Playing Golf Holes

WEBVTT

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All right golfers, in this video we're going to talk about kind of the general

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philosophy

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or strategy for playing golf, for playing different golf holes.

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So specifically we're going to look at how do we play par 4s, par 3s, par 5s.

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So when you play a traditional 72 hole or par 72 golf course, you will

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typically have

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10 par 4s, 4 par 5s, 4 par 3s.

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If you're new to golf, a par 3 is a hole that is designed for you to be able to

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hit the green

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in one shot and then have two putts.

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A par 4 will have two shots and then two putts.

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And a par 5 will have three shots and then two putts.

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But sometimes the par 3s are really long and you can't get there.

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Sometimes the par 4s are long and require three shots and sometimes the par 5s

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are short

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enough that you can get there in two.

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So those are kind of rules of thumb.

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But what we'll see is we want to be able to kind of control the par 4s and take

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advantage

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of the par 5s.

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So here's a little graphic showing Tigerwood scoring over his career.

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And basically what you will see is that on the par 3s and the par 4s, he tended

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to average

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a round par, you know, his good years he was a little bit less like that

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magical 2000 season.

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He was about a tenth of a stroke under par on both the par 3s and par 4s.

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And then on par 5s, he was a full six tenths of a stroke under par, which is

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pretty crazy.

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But he averaged about somewhere around half a stroke under par on par 5s and

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then he just

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broke even on the par 3s and par 4s.

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That is one of the recipes for scoring really low.

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So Tigerwood's may be the exception.

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So let's take a look at some amateur data.

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So here was some data from an article that referenced Shot Scope, which is one

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of those

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kind of stat tracking softwares out there.

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And whether or not the data is perfect, it's going to be good enough.

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And basically what it shows is this is similar trend to what we saw with Tiger

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wood's there.

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So basically, we'll call the top line their scratch and then 26 handicap down

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here at

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the bottom, somewhere here in the middle.

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We'll see that the lower handicap golfers average around par on the par 5s and

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then higher on

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the par 4s is a little bit lower on the par 3s.

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That's kind of similar to what we saw.

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So it's notable to basically summarize and say like the par 4s are typically

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the hardest

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holes.

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They have the highest stroke average on the hole.

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In fact in 2018, 2019, 17 out of the 20 most difficult holes on the PJ Tour

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were par 4s.

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So we're going to focus on par 4s first and then back our strategy into par 3s

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and par

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5s.

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Now here's another quick data set from ARCO.

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So another kind of stat tracking data set.

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And basically it shows different scoring averages for par 3s.

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So this was 125 to 150.

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We'll see that the tour leader was 8/10 of a stroke under par.

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But you'll see that the numbers are a little different than what we saw in the

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previous

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page but close enough that we can kind of use some of these generalities as far

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as what

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to expect.

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And you'll see we get into that 150, 175 zone.

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Everything goes up a little bit.

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This is now where we're slightly under par.

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And then the number I always reference is like 168 yards is roughly where the

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tour average

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breaks even.

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So now we're in the 175 to 200 because we're above that number even though we

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're hitting

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it off a flat lie off the tee, the stroke average for the tour players is still

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slightly

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over par.

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And you'll see that they kind of level out there even as you get into longer

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holes.

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So the overall philosophy that we're going to apply to the par 4s is going to

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work everywhere.

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And one of the big goals is to play a conservative strategy that gives us fewer

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doubles, triples

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and higher because it's really hard to make enough birdies and pars to make up

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for the

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fact that we might be making bigger numbers.

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So how are we going to strategize?

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How are we going to tackle this golf hole?

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We want to think about the golf hole in its entirety.

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Think of it kind of like a puzzle that you're trying to solve and think of it

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in terms of

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what sequence of shots would I like to play, not just, oh it's a par 4, give me

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the driver,

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I'll hit it as far as I can and figure it out from there.

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I want to be a little bit more strategic than that.

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One process that I used a lot was working the whole backward.

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So in this particular example, you can see that if the pin was back here and it

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was a

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long and a hole that I'm going to have a full shot in, I probably want to be

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coming from

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more the left side unless there's a really big slope or hill or something over

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here that

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I can't quite see by this overhead.

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But if I'm coming out of the right side or the rough, that looks like that

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would be a

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difficult shot to get close to.

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So by working backwards, I could figure out, well, I need to aim over there,

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not so much

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here and it looks like it's fairly open where I can probably hit driver, but we

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don't know

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enough specifics to come up with a full plan there.

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We will here in a few slides.

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Also, I want to, as a general rule, understand myself as a golfer and I want to

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play to my

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strengths and avoid unnecessary risks, especially with the weaker parts of my

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game.

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So if driver is the strength or is a strength, I want to hit it on as many

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holes as I can

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unless driver is going to bring in too many big numbers, if there's lots of

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hazards or

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things like that.

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If I'm working on a par four, which we'll cover here in a second, and I can get

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inside

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of an eight iron.

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So if I can hit nine iron or less, then I'm going to strongly consider hitting

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that shorter

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club off the tee than the driver because once you get inside of that 140 zone,

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150 zone,

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you tend to lose some of the benefit of getting it closer if you're bringing in

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like recovery

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shots out of the trees where I have unobstructed second shots or if the rough

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is really thick.

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So the best arsenal for playing golf is ultimately to build a reliable tee shot

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, an accurate

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150 and in game, one to three solid shots around the green, so finesse wedge,

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and then

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for putting really good speed control and making a lot of five footer, so

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really good

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start line control.

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If I have that recipe, then barring some awful shots or struggles in one area,

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I'm probably

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going to be able to shoot some pretty low scores and really enjoy the game.

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So this is going to be some of, by figuring out the strategy of what we need,

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that can

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help us prioritize where we should spend our time practicing.

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Over here, I'm going to be erring on the opposite.

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The green looks relatively small, so I'm probably going to be hitting somewhere

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in that zone

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for my second shot, but depending on the hole, that could either mean maybe my

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tee shot is

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going to be laid back because if maybe this is a short enough hole where I can

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hit a shorter

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shot there, or maybe I could hit driver and clear these trees and kind of have

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a even

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shorter shot, in which case that might narrow my green target.

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So this one, where I want to end up in my approach shot, looks a little bit

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more straightforward

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and there's more decision off of the tee shot.

