Instruction
Playing Lesson: How would you play these shots?
All too often, I see golfers frustrated and confused after taking lessons. Many practice diligently, but don’t see the results they want on their scorecard. They improve their game, skills and ball-striking, but not their score.
Often, this is due to scoring mistakes rooted in improper course management. No matter how drastic your improvements, if you’re still making the same mental errors, your scores won’t improve, at least not at the rate you want.
Below, I take you through some shots and situations I encountered while at Puerto Peñasco, just south of the border of Arizona on the Northern part of the Sea of Cortez, where the hilly lies and green-side slopes give you more than you can ask for by way of a challenge. I hope that offering my thoughts in this playing lesson will encourage you to think more critically during your rounds of golf.
Tee shot: Reachable Par-5
Here is the tee shot on No. 18. The fairway slopes from right to left, the wind blows from right to left and the fairway pinches in around the bunker on the left side of the fairway, which is the normal landing area.
As a reachable par-5, the risky play is to hit driver into the smallest part of the fairway. The slope of fairway and predominate wind could force the ball too far left into the deep bunker, however, where going for the green probably isn’t an option. The safer play is to hit a shorter club off of the tee, taking the bunker out of play, and aim for the widest part of the fairway, but from there it becomes a three-shot hole.
Which shot would you choose and why?
I do my best to make my golfing decisions through logic, not emotions, unless the state of the match dictates a different strategy. In this situation, I’ve hit 13 other tee shots on the day, so I should have a very good idea of how I’m playing and what type control my swing is providing. If I feel confident and the conditions are favorable, then I will hit driver in hopes of reaching the green in two.
If my misses that day are going right, I’ll hit fairway wood, since most of the trouble is on the right on this hole. But if my misses have been left, or hooking, then I may just aim a touch right and allow the wind and my hook to bring the ball back into the fairway. At worst, I’ll still be able to reach the green in three shots.
Remember to use your trends, confidence and the conditions to help you find the fairway off the tee. Sure, sometimes you will hit the ball out of play, but if you use all the information you have at hand you’ve done all you can do.
Where to lay up
After your tee shot (congrats on finding the fairway, by the way), you cannot reach the green and you have to lay up with a hybrid or long iron. The lay-up shot is to a fairway that slopes uphill from left to right, and the pin is cut on the right center of the green. From the picture below, you can see that most of the trouble is on the right side of the hole and the predominate wind is from right to left.
Where would you aim?
First of all, I take into account what yardage I want to have into the pin. Personally, I want to hit my lay-up shot as close to the green as I can, since that offers me the best chance to make birdie. This isn’t the case for everyone, however, so make sure to figure out the approximate distance you want into the green, then subtract that from your total to the green.
For me, I want to lay up with the longest club I can where I KNOW I’ll have no trouble finding the fairway a majority of the time. Once I have selected this club, the next thing I must do is make sure I find the best “look” to the pin for my third shot. Let me show you what I mean, because simply being on the correct side of the fairway can make your next shot easier or harder.
Option 1
Option 2
Both options have the same yardage to pin, but are from different sections of the fairway.
- Option 1 offers a clear shot into the pin and the ability to use the slope to my advantage with a left-to-right shot.
- Option 2 shows the look from the far right side of the fairway, leaving me an uphill, partly blind shot into the pin with a false front short of the pin.
As we know, whenever you hit the ball from an upslope you can usually guarantee that you’ll leave the ball short. If you do so here, the false front will grab your ball and funnel it down farther short and right of the green, leaving you a difficult fourth shot for your up and down.
Remember, your goal is to leave yourself the best yardage possible for your strengths AND to make sure you leave yourself an angle into the pin that works for the conditions and your normal shot pattern. There’s nothing worse than blocking yourself off from the pin location due to improper planning on a lay-up shot. Watch the Masters next month and you will see what I mean; when players leave the ball in the wrong place, they have issues making pars, let alone birdies!
The long bunker shot
Here’s an example of a shot that haunts the average golfer, and can certainly cause a blow-up hole that ruins your handicap and score for the day. So let’s take a look at the situation.
We’ve bailed out right on an approach shot, and now we’re faced with a long bunker shot with fairway between the green and the pin. The wind is into us, the fairway and green run away from us toward the ocean, and the conditions are firm. The ball won’t hold the green unless we’ve hit the shot nearly perfectly.
What kind of shot would you play here?
Most people in this situation would try and pick the ball out of the bunker, or hit a long bunker shot with a sand wedge onto the green. Both shots are lower percentage because, first of all, very few practice these shots and secondly, there are red stakes just past the green.
What would a better player do from here? The first thing I would examine is the lie and the lip of the bunker. As you can see, the ball is sitting up very nicely and the lip is basically out of play, which gives us a few other options. The next thing I would examine is the firmness of the sloping fairway in front of the green. As stated earlier, the slope is running toward the green, and since the wind is blowing there is no moisture in the grass to help stop the ball.
