Attack the pin

To revolutionize your scoring without changing your technique on bit, attack the pin. By that I mean to hit the ball from the fairway to hole-high or beyond.

First of all, trouble around the green is usually in front. By having enough club to get to the flag, you'll take all that out of play. A longer shot that is lightly off-line does not get penalized as harshly as a shorter one.

Second, the only way you can get the ball in the hole is to get the ball to the hole. Do I expect you to start sinking 5-irons from the fairway? No. But I do expect you to open up the possibility, and leave yourself with a makable birdie putt when you don't.

Even when you're pitching or chipping, get the ball up to the hole and past it. A chip that stops three feet short is nowhere near as good as one that went three feet past. The second one might have gone in.

One of the problems with the strategy is that it doesn't look, from the fairway, like there is that much room behind the pin to miss long. There is, but the low angle of view you have foreshortens the green, making the pin look closer to the back than it really is.

Play to the pin and don't worry about what you see.

If you carry the ball over the green every so often, so what? There aren't any lions lurking back there to devour you. Just chip on a start putting. Besides, if you do fly the green, you were probably shooting at a pin that was in back anyway, meaning you have a short chip and a good chance for an up-and-down.

How do you do this? From the fairway, figure your distance to the pin and add three yards. Then pick your club. That's not a big adjustment, but it is enough to set your mind past your target. Too often, if we think about hitting a target, we end up short of it.


Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com