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So certain holes will have more decisions for different shots and you can burn

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a lot

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of mental energy trying to overthink the simple shots.

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So what I want to do is be able to recognize where the obvious decisions are

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and then spend

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most of my time and energy helping choose better decisions when it's not quite

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so obvious.

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All right, so now let's jump into par fours.

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Par fours are going to lay the foundation of how we're going to think through

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the holes.

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There are three basic types of par fours, you have short par fours, long par

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fours regular.

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So now we can see, oh man, this was a longer par four in the 430 zone or longer

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for most

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golfers.

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So that probably means that all those decisions about getting up here by

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hitting driver, it's

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probably going to be a driver hole leaving me a little bit more of a mid iron.

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But anyway, when it comes to the different par fours, we have different

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questions for

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the tee shots.

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For a short par four, my main question is, should I hit driver or should I lay

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up?

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With the long par fours, I'm going to play it more like a par five, which is

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starting

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with the question, can I get there in two?

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Can I comfortably or easily hit two shots that get me the total distance?

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For example, this being a 430 yard par four, let's pretend I only hit the ball

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230 yards

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off the tee.

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That means I might have to hit a perfect tee shot and then a perfect three

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would to get

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up around the green.

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And you'll see one of the trends here is we want to play more of our average

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shots.

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So we would, depending on our strengths on our handicap level, consider this

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maybe a

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three shot hole rather than a par five that we want to kind of challenge, or a

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long par

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four that we want to challenge and potentially bring in the high numbers.

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With the regular par fours, it's usually going to be driver unless there's a

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good reason

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not to hit it, be it hazards or severe dog legs or things like that.

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Usually your driver and your three would will have a more similar dispersion,

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so it's not

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that most people are that much more accurate with their three would.

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Some swing styles are, but for the most part, the three would helps you avoid

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trouble if

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it would come up from going too long, not necessarily from trouble going left

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to right.

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Okay, so here's kind of a general look at the different types of par fours.

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So in general, the longer the par four, usually you're going to have bigger

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greens and you're

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going to have a little more safe zones.

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You can see fewer hazards off the tee.

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There's this big area if the rough's not too long, then over here is not too

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bad, and

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the green is big enough.

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I might be able to run it up.

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Contrast that with the shortest par four here in the example, the short par

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fours will tend

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to have the smaller greens and more trouble around the green.

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So their job is to kind of entice you to take more risk off the tee, but this

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would be a

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case where if I could hit a 220 yard shot, leaving myself a 130 yard shot, that

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could easily

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be more of hitting a long iron or hybrid and then a short iron where driver

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might bring

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this bunker in play.

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And then the regular par fours are somewhere in between, usually they can have

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either more

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challenge around the greens or more trouble off the tee, but we can see that it

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's a little

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less severe than the short hole, but not quite as open as a long hole.

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That's the general trend, but every architect has their own strategies and

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sometimes they

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break the rules.

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Okay, so for the tee shots on your par fours, where do I want my approach shot

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to come from?

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That's working the whole backwards.

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So we don't want to just grab driver, but we want to have a good reason not to.

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The closer we can get to the whole, typically the better we're going to score.

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So if we can hit driver, we will, and then we want to factor in where's the

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best aim

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that will give me kind of the best scatter plot, which will typically not just

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give me

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what's the best angle, but which zone gives me the best bad shot.

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So potentially here, if it was, again, we know it's a longer hole, but if this

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was a

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shorter hole and I could maybe hit it over these trees, but trying to hit it

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over the

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trees might bring the trees in play where if I caught them and drop down, it

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might not

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be worth that risk.

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One way to think about it is I'm trying to put myself where I'm going to have

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00:12:11.300 --> 00:12:11.760
an easy

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00:12:11.760 --> 00:12:13.160
third shot.

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00:12:13.160 --> 00:12:17.490
So in this particular green, obviously easiest third shot would be a putt, but

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if I have

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00:12:18.040 --> 00:12:22.530
to miss it around the green, I probably want to be more either in this short

259
00:12:22.530 --> 00:12:23.240
zone or in

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00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:24.240
this long zone.

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00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:25.320
I probably want to avoid those bunkers.

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00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:28.040
They look like they'd be some problem.

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00:12:28.040 --> 00:12:33.270
Or if I did happen to hit it in the trees, I want to have a golden number wedge

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00:12:33.270 --> 00:12:33.960
in order

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00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:34.960
to recover.

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00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:38.810
So we've had the PGA championship and you've seen a lot of golfers kind of

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00:12:38.810 --> 00:12:39.680
punching out

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00:12:39.680 --> 00:12:43.200
two specific numbers, say 90 yards or something like that, which is one of

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00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:44.080
their comfortable

270
00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:45.080
wedge numbers.

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That's your fallback in case you can't get up around the green.

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00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.950
So t-shot considerations, a little mental checklist on should I hit driver or

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00:12:52.950 --> 00:12:53.440
not?

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00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:57.560
Can I get it inside 150 or not with something other than my driver?

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00:12:57.560 --> 00:13:03.520
If I can't, then I probably want to hit driver unless there's severe penalties

276
00:13:03.520 --> 00:13:04.600
for an errant

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00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:06.000
shot.

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00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.080
I want to play for angles or for lies and slopes.

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00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:14.700
So potentially, on this whole, if we imagine that this half of the fairway had

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00:13:14.700 --> 00:13:15.400
a big slope

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00:13:15.400 --> 00:13:19.120
to it, I might still want to try to err on the right side.

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00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.670
But in general, I would say looking at this shot, I'm probably going to play

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00:13:22.670 --> 00:13:23.160
for more

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00:13:23.160 --> 00:13:24.160
the angle.

285
00:13:24.160 --> 00:13:28.040
I want to always hit away from OBs and hazards.

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00:13:28.040 --> 00:13:32.010
That's one of the traits, especially as you start trying to break 80 and lower

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00:13:32.010 --> 00:13:32.600
scores.

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00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:36.840
We have to avoid OB and hazards.

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00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:41.330
One phrase I'll use is that I heard Pete Cowen say, "It's more important to

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00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:42.200
know where

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00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:45.720
the ball won't go than knowing exactly where it's going to go."

