In the Fairway

You've hit a great drive and your ball is in the fairway. Now what?

Just because you managed to make it this far, don't lose your concentration and assume that the job is over. There are still lots of things you need to do to get the ball into the hole in par or better.

The worst thing you can do is mess up a great drive by not paying attention to what comes next.

Are you close enough to the green that you can take dead aim at the flag?

If not, where should you be aiming your layup shot?

Is the ball sitting up or is it in an old divot?

Is the ball above or below your feet?

When you take your stance, are you standing on flat ground, or are you playing from an upslope or downslope?

Are there any hazards between your ball and your intended target?

If you mis-hit your shot, is it better to be long or short of your intended target?

What direction is the wind blowing from, and how might it affect your ball flight?

These are just some of the things you need to consider before you take your next shot. You should always have a pre-shot routine. Having a mental check list built in to your pre-shot routing will help you to identify potential problems BEFORE you take your shot. Playing from the fairway is a lot different than playing from the deep rough so your pre-shot checklist will be different. Some items will be the same no matter where you are playing from (e.g. are there any hazards between your ball and your intended target that you need to be concerned about?).

Some items to include in your pre-shot routine are:

• Is the ball sitting up or down?
• Is the ball above or below your feet?
• Is your stance level or are you on a slope?
• Do you need to play the ball forward or back in your stance?
• What club do you need to reach your target or avoid a hazard?
• Do you need to open or close the clubface in order to cut or draw the ball?

It doesn't take much time to go though this list of items, and pretty soon it will become second nature to you before you play any shot.

Once you start to trust your pre-shot routine, you will be able to concentrate on just taking your normal swing each time instead of having to adjust on the downswing because another thought just popped into your head.

Check back here for Fairway tips and guides.

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