I do not care whether I am in the middle of the fairway, first cut, deep in the woods, or any place but in the water, every golf shot has multiple, if not infinite, possibilities. Now, before you start writing a curt response, take a deep breath and think. There, feel better? I bet you do. Now that you are ready to read on with an open mind, lets use one simple example and you will see what I mean.

Before we examine the shot in mind, I thought I would provide an image to help the discussion along:

The ball is 15 yards from the green, under a tree. The lie is good and I could stand without hitting any limbs. I could not take a full swing. There is a bit of a dip right before the green to consider, but it was not more than one foot deep. The pin was 20 yards on the green, basically in the middle.

Without digging too deep, I believe I have three reasonable shots I can make that would match the results above. They are with 3 different clubs and require 3 different approaches.

The first is with a sand wedge. I hit the ball just over the top of the hill in the back of my stance so it lands on the green about 5 yards and releases to the pin…..if I hit it cleanly. If I do not, it ends up sort. However, by being aggressive, this is the best shot for getting the ball the closest.

Second is with my pitching wedge. Again just over the top of the hill and the ball lands about 10 yards on the green. I place the ball in the back of my stance. Hitting the ball clean and we will beside the pin. Hit is a bit fat and I am still on the green but with a put at par.

Last option is with a 7 iron. I hit the ball into the back about 3/4 the way up and let the ball bounce on to the green. The chances of getting the ball on the green, regardless of contact, is best. However, I have very little control as to how the ball will come off the hill and release going forward. This is an option, but not my first choice.

As you can see, I quickly laid out three possible realistic shots. If I was to sit an analyse this shot further, I could come up with many possibilities that might work. So, to prove my point, there are many realistic possibilities for every golf shot!

On a side note, I used a sand wedge and played my shot aggressively. I was about 4 yards from the pin and made the 12 footer for birdie. I was very happy with the shot and even happier with the putt.

So, not it is your turn! What shot do you see?

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