WOW! The weather sure has been nice! For those that were here over the summer…..I think we paid our dues! : ) We are in prime golf time and I hope that everyone gets out as much as possible to enjoy not only the weather, nature, friends, and family, but THE single greatest past time/sport of all……GOLF. Through Halloween…I am offering a 6 Week Learning Program for the price of a 4. You WILL get better and have more fun! Thank you to all that have written in and shared your thoughts! Please keep up the contact…..the interaction is priceless.

A good friend of mine {Bill Lytton} said to me one time that playing golf riding in a golf car will cost you about 3 or 4 strokes a round. This is actually a relatively accurate statement, especially if the car rule for the day is car paths only. How many times have you gotten to your ball on the other side of the fairway only to find out that it is 20 yards further out than you thought and the wind is stronger than you had anticipated? Now you are 50 yards from the car, the group behind you is on the tee, and you are now in a pickle. For those that haven’t been in a “pickle” that is a “predicament”. : ) What do you do? Run back to the golf car, just hit what you have, yell at your friend {who is 20 yards away} to throw you another club? Your chance of success with any of those answers is not very high. The same can be said for shots around the green. Most people are not going to hit more than 9 greens a round…so there is going to be a lot of chippitching going on. Most courses will not allow a golf car closer than 30 yards of the green. Again….have you ever gotten to your ball and the lie was worse than you thought or you had more or less green to work with than you thought? Were you lucky and have the correct club or did you just make the best of what you had with you? Again….your chances of success are not very high if you have the wrong club with you. First……having the correct club will certainly give you a better chance of hitting a good shot, but also it gives you peace of mind. If you have the wrong club and know it…..there will be doubt….and when there is doubt……your chances of success are slim at best. Not to mention if you have both.

Here is a simple way of upping your chances to have the correct club if you are playing on car paths only and when you are around the green. When choosing the club you think you are going to need, simply also take one club higher and one club lower. So, if you figure you need a 7 iron….take also the 6 and the 8. If you are around the green and think you need a pitching wedge…take also your 9 iron and gap or sand wedge. You may be lugging around a few extra clubs, but the peace of mind and assurance of probably having the correct club in hand is worth it! The wind can easily be blowing more in the fairway than where the car path is and your perception of distance to the hole or the amount of green you have to work with can be totally different from the ball than from the car path.

You may already do this. If so that is great…if not….try it…..seldom will you have the wrong club again when you are away from your bag. You will have peace of mind knowing that and will not be rushed.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know how much it helps and stay in touch. I ALWAYS enjoy your feedback and discussion! Please ask ANY questions. Email me at [email protected]

The very best to you and yours!

Very Sincerely

Brad Clayton, PGA MP

Brad Clayton is a PGA of America Master Professional in Teaching, the Carolinas PGA Teacher of the Year in 2008, and ranked by Golf Digest as a Top Ten instructor in North Carolina.