August 2017Golf World 19WINNING GOLF
1 Know your stock shot – and aim
accordingly
It’s incredible how often you see golfers who have a stock fade or
draw aim down the middle of the fairway and see their ball drift into
a position that causes them trouble for their next shot. Understand
your stock tee shot shape and then identify your starting line and
finish position on the hole. This is especially important on dog-leg
holes, like this.
2 Identify your ideal landing zone
When you’re assessing the hole, look at the area from which
you want to play your approach shot into the green. Most holes will
favour a tee shot played to one side of the fairway or the other.
Sometimes, it might be more advantageous for your drive to finish in
the right semi-rough than blocked out down the left side of the
fairway.
3 Know when to leave the driver in the bag
If you are sticking to your plan of identifying landing zones
for your tee shots, there will be times when you can leave the club in
the bag. Weather conditions, such as wind and rain, will alter the
carry and roll distance you hit your driver so take this into account
when planning your route from tee to green.
4 Use the full width of the tee box –
and the fairway
You can often alter the characteristic of a hole by setting up to one
particular side of the markers. This hole here is an example. If you
slice, teeing up in the middle and aiming down the centre of the
fairway could leave a long approach shot. If you tee up on the right
and aim left, you have the entire fairway to work with your shot.
HOW TO...
...attack par 4s
Identify the area in
the fairway from
which you want to
play your approach –
favourite yardage or
the best angle. Select
the club that gives
you the best chance
of landing in your
zone. Weather/course
conditions will
influence the decision....attack par 5s
Your strategy should
centre around where
you want to lay up to
for your third shot, or
where you can safely
miss the green with
an attacking second
shot. Work your way
back to the tee from
these zones to
determine the
optimum route into
the hole.