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

[chisag]

... This of course depends on your index and ability. High index players fear par 5's because they are long and provide multiple chances to hit bad shots. Better players love par 5's because they give not just one, but 2 opportunities to make up for a poor shot. A high index player will most likely putt equally poorly on every hole so they may feel if they hit their driver or fw/hybrids well they have a better chance to score. I remember a stat from the early 2000's (although not the exact numbers so just memory) but Tiger was something like 1,249 under on par 5's for his entire career on tour and 39 over on Par 3's. 

... I do think putter is by far the one club that can affect most players scoring the most. You can recover from a bad drive and still make birdie. You can recover from a bad approach shot and still make par. You can't recover from a poor putt whether that is a bad lag that ends in a 3 putt or a missed short putt to save par. 

[Jim53]

Putter, as a older slower player. I can get on the green normally in 3 (par 4) from anywhere, if the putts are dropping score is good.

[Johnny Biarritz]

For me, it's wedges, putter, Play Club, approach club from 9 iron up. Approach from 140 (normal PW yardage) and in is the strong point in my game. Then it depends on the putter. I'm generally good at avoiding 3 putts but struggle to make much between 5-10 feet. Then it's getting the ball in play off the tee, whether that's with a driver or something else. For me, that's 7 clubs. If those 7 clubs are working great, I'll score well as long as the approach clubs are mediocre good. If the wedge game isn't working, it's going to be a long day.

[Greenie]

I am a 10 cap. 

 

I rely on my short game and putting to make up for missed greens or greens I can't reach in regulation. 

 

I have an excellent short game.

 

The putter determines if I end up with a good score for the day most of the time.

 

All of my rounds I have shot in the 70's is when the putter was hot and stayed hot the whole round.

 

 

[bcjim]

Irons. Driving and putting are fine. short game ok if I practice, bad if I don't practice.  Irons are a struggle for whatever reason.

[beluga99]

14 hours ago, Red4282 said:

This is the interesting conversation… was it truly your putting if you had 30 footers all day? Ive had those rounds before hit a bunch of greens and two putt everything and on the stat paper, irons looked great (gir) putts looked bad… but in reality the proximity to the hole may be bad. 
 

 

From memory I had ~12 putts inside 20 feet, some shorter.  It was laughable towards the end on how well I was hitting the ball and could not for the life of me make a birdie.  I've since tweaked my putting stroke, making a few more 6-10 foot putts and my index has dropped from 4.5 to 2.9.  

[getitdaily]

Interesting question...

 

What affects my scores the most...putter. When I roll them in I can go low.

 

But, my driver is so good that the case can be made that im able to be super aggressive because I hit the driver so well. Take away my driver super power and then it affects score a lot more. So does that mean it currently affects my score the most? Probably...

[BombinJim]

8 hours ago, Milk Diesel said:

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. 

Exactly me.

[Red4282]

1 hour ago, beluga99 said:

From memory I had ~12 putts inside 20 feet, some shorter.  It was laughable towards the end on how well I was hitting the ball and could not for the life of me make a birdie.  I've since tweaked my putting stroke, making a few more 6-10 foot putts and my index has dropped from 4.5 to 2.9.  

I guess the right answer for everyone will be different and the only true answer would be to look at strokes gained for each area

[Mr.Peabody]

6 hours ago, subcrazy12 said:

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

 

For years I would have said driver.  But now I feel comfortable with it.  The first big change was upgrading to a newer, more forgiving head.  But another big change is I put in a 41" shaft...literally swapping it with my 7 wood of the same brand.  I'm never going back.  I am in the process of changing out my 7W and 9W to sub-40 inch shafts.

 

The thing that is impacting my scores the most now is definitely not my putter.  Putting is my superpower.  And years of "good putting" has built up tons of confidence.  I feel like I could pull someone's putter out of their bag mid-round and putt better than them with it.  My wedges are impacting me the most now.  And my uncle literally pulled my wedge out of my bag mid-round and was better with it. LOL

[DocBrown3887]

Driver and not even close. I'm comfortable with everything else these days.

[this_is_golf]

I can’t hit my putter into the trees or OB so driver. 

[is1ander]

Definitely irons. I can save a bad driver day with a great irons day. And if I stick em close, chipping is not needed and putting is drama-free.

[hrs122]

For us AMTs, golf is game of managing your bad shots.  The longer the club the faster the speed, more risk of mistake.   

 

Driver all day for me, because it can cause the most damage.  Putting is something that prevents great scores, but rarely drives a bad score, IMO.

[jjfcpa]

55 minutes ago, hrs122 said:

For us AMTs, golf is game of managing your bad shots.  The longer the club the faster the speed, more risk of mistake.   

