During a round of golf, you are required to play several types of shot, all of which are different. You will use a different club from the tee of a straight par-5 hole to that of a short par-3 hole.
Throughout the round you will use different irons, a putter, a wedge and possibly a fairway wood or hybrid club. There are specific situations where there is only one choice of which club to use, such as on the green for example.
However, just because you are on the tee of a par-4 or par-5 hole, does not mean you must pull the driver out of your bag. This is one of the biggest mistakes an amateur golfer will make during a round. They will step up to the tee and see it is a par-4 or par-5 and go straight for the driver but this is not always the right club.
The top professional players do not use their driver as often as you may think and will tend to pull it out of their bag eight or nine times on average during a round of golf. The reason for this is because they are managing the course and judging each hole individually based on its characteristics rather than the distance to the green.
When on the tee of any hole, look where the widest part of the fairway is located. If, by landing your ball there, it leaves you a decent second shot towards the green, which you can manage, choose a club which will get your ball to this area of the fairway. It may be a hybrid or long iron and that’s fine, you do not always need to have your driver in your hand on the tee.
Furthermore, the driver can be very hard to control, especially if you are feeling nervous. If you are feeling a little anxious heading into the first few holes of your round, why not leave the driver in the bag? Choose a more conservative club off the tee and get yourself on the fairway for the first three holes and once you build some confidence, then opt to use the driver.
If you can see there are hazards on the hole, such as bunkers or water, assess the distance to them from the tee and if you are likely to reach them with the driver. Even if they are to the left or right of the fairway, if they are within reach of your driver, all it takes is for you to be a little off centre and your ball will be in trouble.
In this instance, select a slightly shorter club, which you can swing aggressively but know you will never reach the hazard. This is also a good tip if you have been using the driver earlier in your round but have been struggling to keep the ball on the fairway. Do not risk hitting the ball into the hazard when you can use a different club and guarantee the ball will be safe, giving you a nice second shot.
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