Judging the lie Part 3: Application

• Posted on Grant
• in Course Management, Golf Fundamentals, Short Game
• on October 21, 2013
• Comments Off on Judging the lie Part 3: Application

(Read part 1 here)
(Read part 2 here)

Playing a par 5, you fan your second shot short, right of the green. Your ball comes to rest 40 yards from the hole on a hard-pan, dirt lie. The pin is tucked 6’ onto the edge of the green and you have to hit over a deep pot bunker. What do you do?

Do you:

A: play the ball forward in your stance and hope that the shot comes out high and soft to land in the 6’ between the edge of the bunker and the flag?

Or B: play the ball back in your stance and plan to land the ball past the pin knowing that it will roll 40’ past the hole?

If you read my previous two posts about judging the lie, I know for a fact and am excited that you answered B!! Right????

If you didn’t answer B just now, please pause here and read Judging the Lie: Part 1, and Judging the Lie: Part 2.

I love how golf parallels life. If you choose to do what’s right, even if it’s hard, you can recover from mistakes. When you get out of position on the golf course, sometimes you have to make tough decisions that will minimize the damage based on the danger that you see ahead.

Now that we have discussed the reasons it is so important to judge the lie correctly around the green, I trust that you will make the right decision next time you are faced with the scenario mentioned above. With the right knowledge, you can avoid the costly mistakes that lead to big numbers!

GB