292
00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:51.500
Meaning, if there's OB right, I need to have a swing or a set up adjustment or

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00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:51.560
something

294
00:13:51.560 --> 00:13:54.000
I can do to make sure it's not going to go right.

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00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:57.560
I might miss it left, but I can guarantee it's not going to go right.

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00:13:57.560 --> 00:14:01.680
That's one of the skills required to get into lower handicap zone.

297
00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:05.880
The goal for your approach shot is not necessarily the middle of the fairway,

298
00:14:05.880 --> 00:14:07.480
but having an unobstructed

299
00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.080
shot.

300
00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:13.570
I want to hit it far up there as I can, and I want to have an unobstructed shot

301
00:14:13.570 --> 00:14:14.000
so I can

302
00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:18.760
get it up around the green or on the green as easily as possible.

303
00:14:18.760 --> 00:14:21.760
To help with that, I want to be careful with my T-box selection.

304
00:14:21.760 --> 00:14:25.190
I find that this is more important for par threes, but sometimes when I'm on

305
00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:25.880
the course,

306
00:14:25.880 --> 00:14:29.750
I'll see amateur golfers not necessarily read the lie, and that can mess up

307
00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:30.480
your driver

308
00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:31.480
as well.

309
00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:37.270
Because big curve difference is if the T-box is more below your feet or above

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00:14:37.270 --> 00:14:38.200
your feet.

311
00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:42.550
You want to find a flat lie or at least play the angle that supports your shot

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00:14:42.550 --> 00:14:43.200
shape.

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00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:47.080
Meaning if I wanted to hit a fade, then having the ball a little bit below my

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00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:47.760
feet might

315
00:14:47.760 --> 00:14:48.760
be okay.

316
00:14:48.760 --> 00:14:51.570
If I want to play the draw, I might be choosing a spot on the T-box where the

317
00:14:51.570 --> 00:14:52.320
ball is a little

318
00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:54.040
bit above your feet.

319
00:14:54.040 --> 00:14:58.560
Barring a successful T-shot, now we're looking at the approach game.

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00:14:58.560 --> 00:15:02.630
The approach shot, I want to basically read the green and work backwards, so I

321
00:15:02.630 --> 00:15:03.140
'm going

322
00:15:03.140 --> 00:15:06.000
to look at the green and I'm going to assess the safe side.

323
00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:11.180
I want to air towards the safe side or the thick side or the fat side of where

324
00:15:11.180 --> 00:15:12.320
the, compared

325
00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:16.650
to where the pin is, but I want to play as little safety as possible so that I

326
00:15:16.650 --> 00:15:17.120
can get

327
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.280
close to it.

328
00:15:18.280 --> 00:15:21.240
What I'm trying to avoid is short-siding myself.

329
00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:27.020
But I also want to avoid the really challenging spot, so if the pin was way

330
00:15:27.020 --> 00:15:27.800
over here on the

331
00:15:27.800 --> 00:15:32.380
left, that bunker might be a red flag and it might actually be an easier get-up

332
00:15:32.380 --> 00:15:33.120
-and-down

333
00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:34.880
from just that short left area.

334
00:15:34.880 --> 00:15:35.880
It really depends.

335
00:15:35.880 --> 00:15:41.680
We'll do that more when we do the looking at each individual hole here.

336
00:15:41.680 --> 00:15:45.680
When I'm assessing the green, I want to find the safe spot to miss as well as

337
00:15:45.680 --> 00:15:46.120
are there

338
00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:50.980
any impossible up-and-downs where if I did miss it in this position, it would

339
00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:51.680
probably

340
00:15:51.680 --> 00:15:55.560
be no chance of getting it inside 20 feet.

341
00:15:55.560 --> 00:15:58.390
Then I want to look at the slope of the green, potentially I want to leave the

342
00:15:58.390 --> 00:15:58.880
ball below

343
00:15:58.880 --> 00:16:03.920
the hole to leave myself an easier put or an easier chip shot.

344
00:16:03.920 --> 00:16:09.330
If you're in between clubs, which happens all the time on the golf course, then

345
00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:09.840
I want

346
00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:12.680
you to recognize who you are.

347
00:16:12.680 --> 00:16:17.290
If you practice in your, let's say, 15 handicap and below, I think you should

348
00:16:17.290 --> 00:16:18.160
be practicing

349
00:16:18.160 --> 00:16:21.510
your distance control so you can take a few yards off, but if you're higher

350
00:16:21.510 --> 00:16:22.160
than that,

351
00:16:22.160 --> 00:16:26.550
you probably just want to play your closest full distance and make just a

352
00:16:26.550 --> 00:16:27.680
normal swing.

353
00:16:27.680 --> 00:16:31.400
Even if that means I'm giving up, I'm going to play it short of the green or a

354
00:16:31.400 --> 00:16:32.720
little long

355
00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:38.120
because that's where my distances kind of align for that particular shot.

356
00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:41.560
You'll typically find that if you don't practice adjusting your distance, then

357
00:16:41.560 --> 00:16:42.280
trying to take

358
00:16:42.280 --> 00:16:47.360
a little off on the course causes you have really bad contact misses.

359
00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.560
Also, I put three stars here.

360
00:16:49.560 --> 00:16:52.560
You want to train aiming away from pins.

361
00:16:52.560 --> 00:16:58.340
One of the secrets to becoming a lower handicap golfer is learning how to

362
00:16:58.340 --> 00:16:59.040
conservatively

363
00:16:59.040 --> 00:17:02.600
aim but swing at it aggressively.

364
00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:04.800
I find that I call it fake aiming.

365
00:17:04.800 --> 00:17:09.080
You'll see it in here a bunch where amateur golfers will move their body so

366
00:17:09.080 --> 00:17:09.760
that it's

367
00:17:09.760 --> 00:17:15.660
aimed to the safe side, but in their mind, they'll try to guide the ball back

368
00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:16.240
to the

369
00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:20.040
target instead of confidently trying to hit it at that shot.

370
00:17:20.040 --> 00:17:23.060
One of the things that you can do is when you're practicing, not always aim at

371
00:17:23.060 --> 00:17:24.160
the pins

372
00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:28.790
on your driving range, aim at random spots and just get confident at being able

373
00:17:28.790 --> 00:17:29.240
to set

374
00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:35.020
up and align and pick a spot that is visually distracting because it's not an

375
00:17:35.020 --> 00:17:35.640
obvious pin.

