Tip #11: Don't Be A Sucker

Chances are, each green on your home golf course has a minimum of three or four pin positions, and at least one of those is a killer. Occasionally, I'll be preparing to play a shot, and either my caddie or I will take a look at the green and say, "that's a sucker pin."

Sucker pins coax the golfer into an overly bold approach with little margin for error.

Sucker pins coax the golfer into an overly bold approach with little margin for error. When the flag is cut extremely close to a bunker or water or heavy rough, or when it's in a spur of the green or on the ledge of a two-tiered green, it's a sucker position.

If you usually fade the ball, a sucker pin is anything on the left side of the green. If you hit a draw, the sucker pin's on the right. It may look inviting from the fairway, but you're a sucker if you try to shoot at it, because if you miss the shot, even a little, you'll put yourself in trouble. The risks far outweigh the rewards.

Make note of the sucker pins on your course, and when you come to one, play smart and give it a wide berth. Don't fool with it, even if that means laying up.

The par-4 11th hole at the Augusta National Golf Club has a fast green with a pond hard by its left side. Years ago, when Ben Hogan came to that hole and the pin was on the left, he would purposely miss the green with his approach, taking his chances on a pitch and a one-putt par. "If you see me on that green with my second shot, you'll know I missed the shot," he said. Here he was, the most accurate shotmaker of his time, perhaps of all time, and Hogan opted not to fool with a treacherous pin.

There are a couple of other holes I can think of where, if I don't hit a good drive, I may not want to go for the green. One is the 17th hole at St. Andrews and another is the 18th at Bay Hill in Florida. On each of them, if the second shot misses the green it can be the beginning of a big score. And believe it or not, I've actually layed up on a par-3.

During the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am one year, when I got to the 16th hole at Cypress Point the wind was blowing a gale. Since that hole plays 233 yards over water, I didn't even think of trying for the green. I took a 3-iron and bailed out to the left, then wedged on and took my bogey four.

But the last thing I, a teacher of aggressive golf, want to leave you with is the impression that all holes should be played cautiously. There are easy placements too. On the Tour, we usually see them during pro-am days. You'll see them in big golf outings, when the object is for everyone to have a good time, and for play to proceed as quickly as possible.

What's an easy placement? Anything in the center or "fat part" of the green, away from trouble: a pin on the bottom tier of a two-tiered green; a pin in a swale or punchbowl. These placements allow for different ways to get to the hole. You can hit past the pin and suck back, hit short and bounce up, maybe even miss to the left or right and drift toward the hole. Most important, there's no threat of disaster if you miss the pin by a bit.

When you look at these positions and you have a good lie in the fairway, go ahead and gun for the flag. You should also attack when the pin position fits the type of shot you play most often. If you're a fader and the flag is positioned on the right side of the green, go for it, letting your shot drift across the green and toward the hole. Players who draw the ball should gun for the pin when it's cut on the back-left of the green.

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