By Paul Gueorgieff

Putt for show, drive for dough

Drive for show, putt for dough.

That’s an expression in golf that’s been around for years. It basically means good putting is what wins tournaments rather than good drives.

But following a tournament at my home club last month I am starting to wonder if it should be the other way round — putt for show, drive for dough.

The tournament was a Canadian foursomes' event. That’s where each player in a team of two drives off and then selects the preferred tee shot. After that they play alternate shots until the hole is completed.

The tournament only had a small field of 54 players (27 teams) but the some of the scoring was outstanding. The winning team, for example, scored an amazing 47 stableford points.

The winning pair are regular golfers and could not be described as burglars. The handicap of each team was straight forward. The handicaps of each player were added together and the team handicap was half that figure.

While I could hardly believe the winning score, what amazed me just as much was the scores of the second, third, fourth and fifth teams. There were two teams on scores of 44 stableford points for equal second and two teams on 43 stableford points for equal fourth. That’s five pairings with scores of 43 points or better.

This got me thinking. Why were the stableford points so high? I might have scored in the low forties a few times in my life but never in the high forties.

I would also suggest the winning pair have never scored in the high forties in their lives either, when playing individually.

So what was the difference on this occasion, I asked myself. What was different?

The only conclusion I could make was that they had a choice of drives off the tee, which you obviously can’t do when playing individually.

And that made me think if you drive the ball well for 18 holes are you probably going to score very well? Probably yes, was my answer.

Let’s think about this. When you score badly on a hole is it usually because of bad tee shot? Probably is the answer.

Your tee shot may have gone out of bounds, into a hazard, into some bushes, onto the wrong fairway, behind a tree or into the water. When that happens your are immediately on the back foot and unlikely to recover to score a par. You might even be heading for double bogey or worse.

So, in my mind, your tee shot is important, very important.

Yes, putting is important as well. But so is every shot.

My favourite question and answer for golf is the following.

Question: What is the most important shot in golf? Answer: The next one.

But I am now thinking if your start every hole well, you might finish every hole well. Drive well, play well.