Golf Talk With Greg Holman – #76

Click play to listen to Greg’s blog, or, read below.

I’ve been playing golf for 54 years and I witnessed something on the course that I’d never seen before. It’s not a hole-in-one. I’ve seen five of those in person. It’s not someone being hit by a golf ball. That’s almost run-of-the-mill. Give up?

I saw someone break a window with a golf shot.

I was part of a foursome in Wentzville last Sunday and it happened on the first tee with woods on the right and condos way out of bounds on the right. One of my friends hit a push slice that knocked out an expensive picture window on the second floor. I felt sorrow for him having to dwell on that shot the rest of the day. I could tell it weighed on him and he played terrible, but it could happen to anybody.

That’s the topic of today’s blog: Avoiding Trouble.

Most courses have their share of trees, ditches, ponds, lakes, sand, uneven terrain, rough and undulating greens. That’s what makes golf challenging. Some courses are more challenging than others. Some are long. Some are short and tight. Some are hilly. Others are flat.

Until the range finder came along I always had trouble judging the distance on a level fairway. You never knew when there would be a swail in front of the green or a large apron on the approach to the green, sometimes called a false front. Also some courses choose to use a short flagstick giving the appearance the shot is farther than it actually is.

There are ways to combat trouble on the course. Let’s start with the tee shot.

My friend that hit the house has a tendency to slice and with the woods on the right he would’ve been better served to tee off on the right side of the tee box and hit away from the trouble at a slight angle. There is no guarantee that with a big slice he might still hear glass, but using this approach would give him better odds. I have a tendency to hook to the left so I’ll often tee off on the left side of the tee box, especially if there is out of bounds on the left.

Another solution would be to use a shorter club like a hybrid off the tee. Less distance less curve on the ball.

Another way to avoid splashing a ball into a pond that guards the green is to lay up. Have you seen the movie, “Tin Cup?” Put your ego aside and poke an iron short of the water and approach the green in three instead of four with a penalty shot. Also, don’t get too aggressive on the layup. I can’t tell you how many times, especially on a firm fairway, I have chosen too much club for the layup and ended up rolling into the water.

Sand can not only spell trouble, but a big number. I’m sure you’ve seen the cartoons where a golfer keeps taking swings at a ball in a bunker without advancing it. That can happen in real life. The first rule of bunker play is get the ball out. Sometimes if the lip is too steep you may have to mitch out sideways or even backward, but get the ball out.

One other thing I see, particularly with beginners is not judging the loft of a shot. Not only should you learn how far you hit each club. but you should learn how high you hit each club. If you are in the woods 100 yards from the green that isn’t automatically a wedge shot. Are there overhanging branches? Maybe an easy seven or five iron line drive shot would bale you out of trouble. True, it’s harder to judge the distance with a partial shot, a half swing or three-quarter swing, but you are looking to get out of trouble, not pull off a miracle shot… Unless it’s the last hole and you have to have a birdie to win.

Let me use a baseball analogy. Bob Gibson rarely threw to first base after he allowed a batter to reach. He figured I’ve already lost that guy now let me focus on the new hitter.

We may re-visit this subject in a later blog, but for now stay out of trouble and hit ’em straight!