376
00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:36.640
How much risk?

377
00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:40.470
We're going to talk about right-handed versus left-handed greens here in the

378
00:17:40.470 --> 00:17:41.100
next slide,

379
00:17:41.100 --> 00:17:46.160
but that can factor in what I want to do with my approach shot.

380
00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:47.160
Hold that thought.

381
00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:52.150
Then the last thing, having a good wedge game can help you turn three into two,

382
00:17:52.150 --> 00:17:52.560
but your

383
00:17:52.560 --> 00:17:56.440
goal is to never turn two into four.

384
00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:02.330
Having enough shots that you can give yourself some good putting opportunities,

385
00:18:02.330 --> 00:18:03.160
but also so

386
00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:05.200
that you can avoid disasters.

387
00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:09.320
You always want to try to get your third shot on the green if you can.

388
00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:12.770
Nothing adds up quicker than either chunking a bunch of chip shots, hitting it

389
00:18:12.770 --> 00:18:13.520
into a bunker

390
00:18:13.520 --> 00:18:15.840
from inside 50 yards, things like that.

391
00:18:15.840 --> 00:18:20.000
Okay, we mentioned green shapes, right-handed versus left-handed.

392
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.920
Here's what I mean by that.

393
00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:27.550
If you look at a normal distribution pattern for a golfer, a right-handed gol

394
00:18:27.550 --> 00:18:28.680
fer is typically

395
00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:33.550
going to have a distribution pattern somewhere like this, especially as you get

396
00:18:33.550 --> 00:18:34.520
past wedges,

397
00:18:34.520 --> 00:18:35.520
things like that.

398
00:18:35.520 --> 00:18:39.480
A left-handed golfer will have a distribution pattern more like this.

399
00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:42.970
As you get to your shorter clubs, it will tend to be more circular and your

400
00:18:42.970 --> 00:18:43.760
longer clubs

401
00:18:43.760 --> 00:18:48.040
will be even more of this egg shape or ellipse shape.

402
00:18:48.040 --> 00:18:54.570
What we can do is, here is a pin sheet that they give out at my home course, La

403
00:18:54.570 --> 00:18:55.600
Rinconata

404
00:18:55.600 --> 00:18:57.040
Country Club.

405
00:18:57.040 --> 00:19:03.000
What you'll see is the holes that golfers tend to enjoy or hit more often tend

406
00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:03.520
to fit

407
00:19:03.520 --> 00:19:05.280
these shapes.

408
00:19:05.280 --> 00:19:11.560
Greens that are angled back left to front right like this, like hole number one

409
00:19:11.560 --> 00:19:12.200
, that

410
00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:15.790
would be more of what I would consider a right-handed green, because if I put

411
00:19:15.790 --> 00:19:17.440
that right-handed

412
00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:19.700
distribution pattern, it kind of fits on there.

413
00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:24.740
I can aim a little past that pin, a little bit to the right, and if I leave the

414
00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:25.440
club face

415
00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.680
open, it still hits the green.

416
00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:29.760
If I close it, it hits the green as well.

417
00:19:29.760 --> 00:19:35.930
Compare that to hole number two, where now, with where that pin is, that's the

418
00:19:35.930 --> 00:19:37.040
best surface

419
00:19:37.040 --> 00:19:42.880
area I could get, my poles, my left miss is still going to be a little bit, it

420
00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:43.620
's going

421
00:19:43.620 --> 00:19:46.280
to miss, and there is a bunker back there that's a little tough.

422
00:19:46.280 --> 00:19:49.690
Potentially, I could aim that one a little bit shorter, and usually my shorter

423
00:19:49.690 --> 00:19:50.120
club is

424
00:19:50.120 --> 00:19:54.800
going to have a smaller distribution, but that just could be a tougher shot.

425
00:19:54.800 --> 00:20:00.560
The third one is a very narrow green, and so it's almost impossible to avoid

426
00:20:00.560 --> 00:20:00.560
missing

427
00:20:00.560 --> 00:20:06.040
it left or right completely, I just have to hopefully hit a good shot.

428
00:20:06.040 --> 00:20:12.990
So now, as you see, or if we look at the fourth hole here, this is the first

429
00:20:12.990 --> 00:20:14.120
version of a

430
00:20:14.120 --> 00:20:17.620
green on our course that is more of a left-handed green, so it's that easier

431
00:20:17.620 --> 00:20:18.520
approach shot for

432
00:20:18.520 --> 00:20:20.080
a left-hander.

433
00:20:20.080 --> 00:20:26.230
You can see with where that pin is in my normal distribution for that distance,

434
00:20:26.230 --> 00:20:27.080
I have a pretty

435
00:20:27.080 --> 00:20:29.790
good chance of missing it, so I have to be comfortable with being able to chip

436
00:20:29.790 --> 00:20:31.040
from there.

437
00:20:31.040 --> 00:20:34.710
And now, we won't go through all the other ones, but you can quickly see there

438
00:20:34.710 --> 00:20:35.200
are some

439
00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:40.380
holes where I can have my hole shot pattern on the green, and then there are

440
00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:41.280
other holes

441
00:20:41.280 --> 00:20:44.760
where it's distributed or it's shaped the other way.

442
00:20:44.760 --> 00:20:48.560
So in general, I can be a little more aggressive when I have a right-handed

443
00:20:48.560 --> 00:20:49.760
hole or right-handed

444
00:20:49.760 --> 00:20:52.710
green if I am a right-handed golfer, and I can be a little more aggressive if

445
00:20:52.710 --> 00:20:53.080
it's

446
00:20:53.080 --> 00:20:55.760
a left-handed green if I'm a left-handed golfer.

447
00:20:55.760 --> 00:20:58.970
Hopefully the architects kind of balance them out like they did here, and there

448
00:20:58.970 --> 00:20:59.720
's somewhat

449
00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:02.400
even distribution of the right versus left-handed.

450
00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:06.760
We have a few more right than left-handed, but it's not too bad.

451
00:21:06.760 --> 00:21:12.560
Okay, the other skill that you need for the par fours is your recovery gain.

