"No Flags Round" An Eye Opener

Hello. On Monday I played a round at my "office", the course I work at. There was a tournament in the afternoon, so the course was closed to most play. I'd gotten permission from an assistant pro to be out there. I did play with a member. And the 2.75 hours we played the course in was worth the minor inconvenience we experienced.
The greens crew was taking advantage of the lack of play to topdress the greens. As a result, they'd taken out all the flags and cups. On many holes, we did see the flags on the ground, so we had some idea of where the holes were, but otherwise we were shooting blind. As a result, we both decided hitting to the middle of the green was the best strategy.
It amazed both of us how close we were to the actual hole. In many cases I would've been hard pressed to get closer knowing where the hole was. And that pointed out to me something important - I'm "forcing" my iron shots to the hole, instead of just making a high percentage shot to the middle of the green. And because many of these forced shots miss the green, and my chipping is brutal, I was taking 1-2 shots/hole more than I thought I should be taking.
By using this "safely on the green" strategy, I feel my game will improve.

Regards,
Steve