Course Management
Stick to the Fairway or Take the Shortcut?
Curse this golf course! Every time you swear you’ll go somewhere else – all because of the dreaded 7th hole where it dog-legs to the right and some smarmy course designer placed a harrowing sand trap right where the curve happens.
If you aim straight down the fairway, you risk rolling right into the trap. Should you try to cut over the trees? What if it doesn’t clear it and you land smack down in the middle of the woods, having to snap it back out into the fairway just to get a clean shot?
It’s a choice golfers have to make on a regular basis. The definition of a dog-leg is a hole that bends sharply to the left or to the right. A golfer can “theoretically” clear the trees and have a shortcut to the green.
The key word here is theoretically. Can you afford to chance it? Do you have to try to clear the woods? Not necessarily. Many golfers play it safe and go straight down the fairway, hoping for a par and not striving for a birdie.
Even if you’re accustomed to taking the safe route, you need to work on getting the courage up to try your hand at beating the dog-legs on every course. There are a few ways to do it.
First, practice with your clubs to find out which ones give you both distance and height with your ball. Visualize the trees on your favorite course – do you hit the club more often than not in a manner that would help you make the shortcut?
If not, learn how to fade and hook a ball. Some dog legs are extreme, cutting in 90-degree angles which are more difficult to maneuver. But others are subtler, allowing you to curve your ball easily into the next pathway so that you can still attempt to get on the green and in the hole with one under par.
If your golf game is big on power but short on accuracy, then work on taming your shots until you can combine the two to lead the golf ball where you want it to go. You don’t want to attempt a tree-clearing maneuver and wind up hitting it into someone else’s fairway where you have a more difficult recovery.
If you’re sticking to the fairway and they’ve placed a sand trap or water hazard right where the bend takes place, hit a club you feel confident with and don’t go for distance as much as accuracy.
A great training aids for learning to draw or fade the ball in your backyard are Birdie Balls. They only go about 40 yards so no net is needed. Try them and you’ll love them.
