During the final round of the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods taught us all the importance of hitting fairways.
Or did he?
His final round 64 was a remarkable round. What was even more remarkable, however, is that he hit ZERO fairways on the front nine.
What would you shoot if you hit zero fairways for nine holes?
One of the greatest differences between good players and less than good players is their ability to recover from a poor tee shot.
This is a skill that Woods is greater at than perhaps any other player in the history of the game. You don’t need to be as remarkable as him, but you should focus on improving this aspect of your game.
A poor tee shot should not necessarily lead to a high score. Instead, it creates an opportunity for you to make the proper decision on your next shot.
Learn to recognize those moments when you can risk a miraculous second shot from the trees, versus when to play more conservatively to avoid even greater danger.
Once you learn how to better recover from a poor tee shot, your golf swing will become more fluid and confident from the tee.
The mistake I see most amateur golfers make is a tentative swing from the tee due to their fear of where the ball might end up.
If you watch players on tour, you will notice how aggressive they remain with their swings, even when there is trouble lurking up ahead.
You should do that, too.
The only way you will ever reach your true potential as a golfer is to play without fear from the tee.
If you happen to hit your tee shot into trouble, forget about it and go try to salvage your score on that hole.
You’ll soon start to realize that hitting fairways isn’t always necessary to play a good round of golf.
Just ask Woods.
