The biggest mistake I see golfers make is they are overconfident in their abilities when hitting shots on the course. If a player has 175 yards to the pin with a flat lie and no wind, they often choose their 7-iron because they hit it perfectly 175 yards one time. The player’s stock shot is a small fade, but they need to hit a draw because the flag is tucked to the left side of the green. A miss left brings a bunker, or even worse, water into play. A player takes an aggressive target at the flag trying to hit a draw, their lack of trust in the shot forces a hook and they miss left of the green plugging in the bunker. From there a bad bunker shot leads to a three putt and a double. If the player had picked the conservative target with the proper club, they could have hit it to the middle of the green and two putted for par!
When assessing an approach shot, the pros check for the “best miss.” If there is a bunker short of the green, being past the hole is the “best miss”. If the green slopes severely from back to front, and being above the hole is going to lead to a three putt, miss short of the hole. Another thing to think about is the strengths of your game. Professional golfers are fantastic bunker players and will often aim towards a greenside bunker instead of leaving themself a shortsided chip in the deep rough.
Once you pick your club, find your target line. I prefer to pick an intermediate target (an article will be coming out soon on how to do this) when I line up. The intermediate target will line up on your target line and give you the best play for your standard shot. I do not like to see players attempt to hit anything other than their standard shot unless they are forced to based on the situation.
Once the club and target are picked it is time to trust your line and make a confident swing!
For more information on the mental game, Jeb recommends Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game by Dr. Gio Valiante. Click the attached link to get it from Amazon.
