Week 12 Newsletter
“If you’re not totally confident you can hit the driver in the fairway, put it back and use your 3-wood. If you’re not confident with that, play a 5-wood or even an iron. Keep working down the bag to where you’re comfortable with the club and you still can play the hole.” – Jack Nicklaus
What is your game plan off the tee?
Problem: It has been said many times that you “drive for show and putt for dough.” Today, many golfers get so consumed with hitting long drives that they tend to lose their focus when it comes to course management. Even if they have repeatedly hit wild drives that cost them extra strokes, many golfers will continue to pull the driver out, hole after hole, even if they don’t feel confident doing so.
Try: Next time you tee off, rather than using the club you think you should hit, pick the club you know you can hit. Tune into your body. If the idea of pulling a certain club on the tee box makes you feel tense, keep it in the bag. If you have a hard time envisioning a good shot with a certain club, keep it in the bag. Choose the club that you feel you can swing freely with confidence.
Why: Feeling confident about the club you have in your hands plays a big role in the quality of swing you will make. If you can keep the ball in play off the tee, you will be setting yourself up to consistently score well on each and every hole.
In 2006, Tiger won the British Open at Royal Liverpool by using his driver only once the entire week.