Try this next time you’re playing. When you arrive at your ball and before you measure the distance, ask yourself this question: what shot does it feel like? Stand there, look at the flag (or fairway if it’s a tee shot) and feel what the correct shot is. Because for me the shot determines the club, not the yardage.
Players these days rely too much on distances, rather than feel and creativity to establish the correct club. For example, if you’re hitting to a green with a back-right pin position then naturally a fade for a right-hander is the correct shot to get the ball as close as possible. This may mean taking an extra club or two than normal for the distance because, depending on how much you want to fade it, the ball won’t go quite as far. If the scenario is reversed, then a lesser club might be the best option if you want to hit a draw into a left-hand pin position. A higher or lower trajectory also come into the equation as well as other factors such as the lie, wind direction, slope, air temperature, how you are feeling, the time of day and so on. This can be quite a long list if you want to get technical about it, but in my experience these factors are best determined by feel, not numbers. Even if you’re simply trying to hit something straight, it’s better to trust your instincts first then grab your rangefinder and get the distance.
“Some factors are best determined by feel, not numbers.” – Nick O’Hern
A game I love surprising golfers I work with is to play without yardages and just eyeball everything. I’m amazed how often young golfers say they’ve never played a round of golf without using a laser or rangefinder. “How will I know what club to use?” they ask. “Feel it and figure it out!” is always my reply.
In the beginning they struggle because of two things. Firstly, their judgment of distance isn’t great because playing by feel is not something they’re accustomed to. Secondly, they don’t commit to the shot because they’re not sure if the club they have is the right choice. Once they figure out to trust whatever shot and club they’ve decided on, things start to click and by the end of the round they consistently hit shots pin high. Plus, they start to feel what the correct shot is first rather than letting the yardage dictate it. All of a sudden high fades or low draws are what feel right because those are the appropriate shots for the situations.
This way of thinking (or should I say, feeling) about shots will dramatically help when it’s windy or when the weather is poor. In adverse conditions, yardages tend to go out the window because your ‘stock’ distances simply aren’t applicable.
When someone says to me, “This is definitely a 7-iron yardage,” I’ll pull out my 3-iron and hit that pin high. Then I’ll explain I could hit a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9-iron if I wanted to at the same target. I just have to hit a different shot with each club to get the ball travelling the appropriate distance. There’s never a wrong club, it just depends on what shot you want to hit.
