Tip From the Archives

Horseshoe Dogleg

Problem

You are playing on a fairway that has such a severe dogleg that it is horseshoe shaped.

Cure

There are a couple of obvious choices here. You can try to cut through the woods and pray that you make it out or you could lay up several times. You might want to lay up to a location that will allow you to play a fade or a draw. Know your skill level and play the shots you know you can make. If you do not feel comfortable with your choice then do not play it; go with the safe choice instead. Sometimes focusing on what can go wrong will subconsciously reinforce this idea into your mind and will cause this to happen. There is no shame in keeping it in the middle of the fairway if it means it will help you reduce the number of strokes overall.

Therapy

Take a good look at the scorecard. Sometimes the course designers will set up some tricky hazards near the corner. So, if the dogleg makes a sharp turn to the left, you might need to play it out to the right part of the fairway with a longer drive. This is likely to set you up for a better second shot at the turn. Draw on the score card to find points where you will be able to take the safest and longest shots to help you make it around the horseshoe with the least amount of strokes. Just remember to plan to play within your average abilities and do not play based on your best shots.

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15 votes

 
Valinda | last year, mid-November

The genius store cllead, they're running out of you.

eqhvzosufn | last year, mid-November

71nPBU moojzxrdnwyr



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