Club Selection for the Correct Distances
Here’s the 2nd part of this guide to making better club selection choices on the golf course.
See part 1 of the club selection guide
Most golfers would say they have a good idea how far they hit each club in their bag. But I think most overestimate their average shot distance…
The video below will explain why it’s usually better to under-estimate how far you hit each club and over-estimate how far your shot is:
Video Summary for Club Selection (Part 2)
- Golfers tend to remember their better shots – they’ll remember the times they hit their 6-iron 170 yards to the back of the green. But those shots might have been slightly downwind, or downhill, or from a very good lie or helped along by firm ground.
- Despite this, they’ll always try and hit their 6-iron 170 yards and more often than not they’ll come up short.
- The problem is that most course designers will tend to put the big hazards towards the front of the green. If I’m a course designer spending money building a lake or a sand trap, I’m not going to hide it away at the back of the green where nobody sees it. Most club golfers land the ball in the front or the neck of the green – in exactly the wrong place.
- Here’s a good rule of thumb: your perfect strikes should be landing long of the pin and towards the back of the green. Your mediocre strikes should be landing towards the middle of the green.
- Too many golfers, when they hit their perfect shot, land it at the front of the green. Their mediocre strikes are therefore short of the green. Play to be long of the pin most of the time. There are exceptions to this rule but on most courses you won’t go too far wrong.