452
00:21:12.560 --> 00:21:17.860
So being able to punch it back into play if your driver ends up in the trees,

453
00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:18.480
we have

454
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:22.800
a lot of trees here and they can cause some awkward windows.

455
00:21:22.800 --> 00:21:27.480
One rule I have when you're recovering, never hit the first tree.

456
00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:31.920
It's a rule that came from my years of playing disc golf.

457
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.230
Basically it's a lot more penalizing if you hit that first tree and the ball

458
00:21:35.230 --> 00:21:35.880
drops down

459
00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:38.120
because then you have a lot of distance to cover.

460
00:21:38.120 --> 00:21:41.890
So if I can, I'm going to do my best to avoid that first tree and potentially

461
00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:43.040
hit a tree

462
00:21:43.040 --> 00:21:46.160
up closer to the green.

463
00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:50.320
In general, we'll go through kind of this recovery shot, but you want to use

464
00:21:50.320 --> 00:21:51.640
more lofted

465
00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:56.380
club than you would guess, I see a lot of amateurs grab their four or five iron

466
00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:56.720
to do

467
00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:02.480
their recovery shots, and it's just, it's doable, but the longer the club, the

468
00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:02.480
harder

469
00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:07.520
it is to do these little half shots, so I'd rather take a six iron or shorter

470
00:22:07.520 --> 00:22:07.960
and then

471
00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:13.400
hit it low from my setup and my swing rather than just from having low loft.

472
00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.660
The exception would be if I'm trying to hit more of a low fade, I might have to

473
00:22:16.660 --> 00:22:17.080
go with

474
00:22:17.080 --> 00:22:21.320
a longer or a lower lofted club.

475
00:22:21.320 --> 00:22:25.160
So I want to do everything I can to eliminate the fat shot, that's the one that

476
00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:25.720
's usually

477
00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:29.970
the most costly, because the fat shot will tend to launch higher, so it brings

478
00:22:29.970 --> 00:22:30.600
in hitting

479
00:22:30.600 --> 00:22:31.880
that first tree.

480
00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:36.310
It will also tend to, if I'm trying to carry it a certain distance, it will

481
00:22:36.310 --> 00:22:37.440
really decrease

482
00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.680
the carry and it will come in kind of like more dead.

483
00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:44.470
So oftentimes I won't get it back into the fairway and I'll have to hit another

484
00:22:44.470 --> 00:22:45.000
recovery

485
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:46.000
shot.

486
00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:49.650
I'm really trying to avoid having to hit the same shot or the same style of

487
00:22:49.650 --> 00:22:50.480
shot twice.

488
00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:57.160
Okay, so we want to take as little risk as necessary to not compound the issue.

489
00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:00.880
So one question that I give people is, all right, do you think you could handle

490
00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:01.280
or you

491
00:23:01.280 --> 00:23:04.560
could pull this shot off seven out of ten times?

492
00:23:04.560 --> 00:23:09.820
If you can, and the risk of the, or the penalty of those three times you don't

493
00:23:09.820 --> 00:23:10.640
pull it off

494
00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:17.870
is kind of miniscule or insignificant, then I'd say go ahead and take a shot at

495
00:23:17.870 --> 00:23:18.520
it.

496
00:23:18.520 --> 00:23:22.830
But if the three times you don't pull it off, it's going to be a penalty or a

497
00:23:22.830 --> 00:23:23.760
double or

498
00:23:23.760 --> 00:23:29.520
a higher number, I would say, highly question your strategy there.

499
00:23:29.520 --> 00:23:34.290
So does pulling this off significantly move you into a dramatically different

500
00:23:34.290 --> 00:23:34.880
zone?

501
00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:39.860
Sure does, if you remember from kind of thinking about your risk management in

502
00:23:39.860 --> 00:23:40.840
terms of zones,

503
00:23:40.840 --> 00:23:44.400
I want to be able to jump at least a large amount.

504
00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:48.440
So maybe the conservative shot would leave me 180 and then the aggressive shot

505
00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:48.960
would leave

506
00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:50.380
me 60 yards.

507
00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:51.380
That might be worth it.

508
00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:57.170
But if I'm taking on risk in order to go from 160 to 140, that doesn't make a

509
00:23:57.170 --> 00:23:57.680
whole lot

510
00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:00.300
of sense to me because it's only jumping one zone and it's probably not a

511
00:24:00.300 --> 00:24:01.800
significant one.

512
00:24:01.800 --> 00:24:06.420
So here's two examples that are actually on neighboring holes, so I just set

513
00:24:06.420 --> 00:24:06.960
them up

514
00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:07.960
pretty quickly.

515
00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:13.740
So we've got my ball here, right there, and then I've got three different shot

516
00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:14.160
options.

517
00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:19.380
I could try to go this way, but this is a, you can't see it on here, but this

518
00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:20.320
is slightly

519
00:24:20.320 --> 00:24:24.200
up-sloped, which means I'm likely to catch these trees.

520
00:24:24.200 --> 00:24:28.490
And then even if I did pull it off, there's a tree there about 50 yards short

521
00:24:28.490 --> 00:24:29.160
that would

522
00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:33.190
likely catch the ball, so I'm really only going to get it like this could

523
00:24:33.190 --> 00:24:34.320
become a dangerous

524
00:24:34.320 --> 00:24:38.060
play if I chunk it and leave it here or if I hit it too far.

525
00:24:38.060 --> 00:24:39.560
So that's probably not worth it.

526
00:24:39.560 --> 00:24:45.760
Now this purple circle over there, I potentially could get that if I hit it

527
00:24:45.760 --> 00:24:47.220
towards the left

528
00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:49.760
half of the fairway, I could leave myself 100 yards.

529
00:24:49.760 --> 00:24:52.880
That might be the best option where here, this might be a little too

530
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:53.800
conservative I'd

531
00:24:53.800 --> 00:24:56.200
be laying back to about 150.

532
00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:59.840
So depending on my skill level, I'd say purple is probably the best option

533
00:24:59.840 --> 00:25:00.400
there.

534
00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:04.600
Over here, here we've got the ball, and we've got kind of similar three

535
00:25:04.600 --> 00:25:05.800
different normal

536
00:25:05.800 --> 00:25:06.800
kind of low punch.

537
00:25:06.800 --> 00:25:09.640
I could hit it back here and leave myself 100 yards.

