What type of shot should I play in this situation ?

[bjoern2796]

Hi,

when I am on the first tee of my golfcourse I don't reall y know what type of shot I should play to avoid trouble. On the right side there is Out of Bounds and on the left side there are trees everywhere. And there are a few branches hanging out from the right side. So you must watch out when you want to play a draw. On the right is OUT OF BOUNDS, so you could play a draw to avoid that trouble. But the branches are making you crazy. And when you play a fade the ball could fade to much and is in OUT OF BOUNDS. What type of shot should I play or would you play ? I play with a Driver.

The tee from DL :

[billchao]

How far do you hit your driver? Personally, I'd tee off on the left side and play the draw away from OB, hit my 200-215 club and take that bunker out of play. An approach from 130-140 is perfectly reasonable and I've taken all the trouble out of the shot. The idea here is that I'm willing to miss in the trees because (rough estimates here) I'll lose half a stroke on average in the woods, two strokes OB and a little under one from the fairway bunker so I'm giving myself the best chance at a low score if I'm miss towards the trees. Also, if that map is accurate, the fairway is also widest just short of that bunker. Go with the percentage play here.

[Spudmonkey]

342 Long?

4-5 Iron of the tee, punched, setup on right side of tee box aiming for the bunkers on the left, with the idea of playing the punch with a slight touch of cut.

Best case middle of fairway with about 140 - 160 left, worst case maybe left semi just short of bunker, looking down the green.

A lot depends on your club yardages, but a driver seems like asking for trouble on this hole.

[Harmonious]

The architect is TELLING you how to play the hole. Where is the widest part of the fairway? Play just short of the bunker, say 200 yards. Gives you a short iron into the green. Playing driver is not a smart play.

[MEfree]

I agree with the other posters...hit a 200-215 shot that you know you won`t miss right..this could either be a cut off the bunker or a draw that starts at the middle of the fairway- whichever has less of a chance of missing right for you.

I am a lefty and would probably play a 4 or 5 iron with a slight draw off the right edge of the bunker (depending on wind and firmness of the fairway)..

[imtomtomim]

I am thinking like spudmonkey.  Hit a club that gets you between 125-150 from the center of green, (right before the fw bunker).  I would most likely hit a 5i.  Since you sound a bit worried about the right side, start on the right side of the tee box.  Now for the last bit of reliability, punch that ball low.  It's not like you need to stop it immediately and keeping it low gives it the least chance of curving far off line or losing the fight with the wind.  I do want to be on the left side of the fairway so I can have that strip of apron  to run up, but really it wouldn't matter too much.  From that kind of range, I know my shots will stop pretty close to the ball mark.

Another reason I wouldn't use driver is the fact that I don't want to be hitting a 'tweener pitch shot on the first hole.  I want to get an idea of how my short irons are flying that day.  I can say, hey, my 9i went 135 instead of 132, maybe I'm a touch longer today.  Full swing short irons, for me, are where my game is strongest and most reliable.  Setting those shots up, sets me up for more scoring opportunities.

[onesome]

Two options, play from right side of tees and aim towards trap and hit a fade 200-220, other option is tee up left side with driver and aim right edge of fairway and draw around the trap, I do notice there appears to be some opening past the trap down the left side. It really depends on the moment on how you feel but that looks like the options.

[onesome]

I just noticed hes from Germany, do they measure courses in yards or meters there?

[Adam Young]

How often do you go out of bounds when you hit your driver?

you would probably (at your handicap) be better at hitting 150 yards off the tee, then another 150 up there, 40 yards to the green and get a 5, or potential 4 if your short game is good.

With your handicap, you are probably hitting 20% out of bounds (costing you 4 shots every 10 times you play it). Even when you do hit the fairway, you are probably only taking advantage of it and par-ing the hole 40% of the time (max). Meaning, by playing the hole 10 times with a driver, you would shoot 10 over. By playing for bogey as I said, you would almost take out the risk of out of bounds, and maybe get a few pars from pitching it close, resulting in a lower score.

The only real way to tell is to do the test yourself. Play the hole 5 or 10 times with each strategy, and you will see which one provides the best score. In fact, do this for every hole on your course

[bjoern2796]

These aren't yardages. That are meters. So to the front bunker that are 240 yards.

[bjoern2796]

No the hole isn't just 342 yards. The hole is 351 meters, so 384 yards.

[bjoern2796]

I hit my driver 245 yards.

[Spudmonkey]

Ok, sounds like this hole gets to you.

If it's S.I.15 or harder do like Adam posted 150 - 150 - wedge shot, make it easier on yourself and take the extra shot your handicap is allowing you.

[billchao]

These aren't yardages. That are meters. So to the front bunker that are 240 yards.

That only changes the clubs I'd use, not the strategy. Draw away from OB, short of the bunker. [quote name="bjoern2796" url="/t/63269/what-type-of-shot-should-i-play-in-this-situation#post_785867"]I hit my driver 245 yards. [/quote] If you are accurate with driver, hit the shot with it. I'd go 3 wood so you don't accidently put it in the bunker. Remember this is the first hole, you don't want to start your round off on the wrong foot.

[Adam Young]

then get on the range and hit 50 drives with a fade and 50 with a draw. Note down where the ball finishes in relation to your target. The one which has less balls to the right of your target (out of bound) - use this one on the course.

you can learn a lo from this type of pattern finding in your own game. Work out an anti left shot, and an anti right shot - use them wisely. For me, anti left is the feeling of opening the face a little at address and feeling a hold off release. An anti right shot is when I feel the rotation of the clubhead through impact

[bjoern2796]

So without much testing the best decision would be, that i tee my ball on the left side of the tee and aim my feet like a shot to the right edge of the fairway and my clubface points just a few yards right of the middle of the fairway and then I hit a little draw. And I should play a club that is short of the bunker because the fairway is wider and I avoid the trouble of the bunker. Is that right ?

[billchao]

Originally Posted by bjoern2796

So without much testing the best decision would be, that i tee my ball on the left side of the tee and aim my feet like a shot to the right edge of the fairway and my clubface points just a few yards right of the middle of the fairway and then I hit a little draw. And I should play a club that is short of the bunker because the fairway is wider and I avoid the trouble of the bunker. Is that right ?

You get partial credit. Yes, hit a club that will play short of the bunker to the widest part of the fairway. However, with that setup, you're more likely to hit a low duck hook straight into the trees on the left.

What is your preferred shot shape? Do you predominately draw or fade the ball? I draw the ball (except driver: push fade ), so I offered how I would play the hole. If you're a fader, you should really tee off from the right side, aim left, and let the ball fade back in the middle. Don't try to hit a shot you aren't familiar with, that's probably the most important point here.

[bjoern2796]

I can shape my teeshots like I want to. And.my.natural ballflight is a slight draw