 

Driver all day for me, because it can cause the most damage.  Putting is something that prevents great scores, but rarely drives a bad score, IMO.

 

Not sure I can agree with this; however, I can understand if your driving is so erratic that you might duff a number of drives that can add a shot to each of those holes.  But the same is true of putting where you can be on the green in regulation and 3 putt.

 

I can use my last round as an example where my drives were all descent.  Not a long hitter so let's say 180 - 200 yards.  However, I had at least 4 or 5 chances to save par with a 1-putt.  However, I missed those short putts and had to settle for a bogey.  

 

In my case, putting made all the difference and added 4 or 5 strokes to that round. 

[jjfcpa]

13 hours ago, Red4282 said:

I guess the right answer for everyone will be different and the only true answer would be to look at strokes gained for each area

 

Probably the closest to what I've seen is the right answer.  With me, if I'm hitting my wedges that day, I can save par on those short drives, even if my irons are not working that day.

[subcrazy12]

4 minutes ago, jjfcpa said:

 

Not sure I can agree with this; however, I can understand if your driving is so erratic that you might duff a number of drives that can add a shot to each of those holes.  But the same is true of putting where you can be on the green in regulation and 3 putt.

 

I can use my last round as an example where my drives were all descent.  Not a long hitter so let's say 180 - 200 yards.  However, I had at least 4 or 5 chances to save par with a 1-putt.  However, I missed those short putts and had to settle for a bogey.  

 

In my case, putting made all the difference and added 4 or 5 strokes to that round. 

idk it's way easier to get in trouble real quick with the driver compared to the putter.  It's almost impossible to take a penalty with a putter but it really isn't too hard with the driver and that will kill a round and hole way quicker than a 3 putt bogey.

[hrs122]

14 minutes ago, subcrazy12 said:

idk it's way easier to get in trouble real quick with the driver compared to the putter.  It's almost impossible to take a penalty with a putter but it really isn't too hard with the driver and that will kill a round and hole way quicker than a 3 putt bogey.

I also would choose to 3 putt for bogey all day vs hitting a tee shot OB.   Maybe that is more a mental thing.  But the 3 putt feels easier to recover on the next hole.  I am 5 HC, who can hit fairways all day, but usually one of those goes awry and "ruins" the round.   I am sure we are all different.  

[golfwb]

To stay on topic iron game for sure.

Not to be that guy but the greatest thing that affects my scoring is my attitude/confidence.

There is no betting feeling in golf than when you are on a heater and you know it (wish it happened more often)

[Ben B]

My tee game sets the tone for my round. Rarely will I post a good number when I am having a bad day off the tee. So for me it would be driver.

[jah7838]

My really bad rounds are usually a result of my driver and not keeping my misses in play.  I usually hit my irons ok, and my short game is fairly consistent.  

[ScooterMcTavish]

Affecting MY score?  Right NOW?

Up until last year, it was an erratic and short driver.  But I spent the season working on my setup, and now have a much more consistent ball shape and distance.  I'm not a super long hitter, so I need all the yards I can get.

However, now that driver is fixed, my putting has gone in the tank.  Had 20 putts in 9 holes yesterday, and did not sink anything over 2', including a miss from 6', a miss from 4', another miss from 6', and miss from 3'.  Not going to say the "Y" word, but damn it's getting close.  

[LinkLow]

Putter, by 10 miles. I average between 15-16 GIR each round, with usually more than 30 putts. Could prob get to a +4 or 5 if I could putt/read greens. I don't even know where to start to get better at it. Missing as many short putts as I do kills confidence. 

[eddiebigeddie]

Driver for this guy!  If it hit it well, I shoot upper 70’s low 80’s. If I don’t anywhere from 85-95…most of the time I can keep it in the 80’s….but I am prone to a few rounds that driver HURTS Me and nothing else can help it 🤦🏻‍♂️

[jhughes058]

On 7/23/2025 at 10:52 AM, mikedejong33 said:

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. 

I can fully agree with this, im in the same situation. My driver is in a terrible spot right now so im shooting high 70's or low 80's. But 4 weeks ago I had 75, 76, 73, 72, 75. First time shooting even par with that 72 so my driver struggles have been incredibly frustrating.

[miles2go]

Fairway Woods. Topping, chunking. Misdirection. I suck 

[kwcsports]

irons

[HackinNut]

Definitely the putter.  The other day I hit the first 7 GIR, & 3 putted three of them.  I miss way too many putts that I really should have made.  And I tend to have 3 or 4 three putts a round.  Hitting 15/18 GIR & only shooting 78 gets a little frustrating sometimes. 

[rbpwrx]

Interesting how there are good-driver guys and good-iron guys. Usually not both. Just like on tour!

[JimMLINY]

Driver.

Too many donations into woods that I just take a stroke and drop for.