538
00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:13.520
I could probably pull that one off pretty easily and leave myself more of a 50

539
00:25:13.520 --> 00:25:14.120
to 60

540
00:25:14.120 --> 00:25:15.880
yarder if I'm good with that shot.

541
00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:20.540
I could get really aggressive and try to hit a low draw, or this is probably

542
00:25:20.540 --> 00:25:21.320
from about

543
00:25:21.320 --> 00:25:27.060
150 yards, you can see that there's this gap and I could potentially hit like a

544
00:25:27.060 --> 00:25:27.360
9 iron

545
00:25:27.360 --> 00:25:30.960
or something and get it up there pretty easily.

546
00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:35.730
So I would say the two that make the most sense would either be purple or green

547
00:25:35.730 --> 00:25:36.520
depending

548
00:25:36.520 --> 00:25:37.560
on my skill level.

549
00:25:37.560 --> 00:25:40.940
I think the low one at the green is actually going to be quite hard and the

550
00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:42.040
more conservative

551
00:25:42.040 --> 00:25:47.760
one on this approach is probably leaving a few strokes out there.

552
00:25:47.760 --> 00:25:51.660
So we're going to, as you'll see when we're on the course, we're going to be

553
00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:52.240
working

554
00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:58.030
through our thought process so that we can choose the least risky shot that

555
00:25:58.030 --> 00:25:59.000
gets us closest

556
00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.000
to the whole.

557
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.200
Okay, so we're going to use that information of how we think through par four

558
00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:04.680
is now we're

559
00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:06.560
going to apply it to par fives.

560
00:26:06.560 --> 00:26:10.040
So the key question on par five is can I reach it in two?

561
00:26:10.040 --> 00:26:13.650
For most of you, that's going to be no unless you're a longer hitter playing a

562
00:26:13.650 --> 00:26:15.080
shorter course.

563
00:26:15.080 --> 00:26:18.580
But if you can reach it in two, it kind of changes the strategy because now I'm

564
00:26:18.580 --> 00:26:19.120
counting

565
00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:23.560
on my T shot to help me make that decision better.

566
00:26:23.560 --> 00:26:28.560
If I can't reach it in two, then I want to have what are my kind of different

567
00:26:28.560 --> 00:26:29.840
layup zones.

568
00:26:29.840 --> 00:26:35.990
So my, let's say option A, option B, option C. I want to basically play the

569
00:26:35.990 --> 00:26:36.920
entire hole

570
00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:39.360
to leave myself a good approach shot.

571
00:26:39.360 --> 00:26:42.770
So one of the questions that I'll pose to my students when we're standing on

572
00:26:42.770 --> 00:26:43.200
the T is

573
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:46.560
if you could play any par three, what length would it be?

574
00:26:46.560 --> 00:26:51.490
We'll say a full shot par three unless you can easily get inside 100 yards

575
00:26:51.490 --> 00:26:52.200
there.

576
00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:53.960
What would it be?

577
00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:58.580
And for most of them, they'll say 100 yards, 110 yards, 120, something like

578
00:26:58.580 --> 00:26:59.080
that.

579
00:26:59.080 --> 00:27:02.570
So then we'll just look at the distance on the card and we'll subtract that and

580
00:27:02.570 --> 00:27:02.980
that's

581
00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:04.760
how far we need to hit two shots.

582
00:27:04.760 --> 00:27:08.240
And often it makes the hole a little less scary when I figure out, okay, that's

583
00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:08.880
ultimately

584
00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:10.680
all I need to do.

585
00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:14.550
So what helps make you good at par fives is having a really good wedge game, a

586
00:27:14.550 --> 00:27:15.000
really

587
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:18.310
good punch shot in case you do happen to hit it in the trees, you can still get

588
00:27:18.310 --> 00:27:18.920
into one

589
00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:26.800
of those AB or C approach shot distances as well as helping having a accurate

590
00:27:26.800 --> 00:27:27.680
drive sets

591
00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:30.990
up the hole and makes the approach out a whole lot easier, especially if you

592
00:27:30.990 --> 00:27:31.760
have length.

593
00:27:31.760 --> 00:27:37.540
So again, in this particular case, I'd probably be looking at hitting driver

594
00:27:37.540 --> 00:27:38.240
there and then

595
00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:42.760
if I could, if I was towards the right half and had the angle there, I would

596
00:27:42.760 --> 00:27:43.400
maybe go

597
00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:49.100
with the green or I would lay up maybe do 100 yards or plan C would be if I'm

598
00:27:49.100 --> 00:27:49.440
in the

599
00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:55.220
trees or something came up, I would lay it back to maybe 150, kind of like that

600
00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:55.280
.

601
00:27:55.280 --> 00:27:57.640
Different par fives pose different challenges.

602
00:27:57.640 --> 00:28:02.080
I'm either playing for an angle to the green for my second shot or I'm playing

603
00:28:02.080 --> 00:28:02.680
an angle

604
00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:06.920
for my approach shot position and they are often different lines off the tee.

605
00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:12.700
For example, if I knew that on this hole, which is only 512 yards, but let's

606
00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:13.040
say I'm not

607
00:28:13.040 --> 00:28:17.560
a long hitter and I knew I was trying to get up around 100 yards, so let's say

608
00:28:17.560 --> 00:28:18.160
I'm trying

609
00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:23.950
to hit it 412 yards in two shots and I want to be on the right side, well, I

610
00:28:23.950 --> 00:28:25.160
could probably,

611
00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:28.650
if I can hit it 230 off the tee, I could probably go down the right side and

612
00:28:28.650 --> 00:28:29.480
leave myself a

613
00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:37.390
hybrid to get myself into that zone or potentially three wood would bring in

614
00:28:37.390 --> 00:28:38.720
more risks depending

615
00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:43.110
on where, how confident I am with the three wood, can I hit it seven out of 10

616
00:28:43.110 --> 00:28:43.720
times, pretty

617
00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:49.000
solid or if there's more, I can't tell the density of these trees, I would want

618
00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:49.600
to avoid

619
00:28:49.600 --> 00:28:58.980
having a blocked out third shot, here would be one shorter hole, par five, but

620
00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:00.680
495, probably

621
00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:01.680
a little bit uphill.

