Golf Industry Online Golf Tips

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

The Smart Path To Better golf

Choosing the Right Club

By Geoff Greig

Almost all golf courses will challenge you with some par fours where driver is not necessarily the smartest choice to tee off with. Let's go over a few very important guidelines so you will make the correct club choice on these risk/reward holes.

1. How severe are the potential risks of hitting driver? minimal- narrow fairway, rough, traps maximum- trees, hazard, out of bounds.

2. How far away from the tee is the trouble? Do you have to hit a career drive to even reach the trouble? Will an average length drive bring you into the danger zone?

3. How accurate are you with the driver? How many fairways do you normally hit per round? How is your confidence level today?

4. Do you have a fairway wood or long iron you have confidence in? For most golfers a fairway wood is much more reliable than the driver.

How vital is the extra few yards the driver MAY give you? If you weigh these factors honestly you will have a much sharper picture of the correct club choice. When you make a well informed choice you have a better chance of making a confident successful swing. Remember, the good players do a lot of calculating before each swing to allow them the freedom to swing without thinking. Think before you swing so you won't doubt while you swing.

On this particular hole the fairway narrows and there is a bunker 240 yards from the tee. The smart play for me is to hit a solid two iron about 220 and leave myself a wedge or nine iron to this very tricky green. What would your smart play be?