Hitting A Golf Shot That Works

/ The Grateful Golfer

Every golfer I know has a golf shot that they hit with great consistency. I know I have a few from varying distances which I developed over the years. Each shot does not always fit the shot at hand, but it allows me to hit safely in order to save strokes in the long run. These shots allow me to hit to safe locations at distances within 5 to 10 yards ( plus or minus) of my know distance. It is important to have these shots in our bag if we want to shoot low golf scores on a consistent basis. Do you have a shot or shots that you consider reliable more often than not?

I have four ‘go to’ clubs that make my life easier on the links. They allow me to set up my course strategy or return to my strategy after a wayward shot. Fortunately, my four clubs cover a variety of distances regardless of the situation. It is because of these sticks that I am able to consistently shoot in the 70s or low 80s depending on the course.

First, my driver off the tee. I am very accurate with the big stick and hit where I aim (most of the time 😉 ). I generally carry my driver about 230 or 240 yards about 60% of the time. The important aspect of this club is that it is accurate and I am in fairway or in the first cut when my ball comes to rest. I have worked on this club for years and my efforts have paid off. My only drawback is distance. I would love to hit my driver another 10 or 15 yards, but alas that is not to be given my controlled swing.

Second in my 4 hybrid. I kind of stumbled into this club when I bought my Mizuno clubs a few years back. My 4 hybrid travels about 180 yards on average, but I can hit it from just about anywhere. I can make solid contact on the ball regardless of the lie. It is truly my rescue club and I use it that way after a wayward shot. I say I stumbled onto this club after hitting it well at the beginning. I gained confidence with it and now it is considered a ‘go to’ club.

Third is my 8 iron. This club travels about 145 yards on average and I try to use in for most of my approach shots. The aspect I like most about this club is the contact it makes on the ball. For some reason, the ball launches off the clubface on the line that I choose. If I am not on the green when hitting with this club, I am very disappointed because of my high expectations for success. To be fair, I am confident with my 7 and 9 irons as well, however my 8 iron is the club for me.

The last club that I rely upon the most is my putter. I feel I am generally a strong putter regardless of the distance. To be fair to the other clubs, I have spent the most time developing my putter stroke. Most of the time it does not fail me and allows me to save pars and bogeys when things look dire. My putter is definitely the most import club in my bag.

As you read my four clubs of choice. I want to offer a bit of unsolicited advice. If you are developing your game at this time. Start in reverse order from those presented in the article today. Being able to hit less shots close the pin will lower your golf score. Being able to get up and down 50% of the time will save you strokes. Having a rescue club will save strokes. Hitting in play off the tee will save strokes. I think you get my point. However, the most saved strokes by amateurs are those made on the green.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

5 thoughts on “Hitting A Golf Shot That Works”

  1. I’ve solved the distance problem. All we need is a 40 mph breeze at our backs and 300 yard bombs are ours to be had. 😂

    Hit the last par 5 in two today thanks to the wind. Driver, 7 wood. 475 yard slight dogleg left. Didn’t get the best connection with the driver but the wind saved me. Left me 225 for the second shot. My 7 wood only flies 190, but today it flew all the way to the green when I thought I was laying up.

    Now all I gotta do is train it to stay behind me. 🤪 You know, like they do in the simulator when they’re trying to sell us a new driver. 🤣

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  2. We had gusts topping 40 mph so I needed golf shots that worked more than usually this week. I left the bigger clubs in the bag most of the time even though I felt I could make them work. Better to be safe when the winds are that strong. A shorter club may leave a longer shot in, but I’ll make fewer and less costly mistakes with a shorter club.

    My 5 hybrid will go 190 all day off the tee. It won’t carry that far into that strong a breeze but it’ll get there if there’s nothing in the way. So I hit it more often that not. I can fly it low and that takes most of the problems the wind brings out of the equation.

    Having reasonable expectations, playing within our ability, hitting shots we know we can hit rather than trying to force something we have little confidence in. That’s how we hit golf shots that work.

    Now that the wind is gone, I’m back to forcing myself to hit more draw shots. They still don’t feel as comfortable as they used to and I’m still not hitting them naturally. I have to force the issue. But I’m seeing them turn. And hitting some good shots with the draw swing. Yesterday I came close to acing a par 4 with the prettiest tall tiny draw I’ve hit in years. I found the divot two feet left and 4 feet short of the pin and the ball came out backwards leaving me about 8 feet for eagle. Lipped it unfortunately. But the shot is what I’ll remember. It’s the flight I want to see me hit more often.

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