Always, always, always play the easiest shot

In my previous post on using the driver judiciously to lower your scores, I mention the example of a short par 4. The scorecard claims it is 321 yards long but that may be a bit optimistic. The scorecard does indicate that it is the highest handicap hole on the course. It should be as close to an automatic birdie as there is but oftentimes playing the hole can result in big numbers – mainly because of the pond that runs along the right side of the hole from tee to green. Well after taking my own advice and leaving the driver in the bag, my 3 wood tee shot left me about 20-25 yards from the hole. With the sand wedge in hand, I considered my options. I could try a high pitch with some cut spin and try to get the ball to land a couple yards left and short of the hole and then have the spin take it towards the hole. Or I could play a low chip shot and have the ball land on the front of the green and have it release towards the hole. These were the two options that immediately came to mind, and I suppose I had several other options.

I was level par on my round to this point so I talked myself out of the fancy pitch shot with the neat spin and played the easy chip shot. I left the ball about eight feet from the hole and made the putt. After I played the chip shot, I decided to try the high, cut spin pitch shot to the green. I ended up coming in too steep and too much outside to in on my downswing and shanked the thing dead right. It hit my golf bag otherwise it would have ended up in the pond. What a disaster that would have been to have double bogeyed the easiest hole and ruined the round. Always, always, always play the easiest shot.

If the easiest shot for you would have been to pull out the putter from 25 yards and roll the ball along the fairway to the green then do that. Generally, you can forget the flop shot, don’t attempt the driver off the deck, take your medicine on severe downhill or sidehill lies, and don’t buy a one or two iron.