In my experience, an often overlooked and underused strategy is hitting an iron off the tee on par 4’s and 5’s. The tendency is to go with a driver or another wood in order to get as much distance as possible. While you might not go as far off the centerline (CL) with an errant 3W, 4W, or 5W compared to a driver, you may be still assuming more risk than necessary.
Many players can easily reach the green on par 4’s and 5’s with their second shots, as long as they are not hitting from the deep rough or trees or other bad lies where club restrictions can apply. Instead of trying to hit the tee shot as far as possible on holes with these kinds of obstacles or a potential out-of-bounds situation, often it makes more sense to consider how much club is really necessary to get within striking distance of the green on the second shot.
When a long-iron will get you within range, it can be a much safer bet. Per Master Game rules, dice rolls of 14, 34, and 54 are converted to a player’s Average W when a Hybrid, 2I, 3I, or 4I are used off the tee on a par 4 or par 5.
Using this strategy, you probably won’t be eagling any par 5’s, but you are likely to see more birdies and fewer over-par scores on them as well as par 4’s. Shorter hitters may not be able to use this approach as much, but in APBA they tend to be more accurate drivers anyway.