This piece of wisdom was relayed to me by a European Tour player and I loved it's simplicity.

Golf is all about making your next shot easier.

So what did the Tour Pro mean by this?

Well....

Every time I do an on course lesson I get golfers to talk me through their intentions before they hit every shot.

What consistently transpires from this thought pattern is a golfers mindset that is transfixed on seeing the perfect shot each time.

Consequently this effects decision making.

An example of how this effects decision making played out the other day with a group of golfers in a group playing lesson.

Three of the group had just over a 100 yards to the flag, into a slight breeze.

The pin was tucked at the front of the green, which has a severe slope at the front.

Much like the 9th green at Augusta, however the green is flat after you get over the front.

Every single player described a shot that they were trying to hit that landed just over the ridge and nestle close to the flag.

All three shots came up short leaving a devilishly difficult chip/putt up the slope.

Making their next shot HARDER.

They were all trying to hit the tour pro shot to the flag.

I then got the best player in the group (5 handicapper) to hit 10 shots on the practice area with an 8 iron and we measured the dispersion.

The dispersion looked something like this.

About 20yards wide and 20 yards deep.

All shots were also off a flatish lie on the fairway!

So my advice would be, every time you are hitting a shot into a green.

Don't let your decision making be influenced by the best shot you could hit.

Let it be judged by the AVERAGE shot and how this could potentially make my next shot easier.

click here to read the follow on from this blog How much do I not want to be there?