This week's Question:

Which club causes more penalty shots from the fairway; i.e. errant shots into the water, trees and any place considered to be a Danger Zone?

You are Not correct!

ANSWER: B - The 3-wood

There’s not a golf club invented that has caused more wasted shots from the fairway than the 3 wood. Now there are always going to be Golfers that say that a 3 wood is necessary for the second shot on a Par 5 – “Par 5’s are long and I need the distance.” Yet, for most Golfers – the wasted strokes caused by their 3 wood - far, far, far outweigh the extra yardage your 3 wood gives you..

Say your 3 wood gives you 200 yards off the fairway on your best shot. What would your 4 hybrid give you? 180 yards? Your 5 iron? 160 yards?

And someone out there is saying that that 40 yard gap between your 3 wood and 5 iron could be the difference between you being on the green versus being 40 yards short. It could be – but only on your ‘best shots’! You actually might hit your bad shots with your 5 iron straighter and longer than you hit your ‘bad shots’ with your 3 wood.

How many ‘best shots’ do you hit in a row? Do you hit more ‘best shots’ in a round of golf or more ‘bad shots’ in a round?

So in essence – the 3 wood hitters spend more time getting out of trouble, looking for golf balls in the trees and usually have more sand in their shoes than the hybrid and 5 iron hitters. Yes, golf is a distance game – yet golf is also a game of angles. Giving yourself the best angle to make your next shot easier. And the control the common Golfer has with their 3 wood doesn’t allow you to play for the angles. The only angles you have to play for are the angles you have to take to punch your golf ball out of the trees.

Ask any of the Golf Course Architects how they design a golf course and they’ll say – “It’s all about the angles.” Distance is important in golf – yet, placing your golf ball to give yourself a good angle can more than make-up for a little less distance – in addition to the penalty strokes that you’re going to save.

To see how your answer compared to others who took the Golfer Knowledge Poll - make sure to look for next week's Golf Improvement Weekly

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