I’m still eagerly following the sidebar poll where I asked you to tell me about your most dreaded shots in golf.  Previously we covered tee shots on tight driving holes.  Currently in second place with 15% of the vote, we’ll turn our attention toward the universally hated long carry over water.

I’m a little surprised that this type of shot is the subject of such dread because the solution has nothing to do with swing fundamentals.  Conquering these shots has everything to do with combining an honest assessment of your own ability and game with a solid course management plan and combining all that with a solid mental approach.

Let’s not mince words:  if you’re dreading this shot, it may be because you shouldn’t be hitting it.  There’s no shame in laying up and it will probably save you more strokes than you’d gain if the gamble pays off.

Why don’t we take a closer look at the situation and you’ll see why.

First we’ll define the long shot.  Since everyone’s game is different, I’ll define it in terms of clubs.  Let’s say a long shot is anything longer than a 5-iron.  So, we’ll say 4-iron and up, including equivalent hybrids.  For me, that’s around 210 yards.

Second, we’ll define what “over water” means.  Obviously, if the water is right in front of the tee (or right in front of you in the fairway, for second shots) it is not nearly as intimidating.  I know there are those of you who think of nothing but topping the ball in that situation, and honestly, we’ve all topped one into the drink at some point.  I’m really talking about those situations were the water is near the end of the intended ball flight, though.  This would typically be when the green is on the far side of a creek or lake.  For the sake of this discussion, I’m going to assume you can get the longer clubs to hit the ball in the air most of the time and you’re not really worried with water right in front of you.

Really, there are two possible reasons why you fear that shot.

Honesty and Consistency

Presumably, you have a rough distance for every club in your bag.  If I ask you how far you hit your pitching wedge, you’ll have a number that’s probably good for somewhere within plus or minus a few yards.  Better players will have a much tighter zone.

However, as you get to longer clubs in your bag, the chances become greater that the number you have for those clubs is a “perfect shot” yardage and that the longer the club, the lower percentage of the time you’ll actually hit your perfect yardage.

This is one of two reasons you fear the long shot over water.

If you hit each club in your bag the same distance every time, then the shot becomes nothing more than getting an accurate yardage and factoring in wind and lie.  We all know, however, that players with higher handicaps will come up short most of the time.  The higher the handicap, the bigger the error in  the result usually, except in the case where a player is honest enough with himself to keep tabs on the typical yardages for his clubs , instead of the perfect yardages.

When you have open fairway in front of you, you have the luxury of being able to play to the perfect yardage and then just deal with a chip or pitch.  When water looms in front of you, the chance for getting wet is high.

When you’re faced with this type of shot, there are several things you should do to increase the chance for success.

First, throw out the perfect yardages and pick out a club where its typical yardage will get you safely on the green.   Second, evaluate the conditions to see whether things like the lie, the wind, and so on will help or hurt.  Adjust your club selection to deal with the conditions.

Then, you need to evaluate what your percentage of success is.  If you’re not looking at a high chance of success, then you need to suck it up and do what makes sense:  lay it up.

I don’t care if it’s an approach shot on a par four or a par five.  If your chances for success are not high, then you’re going to be assessed a penalty stroke more often than not.  If you lay up, there’s always a chance for still getting up and down to save par.  More likely, you’ll get a respectable bogey and put the depressing double bogey out of the equation.

Getting Wrapped Up in Results

The second reason you might fear a long shot over water is that you’re fixated on the water and the outcome of hitting into it.

I know I’m like a broken record always citing the mental game, but it’s because I think there is some serious improvement to be made there.  Most of the mental gurus will tell you that being fixated on the result of a shot before hitting it is a good way to ensure that the bad result happens.

As you’re assessing a shot, you certainly will consider the fact that there is water, along with a hundred other things.  But once you get ready to pull the trigger, you should have chosen your shot, completely committed to it, and visualized the outcome.

If the water is still dancing around in your thoughts, then you have some work to do.  Get to the book store and pick up everything by Dr. Bob Rotella and sequester yourself away in a quiet place until you read it all.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.

I see you’re back.  I hope the books were enjoyable.  See what I mean?  Everyone who pretended to go and get books and skipped to this paragraph will be missing out, but those of you who did now understand the importance.

Stop fixating on the bad stuff.  Get it out of your mind.  Commit to your shot, hit it, accept the outcome, no matter how bad, then start preparing for your next shot.

Putting It All Together

To get the best result out of a shot that requires a long carry over water, you simply need a sound course management plan and a solid approach to the mental game.

Be honest about your club distances and how reliable you are about hitting your clubs those distances.  Don’t be afraid to lay up and accept a bogey in exchange for putting the big numbers out of play.  If you decide that going for it is the proper play, then plan your shot, commit to it, hit it, and accept the result.  Keep the possibility of a bad outcome out of your mind.

If you improve in these two areas, I guarantee you’ll stop dreading those long carries over water.

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