622
00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:04.890
It looks like the second shot, I'm going to have to carry water, so I'm going

623
00:29:04.890 --> 00:29:05.320
to have

624
00:29:05.320 --> 00:29:08.500
to do it all in the air for the second shot.

625
00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:12.540
That could influence my decision, so then if I'm trying to lay up, again, this

626
00:29:12.540 --> 00:29:13.040
becomes

627
00:29:13.040 --> 00:29:17.110
kind of easy math for figuring out if I wanted a 100 yard shot, I only have to

628
00:29:17.110 --> 00:29:17.880
hit two shots,

629
00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:20.880
a total of about 400 yards.

630
00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:25.610
Now when we start getting into these longer ones, 530, 536, and this one has

631
00:29:25.610 --> 00:29:26.160
some dog

632
00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:30.660
legs in it, this one has some bunkers, potentially if I'm trying to get there,

633
00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:31.880
I might challenge

634
00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:35.750
it with the driver, knowing that even if I hit it in the bunker, if I got a

635
00:29:35.750 --> 00:29:36.520
reasonable

636
00:29:36.520 --> 00:29:41.540
lie, I should still be able to get it to my plan B approach shot.

637
00:29:41.540 --> 00:29:47.330
So this is just kind of the hierarchy of what I'm thinking off the T as far as

638
00:29:47.330 --> 00:29:48.260
how to give

639
00:29:48.260 --> 00:29:52.260
myself the best approach shot or the best chance at getting to the green into.

640
00:29:52.260 --> 00:29:58.040
Real quick checklist for my approach shot on the par five, can I get up around

641
00:29:58.040 --> 00:29:59.060
the green?

642
00:29:59.060 --> 00:30:01.940
Do I have a solid half wedge distance that I want to hit to?

643
00:30:01.940 --> 00:30:07.330
For instance, Dustin Johnson loves 70 yards, Jason Day talks about 90 yards, do

644
00:30:07.330 --> 00:30:07.780
I have

645
00:30:07.780 --> 00:30:11.980
a half wedge number that I love, otherwise the goal is getting to the shortest

646
00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:12.420
comfortable

647
00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:14.140
full swing distance.

648
00:30:14.140 --> 00:30:19.920
I like to hit my wedge shots off of flat lies versus ball above my feet,

649
00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:20.840
especially downhill,

650
00:30:20.840 --> 00:30:23.580
but sometimes the slopes can be used to your advantage.

651
00:30:23.580 --> 00:30:29.020
If you're a low single handicap golfer, then having slopes will help you.

652
00:30:29.020 --> 00:30:37.100
For example, I'm drawing a blank on the hole at the master's on the back nine,

653
00:30:37.100 --> 00:30:38.060
whether

654
00:30:38.060 --> 00:30:42.700
it's 13 or 15, that has the down slope where you have to hit your wedge shot.

655
00:30:42.700 --> 00:30:46.700
When the pin is on the back, laying back to where you're on more of that down

656
00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:47.600
slope allows

657
00:30:47.600 --> 00:30:51.020
the ball to come in lower and skip back there, where if the pin is on the front

658
00:30:51.020 --> 00:30:51.820
, you probably

659
00:30:51.820 --> 00:30:54.990
want to lay up close, so you have more of a flat lie to be able to use a little

660
00:30:54.990 --> 00:30:55.460
bit more

661
00:30:55.460 --> 00:30:57.500
height and spin.

662
00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:03.460
So you can use the lie to your advantage as a more advanced golfer, as a newer

663
00:31:03.460 --> 00:31:04.100
golfer

664
00:31:04.100 --> 00:31:07.940
or a more novice golfer, you're looking for your flat lies with the shortest

665
00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:08.660
kind of best

666
00:31:08.660 --> 00:31:10.780
comfortable number.

667
00:31:10.780 --> 00:31:13.260
So don't just always grab three wood.

668
00:31:13.260 --> 00:31:18.060
Jack Nicholas, he once said, "I only hit three wood if I can use it to get

669
00:31:18.060 --> 00:31:18.740
there.

670
00:31:18.740 --> 00:31:24.510
If I'm just using it as a layup, then I'll probably use another club because

671
00:31:24.510 --> 00:31:25.020
the risk

672
00:31:25.020 --> 00:31:30.810
of miss hitting the three wood typically brings in the trees and bigger misses,

673
00:31:30.810 --> 00:31:31.460
so that goes

674
00:31:31.460 --> 00:31:36.410
against my strategy of kind of using the safest shot to get me into a good zone

675
00:31:36.410 --> 00:31:36.820
."

676
00:31:36.820 --> 00:31:41.620
One other strategy I give is start by dividing the shot in two.

677
00:31:41.620 --> 00:31:50.060
So I've hit my drive, let's say I hit it 245 yards, so I had 250 yards left.

678
00:31:50.060 --> 00:31:55.870
If I was to start by dividing that in two, I could hit 225 shots and that would

679
00:31:55.870 --> 00:31:56.460
be pretty

680
00:31:56.460 --> 00:32:00.240
easy to do, or I could start there and be like, "Well, I'll take on a little

681
00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:00.780
more risk

682
00:32:00.780 --> 00:32:04.620
on the first shot to have a little less risk, so maybe I'll hit 150 yards shot

683
00:32:04.620 --> 00:32:05.180
and leave

684
00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:06.780
myself 100 yards shot."

685
00:32:06.780 --> 00:32:10.320
So start by dividing it two and then see how much safely you can take off on

686
00:32:10.320 --> 00:32:10.860
this first

687
00:32:10.860 --> 00:32:14.060
shot in order to make the next shot a little bit closer.

688
00:32:14.060 --> 00:32:17.980
Okay, par three's closing in on the finish here.

689
00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:23.160
Par three's typically have amateurs like them because you really only have to

690
00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:23.900
hit one good

691
00:32:23.900 --> 00:32:28.280
shot where par five's, par four's, you have to string together a couple of good

692
00:32:28.280 --> 00:32:28.700
shots.

693
00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:32.380
But they're typically longer and they typically have more problems.

694
00:32:32.380 --> 00:32:37.860
They typically have less bailout than, say, your traditional par fours.

695
00:32:37.860 --> 00:32:41.180
But you want to assess it and look for it, is there a safe side bailout?

