Most golfers think eighteen holes of golf is one game. Actually, every time you step onto the tee you're playing a new game. You start over with a score of zero. Your first shot, the tee shot, determines in large how that game will come out. Here's how to give yourself the greatest advantage.
In general, choose the club that gives you the best chance of getting the ball in the fairway and which sets up the hole to hit a reliable shot into the green. At times, that will preclude your driver.
Let's talk about the driver, since it seems to be everyone's favorite club. Figure out what club you want to hit into the green in regulation. Use your driver if you need it to be able to hit that club.
Here's an example. On a 480-yard par 5, most recreational golfers can't reach that in two. A driver and a hybrid iron or fairway wood would leave about 50-80 yards to the green. This is an awkward distance to play from. Try hitting your fairway wood and iron from the tee to the fairway, and a 9-iron into the green.
Or on a short par 4, could be a driver that I leave you with a gradient in the green, rather than a full stroke. These holes can be smaller, with more risk, a lesser club from the tee is not so green, the double task of keeping the ball in play when you leave a comfortable distance from the ball.
The T-Box Hit is important. If you tend to get the ball from left to right,tee up near the right side tee marker and aim left. That gives you the entire width of the fairway to swing the ball back in play. Similarly, if you're a right to left player, tee up near the left tee marker and aim right.
Many players overlook the place where they want to hit the ball toward off the tee. Getting the ball in the fairway means not only hitting it straight, but also straight at the right place. Walk out on a par 4 to the place where you want to play into the green from. Now look ahead on a line from the tee to this spot to find an aiming mark for the next time you play.
On a par 5, you must find out how far the green is from where your tee shots normally end up. Sprinkler heads aren't usually marked that far out, so you'll need to step it off from some landmark to the 200- or 150-yard marker. This distance is important to know because you can choose the club that lets you hit to your desired distance for your approach into the green.
On a par 3 hole, add seven yards to the listed yardage and choose your club on that basis. This is because the ball is hit from a tee, and you will get more height than normal. The ball won't go as far.
If you build these ideas into your game, you won't see the strokes being saved, but you won't have to wonder why you scores are going down.