So what’s my best play? I would first make sure I took the big number out of play. By hitting a picked shot or long bunker shot with a sand wedge, I can make a 2, 3, 4, 5, or even more. But if I choose a higher percentage shot like a bump-and-run, landing the ball well short of the green and depending on roll to get it there, or a bunker shot with an 7, 8 or 9 iron, both options take big numbers out of the picture. Sure, I could hit the safe shot like a buffoon and make a big number, but the odds are that I won’t and a par or bogey is the worst I’ll make.
Sometimes, being a hero or trying to “look” like a Tour Player is out of the question because of the risk/reward. Personally, I would look at this shot as one where I hit a bad approach and I need to escape with nothing worse than a bogey. The odds of me making par are slim, so let’s not make double trying to get cute.
Remember that hitting the “right” shot is not always the one that gives you the most style points in the end.
Flop, or not?
This is a very typical green-side shot that gives people fits and usually causes much more anxiety than it should.
Think about how you would play this shot.
Here you can see that we have our ball just off the green, but we have to loft a shot in the air to a tight pin with a green that’s running away from us. Most of the time, I see the lob wedge coming out and the Phil Mickelson super-flop swing warming up!
As you know, these are shots that beg to be left short on the mound, giving you the opportunity to hit the same shot all over again! So what’s the best play?
Take your time to look around the pin… what do you see? There’s a backstop just past, which means we won’t have to hit the super flop and can use a more square-face shot, which offers more consistency. From here, you can make your normal pitch swing, land the ball between the fringe and the pin, run it up the slope, and watch it drift backward down to the pin again. Two chances to make it for birdie!
Not every shot requires you to hit the super flop. The key for most players is to opt for the shot that’s easiest for them to pull off time after time, and still allows them to get up and down. Phil practices flop shots every week at a tournament site, while you probably only play on the weekends and rarely practice your short game.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the backstop and take short and the mound out of play? Chances are you’ll hit a better shot than you think and won’t even need the backstop.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Richard Grime
Apr 21, 2016 at 9:20 am
How come all of you WRXers are hitting a hard draw 330 down the pipe. I’m off 9 and hit a hard draw 230 if I Flush it!
Other Paul
Apr 1, 2016 at 9:54 pm
If Stickney is using a long iron or hybrid im sure everyone on WRX is hitting a 7iron. Except Mark Crossfield… He he he. Just kidding. I love Mark. Though seriously, i would be hitting the 7 iron if Mr.Stickney is hitting a hybrid ????
Allan
Apr 1, 2016 at 9:00 pm
Great article. The last scenarios would’ve been clearer if there were estimated distances to the pin.
Brandon
Apr 1, 2016 at 12:11 am
Why can’t I just carry the bunker on the drive, and a hard draw with a sand wedge out of the bunker??
devilsadvocate
Apr 1, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Well for starters if you carry the bunkur your not playing your next shot from the bunker
Brandon
Apr 2, 2016 at 12:36 pm
LOL…..true very very true
Robert
Mar 31, 2016 at 8:08 pm
It took me 26 years of hitting golf balls before I finally learned how to play golf. My bad rounds went from being in the low to mid 80’s to mid to high 70’s. I quit trying to hit every shot straight and perfect at the flag. I instead played a game where I played to the right spots of the course working the ball left and right when needed. It was a giant wake up call.
SV
Mar 31, 2016 at 7:15 pm
Reachable par 5. 3 wood, lay up to option 2. Reason: left-handed hooker. Option 1 appears to leave the ball above the feet, accentuating a hook. Therefore the shot comes in hotter, making it harder to hold the green. For option 2 play 5 yards past the pin and don’t fool with the false front. Result: shot at birdie with a “certain” par.
John Daly
Mar 31, 2016 at 5:59 pm
pick up your ball and start drinking is always the right answer
Philip
Mar 31, 2016 at 3:31 pm
At the end of last season it finally clicked how to play the percentages and that aiming directly at the flag is not necessarily the best option for a low score.
Brad
Mar 31, 2016 at 1:49 pm
Fantastic article… Very well thought out, and extremely practical. Keep it up Tom, this was a great read! Maybe because I sided with most of your decisions… but nonetheless, great job.
Christen_the_sloop
Mar 31, 2016 at 9:24 am
Had me until lay-up.
Ian
Mar 31, 2016 at 3:16 pm
Ain’t no shame in a snowman if you were going for it in two.
Joey5picks
Mar 31, 2016 at 6:15 pm
So a boldly-made 8 is better than a conservatively-made 4 or 5? Are you available to play some money games? I could use the extra cash.
Ian
Apr 1, 2016 at 12:20 am
Hero over conservative any day. There is an article on wrx showing that aggressive play wins out over loss aversion.
SouthbayZ
Apr 1, 2016 at 4:30 pm
If Im not mistaken the article you’re referring to talks about the methods of tour players with tour player short game and recovery abilities. Single digit scrambling percentage folks might benefit from conservative play.
Christen_the_sloop
Apr 1, 2016 at 11:09 am
Every hole I play these days has OB left and right. Taught me to focus a lot more and not worry about the result. I’m slinging a draw out there 330 odd yards down the pipe.