There are certain moments in a round of golf when you just know you’re in good shape for a par. Good drive, good lie, green in reach … but somehow you walk off with a bogey. You can’t always fix the topped shot or the chunk. Those are swing mistakes. But some of the strokes you’re giving away aren’t swing mistakes at all.
They’re club selection mistakes and they are fixable.
1. Reaching for extra loft around the green when the putter or something low and running is the smarter play
You’re close; there’s nothing to carry and the highest-percentage shot is putting it or bumping a low-lofted club along the ground. It may not even be your preferred shot but it’s the better play. In these situations, think about your worst miss. Is the high-lofted club or the lower-lofted smaller motion more likely to produce the big miss?
If you genuinely can’t putt it, the fix isn’t more loft. Keep it low and let it run rather than adding air time and swing mechanics you don’t need.
2. Taking a high-lofted sand wedge from a bunker when the lip is low and there’s green to work with
The 58-degree with a short, steep swing is a hard shot when it comes to bunker distance control. A lower-lofted wedge (52 degree maybe) played with a normal bunker technique and more room to work with is the simpler, more repeatable shot. Save the maximum loft for when the lip demands it.
3. Laying up to avoid one club and then walking into trouble with the club you hit
You don’t want to hit 3-wood to approach a par-5 so you lay up.
You choose to hit your 6-iron and put it right into a fairway bunker about 100 yards from the green. We’ve looked at a lot of numbers on laying up and going for it. Most golfers do better by going for the green because they tend to end up at least closer to the green with a better chance of hitting it on their third shot.
The decision to lay up isn’t necessarily a mistake. However, if you’re going to be less aggressive, you better be putting yourself in a perfect spot.
4. Playing to the pin instead of the center of the green when you don’t know your carry numbers
If you haven’t nailed down how far you carry each club, playing an exact number to a tucked pin is a guess. Until you know your carry distances, play to the center of the green every time. It’s the only number you can trust.
When you learn what your carry numbers are, you can get a little more aggressive in situations where it makes sense.
5. Grabbing a hybrid or fairway wood from a buried or deep-rough lie when a lofted iron is the play
This is one of those “take your medicine” situations. The hybrid is often a go-to club for amateurs from the rough. I agree it’s a great tool but there are some shots that are so buried even the hybrid is a poor choice. Sometimes, you just need to advance the ball with a 9-iron or a wedge and play your next shot from there.
While this could end up leaving you with a bogey, there’s a good chance it will take double off the table. Sometimes the smart club is the one that guarantees contact, not the one that matches the yardage.
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