We often hear promises that new equipment will help us gain distance off the tee or from the fairway, that speed training is the new secret to better golf, or that strokes-gained statistics prove that bombing it from the tee with the driver followed by a shorter iron into the green is a better strategy than playing it safe.

The message behind all of these strategies to improve your game is that distance is King. And it stands up to reason that approaching the green with a short iron instead of a mid to long iron improves your chances of hitting and staying on the green. New equipment including clubs and balls have added a hundred yards or more to the distance professionals can now achieve on tour. New training methods including speed training have changed the physical appearance of touring professional golfers from walruses into slim and muscled superheroes, minus the cape.

The crucial question to ask oneself is whether hitting it longer puts you farther down the fairway or farther into the trees?

The difference is important as each recovery stroke to get back onto the fairway is one more shot than your opponent provided that they find the fairway even if they are behind you. Their second shot puts them closer to the green than did your’s. Penalty and recovery strokes are a gift to your opponent just like unforced errors in Tennis. The easiest victory is had when the opponent beats themselves with net balls and too-long volleys.

Consider the golf course to be like a maze created by the course Architect. Each hole is a puzzle demanding the golfer to plot their way from the tee box to the cup with as few unforced-errors as possible. There has to be a solution available to each player depending on their skill level, or else the course will be declared too difficult and will not attract enough golfers to keep the lights on in the Pro Shop. (1)

If you know your average shot dispersion with each club you can pick the right tool for the job, which is to get you to the next safe landing area on the fairway or to a distance from the green that provides a high-probability shot to hit and stick the middle of the green with the next one. Avoiding low-probability shots insures your game is free of unforced errors. Play from the tee box which is appropriate for your average distance. 

The great amateur golfer, Bobby Jones, struggled with the game like most golfers until he stopped trying to outplay his opponent and started to outplay the golf course. (2) He realized that his problem was unforced errors made when trying to catch his opponent, and that the real opponent was the Architect’s maze instead. He became unbeatable and went on to set some records that have not been matched to this day. 

You can experiment with the new strategy by changing your objective for a practice round from low total score to low unforced error count, such as traps, hazards, unplayable lies and out of bounds. Give yourself a point every time that you miss the fairway or leave yourself with a difficult shot due to poor strategy or club selection. Compete with a friend on this basis and see what effect that it has on your game.

Consider the difference in feeling anxious over a shot that has given you difficulty every time you play the hole, to one of feeling confident over another shot that you make with ease every time. Which feeling would you prefer to have? Success on the course is relaxing and lifts up every other part of your game.

Confidence is King!

(1) Doak, “The Anatomy of a Golf Course; The Art of Golf Architecture”, Buford Books, copyright 1992, p.65

(2) Jones, Keeler, “Down the Fairway”, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., copyright 1927, P.39