Countless great golf swings are wasted by choosing the wrong club. It’s one of the worst feelings in golf to make a good swing, see the ball fly off in the correct direction, and then watch it fall way short of the target, or sail far beyond the green.
In this article, we’d like to help you hit the right club more often. Sure, you’ll always get it wrong from time to time, as that’s just part of golf, but some smart thinking and careful planning can leave the correct club in your hands more often than not.
Know Your True Distances
The first step in picking the right club as often as possible involves accepting a harsh dose of reality. That means acknowledging how far you actually hit your clubs on most shots, not how far you hit them when that one swing came together just perfectly a few rounds ago.
Put another way, just because you hit an 8-iron 150 yards on one occasion does not mean that your 8-iron is your 150-yard club. The distance you expect to get from a given club should never be based on an ideal, perfect scenario. When you pick clubs that way, you naturally start to overswing, knowing you have to rip it to reach the target. As a result, the quality of your swings goes down, and you hit more poor shots than you would have otherwise.
So, be honest with yourself. When you pick a club, use the one that is most likely to go the given distance, not the one that could reach the target only if you flush it. This tactic will put less pressure on your swing and allow you to relax a bit more on each shot.
Adjust for Four Key Variables
It’s easy in modern golf to get an accurate yardage to the target, especially when you use one of the products offered by Voice Caddie. But you can’t just look at the yardage alone and decide on a club. Instead, you need to factor in a few different variables while making your choice, including the four listed below.
The Lie of the Ball
Not all lies are made the same in golf. If you are on the tee, or you have a good lie in the middle of the fairway, you can expect to get your normal distance out of the swing. But what if your ball is down deep in the rough? That will surely reduce your carry distance. On the other hand, if the ball is sitting up on top of some fluffy rough, you may catch a “flier” and hit the ball even farther than normal. So always check the condition of your lie as a starting point before you do anything else.
Course Conditions
Take note of the condition of the turf at the start of each round. Is the ground hard, leading to plenty of bounce and roll after your shots land? Or is the turf soft from recent rain, meaning the ball is basically just going to stick wherever it lands? This factor impacts what club you should use, since a firm course with plenty of roll will require you to select a club that has your ball landing well short of the actual target.
The Wind
Playing golf on a windy day is always tricky. Gusty winds make everything about golf harder, and picking clubs is at the top of the list. Remember that hitting shots into the wind will cause your ball to balloon up into the air and fall short of its usual yardage, while hitting downwind will flatten out the flight and potentially give you a longer carry (although not always). You can’t always plan for the wind perfectly because of how quickly it can change, but it should be factored in on virtually every shot.
Elevation Change
Some golf courses are completely flat, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. You often have to deal with elevation change as you play, and learning how to adjust your club selection for such shots is both an art and a science. You may be able to use a rangefinder with a slope feature for help, but you’ll also need to accumulate some experience to get used to how much more or less yardage to play for given the elevation change you are facing.
Understand Your Miss Patterns
You should know your game better than anyone. With each shot you hit, you pick up valuable information about your patterns and what they mean for future shots. Specifically, pay attention to your misses and where your ball tends to be when each shot is finished. For example, if you tend to consistently come up short on approach shots, use that knowledge to your advantage and opt for an extra club more often than not. Accepting your patterns rather than denying they exist will lead you to using the right club more regularly.
Commit to Every Shot
No matter what club you end up using for a given shot, commit to swinging that club with complete confidence and conviction. Once the club is chosen and you are going through your pre-shot routine, you need to be done with any internal debate about whether or not you are holding the right stick. Swinging the wrong club with total belief is better than swinging the right club with doubt, after all.
Always Have the Right Number
A huge part of picking the right club is knowing exactly how far you have left to the target. There’s no room for guesswork in a game this hard. For reliable yardages that you can trust, Voice Caddie is here to help. We have a wide range of products designed specifically to make sure you know how far away the target is on each swing. Check out our Laser Rangefinders, GPS Watches, and Voice GPS products today to learn more.
FAQ
What's the single biggest mistake golfers make when picking a club? Basing the decision on their best-ever result with that club instead of their typical, repeatable distance.
Should I club up or down when I'm unsure? Generally club up. Coming up short brings more trouble into play (bunkers, water, the front of greens) than going slightly long.
Does wind really change distance that much? Yes — headwinds can cost significantly more yardage than golfers expect because the ball balloons, and tailwinds don't always add back as much as you'd think.
How do I find my real distances instead of guessing? Track a handful of shots per club, either at the range or on the course, and use the middle of that cluster — not the longest shot — as your working number.
