# Giving up accuracy for distance.



## hst151975 (Oct 18, 2006)

A lot of the club makers today have taken the grooves off the clubfaces around the sweet spot areas. This is to reduce spin and allow the ball more distance with less resistance. What this also causes is less accuracy off the tee. I think most golfers are willing to give up a little accuracy for more distance. Do you agree? Just wanted to know who is willing to give up accuracy for more distance.


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## fitz-uk (Apr 28, 2006)

Can you give us the details behind how it reduces accuracy by taking the grooves away from the sweet spot?

The way I see it is if the grooves are not there to put forwards or backwards spin on the ball so you gain accuracy, then surely there will be less spin imparted on shot that puts side spin on the ball as the grooves wont be there to encourage this.

I would be interested to see any data relating to this subject


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## Fore! (Oct 17, 2006)

personaly id rather hit it straight all the time than long and wide. its easier to get lower scores with better accuracy. (opinion)


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## Capn Ramius (Oct 16, 2006)

I had heard that a club maker was offering a smooth faced driver. I had heard no logical reason why.

I'll mention this to a few players this weekend and see what they think.


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## Prea (May 11, 2006)

Fore! said:


> its easier to get higher scores with better accuracy. (opinion)


Im guessing you meant lower scores?

I would take accuracy over power anyday, i would rather be playing my second out of the fairway rather than sand...


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## CoreyNJ827 (Jul 5, 2006)

I would rather hit my drive a consistant 250 down the fairway then hit a ball 280+ in the deep rough. When you are on the fairway the ball is a lot easier to hit and goes a lot farther then when its in the rough.


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## Fore! (Oct 17, 2006)

Prea said:


> Im guessing you meant lower scores?[/QUOTE=Prea]
> 
> oops  i think im going to change that


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## Elvis56 (Oct 23, 2006)

I've always understood it that the reason for the smooth face is so they can make the face thinner, thus enhancing core. if they out score lines in such a thin face, it would break.The score lines serve no purpose on /drivers, since the ball is teed up, with no grass or sand to get between the ball and club face.


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## one_focused_svt (Sep 24, 2006)

for me I hit my 3 and 5 woods MUCH farther off of light rough then the fairway I think its because it will "tee" it up off the ground letting me launch the ball higher without making contact with the grass itself.


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## ess32 (Oct 21, 2006)

I agree with Fitz, by reducing the grooves you reduce the chance of the side spin that creates a draw or a slice. If the ball is basically deadened(by comparison) it will not have as much chance to vary to the left or right. I saw in golf digest that a designer for cobra said that drivers with a smoother face and deeper center of gravity will not have as high a trajectory as previous clubs, so some golfers may want to go up a degree.


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## Amy Y (Oct 4, 2006)

*Accuracy is best*

I agree with most who replied to this post. I will take accuracy over distance any day. When I first started playing I would kill the ball with no thought to placement. As you might imagine by scores were horrible. Didn't take me long to realize that it is more important to be accurate than powerful. Any who, those are my two cents.

Amy.


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## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

I'll take accuracy too. Just wish I knew where to find it :laugh: 

I've read articles in the past that say that grooves have nothing to do with putting spin on the ball for tee shots. They are only there to give the grass someplace to mush into when it is between the ball and the clubface on contact. That is why the modern square grooves give more spin from the rough than the V grooves that I grew up with.... more volume in the groove. A driver can have a completely smooth face and it still won't help to correct a hook or slice... that comes from your swing. 



Rick


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## Golfbum (Oct 14, 2006)

At my course I can give up some accuracy for distance simply because there are hardly any trees in play. Wide open links style course, minus the ocean of course! Plenty of wind. Now this past summer the rough grew quite high, so being in it was not always fun. In the past it was not an issue.
There are holes on every course I play that I will not pull the driver out of the bag. 3 wood only. Being in the fairway is first, distance is secondary.
One hole at my home course is a par 5, with a swamp on the left side of the fairway. With driver it is reachable off the forward tees. I hit 3 wood 90% of the time on that hole. Play it down the right side, swamp is out of play. Back tees it is a driver off the tee as the hole is not reachable in 2 unless you can hit 300 + drives. 
As a golfer you have to think your way around a course. There are times you just can not stand on the tee and bomb away. Play safe, learn to hit your rescue clubs, or fairway woods if need be, into those longer Par 4's. It's not HOW, IT'S HOW MANY!  
240 yards in the center of the fairway is far better than 270 yards, buried in the woods


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## Police (Oct 26, 2006)

Around any course id say accurace is a must be/have ok on some par 4s/5s you can get away with it (only sometimes) but say this for example:

You are all square the 18th is a 205 yard par 3 your opponant hits a 5 wood and hits it to the back of the green leaving him/herself a 8 footer ...you step up to the ball and give it a whack with your 6 iron and send it left of the green into the trees...you fail to get it out and lose the hole and the match.


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## srothfuss (Nov 17, 2006)

I prefer an accurate shot over a shot that goes farther, but ends up in the rough. Since the beginning, I haven't been a long hitter so in order to keep up with the "guys" I've was forced to make a more accurate shot. 

"Drive for show" & "Putt for dough"


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## Fore! (Oct 17, 2006)

most true.


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## Police (Oct 26, 2006)

srothfuss said:


> "Drive for show" & "Putt for dough"


Now that is a motto i stand by


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## ghost (Nov 6, 2006)

hst151975 said:


> A lot of the club makers today have taken the grooves off the clubfaces around the sweet spot areas. This is to reduce spin and allow the ball more distance with less resistance. What this also causes is less accuracy off the tee. I think most golfers are willing to give up a little accuracy for more distance. Do you agree? Just wanted to know who is willing to give up accuracy for more distance.



Actually, it would cause better accuracy. The grooves create spin, and with an imperfect swing, the grooves are what cause a horrendous slice/hook, etc.

Don't believe me? Go and smear a thin coating of vaseline on your driver face, and watch how much straighter it is.

Eliminating the groove/spin from the ball helps you hit it straighter, not the other way around.


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## Fore! (Oct 17, 2006)

why did you put vaseline on your driver?


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## ghost (Nov 6, 2006)

Fore! said:


> why did you put vaseline on your driver?



Buddy of mine told me to try it, because I used to have a huge slice.

Granted, it's totally cheating, but it was one of those 'check this out, you won't believe it'...

And he was right. Smashed the ball straight. 

Of course, every couple holes you had to re-apply it. Tried it once, got a good laugh out of it, but didn't feel any better knowing that at the time, I still couldn't hit it straight without some sort of gimmick.

Glad at least THAT part of my game has improved :laugh:


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## Fore! (Oct 17, 2006)

bit like ball tampering in cricket. (thats for the brits on the forum)


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