696
00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:46.010
So potentially on this whole, potentially that back long area looks like it

697
00:32:46.010 --> 00:32:46.700
could be

698
00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:47.700
safe.

699
00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:54.230
Short looks like it could be safe, but bring up short left as my goal while

700
00:32:54.230 --> 00:32:55.260
short right

701
00:32:55.260 --> 00:32:56.420
brings in the water.

702
00:32:56.420 --> 00:33:02.460
So if I'm a right-handed golfer, the short zone looks scary because it brings

703
00:33:02.460 --> 00:33:02.620
in the

704
00:33:02.620 --> 00:33:03.620
water.

705
00:33:03.620 --> 00:33:07.930
If I was a left-handed golfer, then short left looks good because this would

706
00:33:07.930 --> 00:33:08.620
either be

707
00:33:08.620 --> 00:33:11.740
chipping or long right would be still on the green.

708
00:33:11.740 --> 00:33:16.580
So this is a good example where this is more of a left-handed green.

709
00:33:16.580 --> 00:33:20.340
They can be a little bit more aggressive.

710
00:33:20.340 --> 00:33:23.900
Depending on the length of the hole, if I'm hitting eight iron or less, I might

711
00:33:23.900 --> 00:33:24.300
consider

712
00:33:24.300 --> 00:33:25.900
aiming at the pin.

713
00:33:25.900 --> 00:33:30.860
If it's seven iron or more, it's going to be middle of the green for most golf

714
00:33:30.860 --> 00:33:31.420
ers.

715
00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:36.250
If it's over 200 yards, you really want to seriously consider if you need to

716
00:33:36.250 --> 00:33:36.660
lay up

717
00:33:36.660 --> 00:33:38.220
or not.

718
00:33:38.220 --> 00:33:42.400
That depends on your dispersion and if you're doing some kind of looking at

719
00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:43.300
your scatter

720
00:33:43.300 --> 00:33:47.430
pattern and how big of a tolerance you have, for a lot of golfers, if the par

721
00:33:47.430 --> 00:33:47.900
threes

722
00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:53.690
are very long, then laying up short and hitting a comfortable wedge shot is one

723
00:33:53.690 --> 00:33:54.180
of the better

724
00:33:54.180 --> 00:33:58.140
ways to help control eliminating the doubles.

725
00:33:58.140 --> 00:34:02.910
So again, par threes, find the safest mist, find the hardest place what we want

726
00:34:02.910 --> 00:34:03.740
to avoid,

727
00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:07.640
and then this is where it's really important to use the T-box to your advantage

728
00:34:07.640 --> 00:34:08.020
as far

729
00:34:08.020 --> 00:34:13.200
as flatness of lie or the slope of your shot, as well as finding the best angle

730
00:34:13.200 --> 00:34:13.540
.

731
00:34:13.540 --> 00:34:16.300
Don't always just tee it up right in the middle.

732
00:34:16.300 --> 00:34:20.980
That's usually the worst angle for any shot.

733
00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:25.940
So in this particular example, we'd be looking at these short tube bunkers.

734
00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:28.810
Actually I have pretty big slopes, so I'd be layering where the back of the

735
00:34:28.810 --> 00:34:29.380
green there

736
00:34:29.380 --> 00:34:32.940
is actually a relatively easy chip shot.

737
00:34:32.940 --> 00:34:38.730
And then this one big enough green that I'm probably going to be able, and it's

738
00:34:38.730 --> 00:34:39.060
only

739
00:34:39.060 --> 00:34:45.590
174, I'm probably going to be able to put my shot dispersion on the green, so I

740
00:34:45.590 --> 00:34:46.060
'm probably

741
00:34:46.060 --> 00:34:51.020
just going to aim more at the middle of the green and try to execute a good

742
00:34:51.020 --> 00:34:51.860
shot and live

743
00:34:51.860 --> 00:34:53.620
with whatever results happen.

744
00:34:53.620 --> 00:34:59.620
So again, we're looking for kind of the overall assessment of the green, where

745
00:34:59.620 --> 00:35:00.740
the safe zones

746
00:35:00.740 --> 00:35:07.270
given what club I'm hitting, and then air towards the safe zone, but by as

747
00:35:07.270 --> 00:35:08.140
little as

748
00:35:08.140 --> 00:35:09.140
needed.

749
00:35:09.140 --> 00:35:12.660
So this one, for me, the safe zone is avoiding the water.

750
00:35:12.660 --> 00:35:16.390
I want to make sure I take enough club, don't want to challenge, especially if

751
00:35:16.390 --> 00:35:16.900
it was into

752
00:35:16.900 --> 00:35:21.740
the wind or if the pin was up front, I want to take enough club.

753
00:35:21.740 --> 00:35:25.520
This one that short left is the safe zone, and then this one that short right

754
00:35:25.520 --> 00:35:25.940
is more

755
00:35:25.940 --> 00:35:27.340
the safe zone.

756
00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:31.260
So this is a right handed green, this is a left handed green, I'm going to play

757
00:35:31.260 --> 00:35:31.700
a little

758
00:35:31.700 --> 00:35:32.700
bit differently.

759
00:35:32.700 --> 00:35:37.320
All right, so the basic strategy guide for playing a whole, evaluate the whole,

760
00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:37.820
design

761
00:35:37.820 --> 00:35:43.100
your plan for the entire whole, commit to that plan, and then take each shot at

762
00:35:43.100 --> 00:35:43.540
a time

763
00:35:43.540 --> 00:35:49.440
using your good stock tour swing process, of planning the shot, aiming the shot

764
00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:50.460
, executing

765
00:35:50.460 --> 00:35:52.180
the shot, reacting to the shot.

766
00:35:52.180 --> 00:35:56.400
Go through that step as many times as needed until you're in the hole and ready

767
00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:56.820
to get

768
00:35:56.820 --> 00:35:59.780
to the next step, or the next hole, where you can jump back to the beginning

769
00:35:59.780 --> 00:36:00.260
and start

770
00:36:00.260 --> 00:36:03.740
over by planning the next shot.

771
00:36:03.740 --> 00:36:07.990
So simple process, figure out where to aim, hit a good shot, figure out where

772
00:36:07.990 --> 00:36:08.740
to aim, hit

773
00:36:08.740 --> 00:36:13.040
a good shot, live with the result, and move on.