

[Birdieputt19]

2 minutes ago, subcrazy12 said:

Out of curiosity how much offset have been putting with?

The Tyne H appears to be a full shaft offset putter.  I too am left eye dominant I found moving to as little offset as possible really helped me line up. I also found I did a lot better with the aim lines on the Bettinardi Inovai 9

Yeah I typically play 1/2-full shaft of offset. Both the Tyne H and my Newport are a full shaft. I’ve seen some ‘19 Phantom X 7.5’s that have the 3 small dots and full length lines on either side and made me curious how I would do with one. Don’t know the offset though. 
 

The other issue is I have a lot of face rotation. Would minimal offset be more face balanced? Not sure how that’d perform with how much I open/close the face

[J_Tizzle]

Used to be primarily driver.  Losing 2-3 balls a round and being way out of position.

 

I'd still pick driver over everything, it sets up the hole.

[rbpwrx]

Are we talking gear, or swing? I'm seeing both answers here.

For me, the most important GEAR change has been grip size. I know that's not a club, but nothing has taken more strokes off my score than going to a Jumbo (from Midsize, from Standard).

The most important SWING improvement would be chipping/ pitching. I'm not bad, I can count on being 5-10 ft on most shots. But that's still 2 putts more often than not. Getting reliably inside 4 ft would probably bring my HC down half a dozen strokes.

After that would be driver. Used to be the strength of my game. Now it's either long and wild or short and straight. Having a tee ball I could count on would probably shave the rest of my strokes down to scratch. And that may in part circle back to GEAR. The rest of my bag/ game is pretty spot-on.

[subcrazy12]

Just now, Birdieputt19 said:

Yeah I typically play 1/2-full shaft of offset. Both the Tyne H and my Newport are a full shaft. I’ve seen some ‘19 Phantom X 7.5’s that have the 3 small dots and full length lines on either side and made me curious how I would do with one. Don’t know the offset though. 
 

The other issue is I have a lot of face rotation. Would minimal offset be more face balanced? Not sure how that’d perform with how much I open/close the face

I would recommend trying less offset as it's helped me feel more lined up

 

Out of curiosity do you miss more putts left or right?

 

Honestly toe-hang is more a function of neck design/shaft axis than offset. You just typically see more toe-hang on higher offset putters because plumbers necks are a super common style that works and easy to produce and likely helps majority of the population with alignment since cross-eye dominance only accounts for like 30% of the population (on the high end).

You should maybe try a bb8 flow, Newport 2.6 (if you want extreme toe hang and no offset), and there are few others potentially

[Hawkeye77]

Not sure why I'd give my opinion from your perspective, i.e. analyzing my game so may be misunderstsanding ---- answer from my game is:  driver is affecting my score more this season than any other club.

 

Too far off the fairways and the consequences thereof.

Edited July 23 by Hawkeye77

[Mark_Tha_Tinkerer]

3 hours ago, JohnKHawk said:

For me it varies. My inconsistency is really what I seem to fight. It's rare for me have every facet of my golf game working simultaneously. One day driving the ball well & irons shots are terrible. Next time irons are back on point driver still ok but putting is awful. And so it goes...

This ^^^ is me except I need to clarify the word “inconsistent.”  On my par 70 home course from forward tees where I have a 7 course handicap, 14 of my last 20 rounds have been between 75 and 78.  Score wise, remarkably consistent.  But how I got to those scores in each round is remarkably inconsistent.  Some days I leave my drives in deep rough, in the desert or behind some trees but make every putt inside 8 feet.  Some days my driving is great (short but accurate) and my approach shots are like throwing darts but I can’t make any putts outside about 3 feet.  Don’t get me started in talking about shanking simple chip shots to add a stroke or two when all other aspects of my game are in sync. 

 

It is just very rare that all parts of the game come together on the same day and I shoot under 75.  It is frustrating because there is no one part of my game that seems to affect the final score most on a consistent basis.   

[BombinJim]

Driver. That is make or break for me. Last round I lost 8 balls off the tee. Totally destroys your score. Other parts of the game were pretty good.

[Pepperturbo]

As I see it, 47, 52, & 58 save the score, while 3i-9i play a pivotal role in getting my ball on the green or close enough to use the wedges.

 

Even if Driver is in the fairway, I am still pulling a long or mid iron, and I can miss the fairway and still have GIR.

 

 

Edited July 23 by Pepperturbo

[Dbigman501]

The question was framed like this :- what club affects your score the most? If I digest this a bit, it isn't literally what club, it's what part of your game? Or at least that is how I see it...You can chose what you hit off the tee, Driver, Wood or Iron. You can chose how to approach the green, but you really only have one club once you get to the green. Putter is king, one pro put it like this, the reason why we are irrational standing over a 4 footer is that there is no option B, no hope for an up and down having missed the green, no brilliant escape shot from the trees after your wayward drive, you either make it or you add a stroke - the finality is what depresses us. If anyone is still not convinced, just think about the last time you played with a guy who you and everyone else in your group recognizes as a truly gifted putter, just think how many times you've had to dip your fingers into your wallet to settle up with him after the round, maybe you'll see my point. For the record though, whereas I think I could work on my putting to improve it to average or slightly better, it would take perhaps supernatural intervention to sort out my driver.

[Dbigman501]

Double post.

Edited July 23 by Dbigman501
Double post