Golf is hard. Nobody that plays this sport will say anything different. A fraction of an inch here and the ball comes off the club in a different way than you were planning. A small incidental twist of your hands and maybe you never see that ball again as it sails into the woods. Its not only hard to hit the shot you want every time, its damn impossible. This is why it is so important to not compound mistakes when you are playing. Don’t think “Oh I gotta make up for that drive since I’m now shooting my 3rd shot after the drop”. This is how you end up with a triple bogey when you could have saved yourself a stroke or two. So far in this 2023 PGA season, less than 15 professional players hit the fairway on 70% of their tee shots – and some are even as low as 40%! So keep that in mind when you are getting frustrated on your next fairway miss.
Once you’ve taken your drop, or are taking your 3rd shot because your last one was topped 15 yards, or whatever the case may be, the first thing you’ll want to do is understand your situation and keep your composure.
Know that if you are 220 yards out you will almost certainly not reach the green, so don’t take out your big club if you aren’t comfortable with it and start swinging for the fences like you’re Benny the Jet. Take notice of where the ball lies, if its above or below your feet, what obstacles are in your way? What direction is the wind blowing? All of this can and will factor into the shot. If you have to take a punch shot because theres too many trees in your way, then do that instead of hoping to get lucky which will cost you yet another stroke if you don’t. If there’s a bunker straight ahead right in front of the green, perhaps clubbing down and leaving it short is the best move, that will allow you to finish strong with an up-and-down. Playing the best high percentage shot you can will go a long way for your score. You may want to drive that par 4 that looks to be in reach, but the chances of that are slim, and making those decisions over and over can lead to you shooting a score of 103 as opposed to perhaps a 95 – which is a very respectable score for a new golfer (45% of all golfers average more than 100!)
Golf is a big mental game, you don’t want to get in your own head and let your anger affect swing after swing. Not only will you see your score continue to get worse, you also wont be having fun. And when you are having fun in golf, man oh man is it one of the best activities you can do.
So next time you turn into Aquaman and need to fish your ball out of the water, before taking that next shot after dropping, take a deep breath, analyze the situation, and make the smart decision! Making the right call and settling for a bogey is much better than risking a 1 in 1000 chance shot that most likely will end up resulting in a triple.
2 OFF THE TEE 