Course Management 2: Tee Box Strategy to Set Up the Hole

Tee shot strategy is about much more than just pulling out the driver and aiming for the fairway. It's about understanding the design of the hole, knowing your own game, and choosing a plan that gives you the highest probability of success. It's about putting your ball in "Position A" for your next shot.

Here are a few common scenarios and how a smart golfer thinks their way through them.

How do you plot your way around a dogleg left?

• The Amateur Play: The hole turns sharply to the left, and the corner is protected by trees. The amateur golfer sees the green on the GPS, pulls out the driver, and tries to hit a big, high draw over the trees to cut the corner. The result? 9 times out of 10, the ball doesn't draw enough and ends up in the trees, blocked out, or out of bounds.
• The Smart Play: Identify the widest part of the fairway at the corner of the dogleg. Pull out a club that you know cannot reach the trouble on the far side of that corner-maybe a 3-wood or a hybrid. Aim for the outside half of the corner. This gives you a massive landing area and the perfect angle to approach the green. Yes, it might leave you with a 7-iron instead of a wedge, but it's a 7-iron from the middle of the fairway, which is a far better position than being punched out of the woods.

How do you play when trouble lives down one side?

• The Amateur Play: Sees the water hazard down the entire right side of the hole. They aim for the far-left edge of the fairway to "stay away" from the trouble. The problem is, for most right-handed amateurs, their miss is a slice to the right. By aiming left, they've actually pointed their natural miss directly at the hazard.
• The Smart Play: Use the tee box to your advantage. Tee the ball up on the right side of the tee markers. This creates a better angle for you to aim up the left side of the hole, away from the water. Now, aim your body and your club down the left rough line. If you hit it straight, you're safe in the left rough. If you hit your stock fade, the ball drifts into the middle of the fairway. If you hit your big miss (the slice), it now has the entire width of the fairway to land in before it ever gets to the water.

What's the smart plan on a short drivable par 4?

• The Amateur Play: Sees the yardage is under 300 and immediately gets stars in their eyes. The driver comes out, and they swing out of their shoes trying to drive the green. They don't notice that the green is tiny and protected by six deep bunkers. Their miss ends up in a plugged lie in the sand, turning an easy birdie chance into a fight for bogey.
• The Smart Play: Work the hole backwards. Ask yourself, "What is my favourite, most confident wedge distance?" Let's say it's 100 metres. If the hole is 280 metres, the smart play is to hit an iron or hybrid 180 metres. Pick the club that you know you can hit straight into the widest part of the fairway. This leaves you with a full swing from your favourite distance, which gives you the highest probability of hitting it close. It's a much easier and more reliable way to make a birdie.

Your goal off the tee is not always to hit it as far as possible. It's to hit it to the spot that gives you the best chance for an easy next shot.

Need help stitching that plan to the rest of the hole? Course Management Basics: The hidden fundamental keeps the decision tree tight, and Course Management 3: The Art of the Approach Shot shows how to capitalise on the landing areas you pick.

What are the quick questions golfers keep asking?

Q: How do you pick a tee shot when the fairway pinches on one side?
A: Work backward from the safest landing area. If water guards the right, aim left centre with the shape you trust most.

Q: When should you actually try to drive a short par four?
A: Only when the trouble is minimal and the lie is perfect. Otherwise lay back to your favourite wedge yardage.