How often in a round do have an approach shot you know that your 7 iron will end up short but your 6 iron will go too far? My guess it is too many. There are times where we set up to play to a certain part of the fairway but we do not execute well. However most times we just aim at a target and try to hit the ball as far as we can. Now if you have been playing golf for a while you will probably have a good idea of how far you hit each club. Knowing your distances for each golf club is not enough.

These in between shot are difficult for a couple of reasons. You feel uncomfortable and you are unsure of the type of shot you need to play of even what club to use. So mentally you are not in the right mind set to play the upcoming shot. The trouble that lurks around the target begin to look bigger and become more terrifying.

Or physically you do not know how to play the shot to get a reasonable result. Even if you hit your best 7 iron you will still end up short of the green. With the 6 iron you know that you will hit the ball too far with your normal distance leaving yourself with a difficult putt or possibly missing the green altogether. How often have you practiced a 3/4 length 6 iron shot? Do you know how far the partial shot will carry or react on the green?

If you physically do not know how to play the shot then how can you prepare yourself mentally? How is your confidence over the ball before you hit the shot?

Know how far you hit your clubs is one step in course strategy. Playing to these yardages should be one of your goals while playing. Touring professionals try their best to hit to their yardages especially if they have to lay up on a long par 5 or if they cannot reach a short par 4 with their drive. They would rather hit a full wedge to a green with a shot they have more control over then a partial wedge or pitch shot.

Here is a simple strategy I use. Instead of hitting driver off every tee I will hit a fairway wood, utility club or long iron to a certain yardage in the fairway. By doing this I am trying to increase my chances of making a full swing rather than a partial swing. I feel I can control a full swing better than a half or 3/4 swing. I don’t play or practice as often as I used to so I don’t feel comfortable playing shots that I do not practice. My goal on each hole, other than par 3’s, is to leave myself a full shot on my appraoch to the greens. I personally feel more confident having these full shots and having that extra confidence can help you execute shots better.

Get to know your distances with each club and use this knowledge to your advantage in setting up your appraoch shots on par 4’s and par 5’s. Play to your strengths. For myself I like to hit tee shots that leave a full shot to the green. If you are more comfortable hitting your driver as far as you can to have the smallest yardage possible then bombs away.