Golf Tip Tuesday--Damage Control on the Golf Course

We all strive for perfection in the game of golf. But let's face it, perfection in golf will be a never ending pursuit, so mistakes will happen. The best players in the world hit errant shots even. So damage control is highly important in golf. Since we know we can't prevent bad shots from happening, damage control prevents further mistakes from those bad shots. How many of us play 14-16 great golf holes and have those 2-3 holes with large numbers? If you saved 2-5 strokes per round from those big number holes, how different would your handicap or golf game be?

Follow these steps to prevent those big numbers from happening:

1. Assess the situation:

--Check your lie. Is it a good or bad lie? Anticipate and imagine to the best of your ability the ball's reaction after you hit it. This will determine what type of club you should hit. If it is buried or nestled, take a club with more loft. If you have a lie that isn't too bad, then you can use whatever club the shot calls for.

--Check the scene. Where are you first of all? What is near you? Tree limbs hanging high, low? Hazards near? There are many things you should look at when you are in a trouble area.

--After checking the scene, think about your target. What possible shot can you hit when you look at each different target? Sometimes the flag is not always the best place to aim at. Where is your safest landing area? Maybe your best way out is backwards!! We hate that option, so it's hardly ever used, but it could possibly be your best bet!

2. Plan your shot:

--What type of shot should you hit? Does it need to be high or low? Short distance or middle distance? Most important...have you hit the shot that you need before? If the answer is no, then it might be a shot you shouldn't attempt.

--What type of swing do you need? This might depend on obstacles in the area that will affect your swing. This might depend on the type of ball flight you need to curve it around obstacles that are in front of you. A big key in getting out of any trouble with obstacles around you is that you almost never use a standard normal swing in these situations. You have to create and improvise sometimes very dramatically to even get the club on the ball! Don't let what your swing might look like hold you back from getting yourself out of trouble!

3. Practice the trick shots:

--Many times when we are playing by ourselves or playing in a practice round, we tend to take the ball out of the trees and throw it in the fairway or take our ball out of a buried lie in the bunker or rough and set it up on a nice piece of grass or even rake a better lie. Experiment with these and give yourself some extra practice. Preparation is the key. The main reason we are not good at getting out of trouble is because we never practice it!

It is simple...damage control is all about playing the percentages. What are the percentages of you pulling the risky, miracle shot off? What are the percentages of staying out of further trouble if you aim a more forgiving target where you know you'll get a good lie as opposed to aiming at the flag with giant trees in your way?

For more detailed information, I highly recommend the book "Damage Control" by Dave Pelz. Play the forgiving percentages and you'll be surprised at the shots that you cut from your score. This is an important tip when you're first getting back on the course after that long winter's break! Good luck!