Tip #23: Know When to Pick Your Shots

It's one thing to know how to hit the shot you need. But it's equally important to know where -- and where not -- to play them. For instance, under some conditions, a fade is impossible to play; under others a fade is the only shot to play. This is true for the draw and high and low shots as well. Knowing how to recognize these conditions is a skill that every aggressive golfer must develop.

Recognizing when certain shots are impossible is a skill that every golfer should develop.

I like to think of these influences as red lights, yellow lights, and green lights, since they tell you just how aggressive or cautious you should be. A red light says don't try the shot, a yellow light tells you to be careful, and a green light says go for it. Let's take a look at the fade, draw, low shot, and high shot, and at the conditions that favor and discourage each.

For a fade, the best type of lie is a bare one. This allows you to put the whole clubface on the ball and impart maximum spin. A short-trimmed Bermuda grass fairway is also good for a fade, as is a clean lie in a fairway bunker. Shaggy lies, including almost any lie in the rough, are no good for fading or slicing, since the blades of grass intervene between your clubface and the ball and inhibit your ability to apply spin. A similar phenomenon occurs when you play in wet conditions, where water gets between the club and ball and lessens the friction. For this reason, it's much easier to maneuver the ball from a dry fairway than from a wet or dew-coated one.

A downhill lie will encourage a fade, since you'll tend to shift your weight down that hill on the downswing. When that happens, your body will get out in front and the clubface will tend to be open at impact. The best lie is a sidehill lie with the ball below your feet, since that promotes a more upright swing than normal. From this lie, you'll almost always fade, so there's no need to open your stance. Conversely, the red lights as far as hilly lies are concerned would be a lie with the ball above your feet and an uphill lie.

Certain types of wind can also be helpful. If you want to play a straight shot, fade the ball against a right-to-left wind. A left-to-right wind will obviously amplify your fade, so unless you have plenty of room to work with, don't try to ride this wind. A tailwind will tend to straighten out the shot, and a headwind will exaggerate any bend you put on the ball.

Finally, keep in mind that some clubs are easier to fade and slice than others. Generally speaking, the straighter-faced irons and woods are easiest because they have less loft. The less backspin you put on the ball, the more powerful your sidespin will be. It's easy to fade -- or slice -- a driver or 2-iron, but much tougher to slice a 7-wood or a 9-iron. If you habitually slice your long shots but pull your short irons dead left, that is the reason.

Most of all, keep in mind that a fade or slice will fly a shorter distance and come down more steeply than a straight shot hit with the same club. Therefore, when playing an intentional fade you should take at least one club longer than normal. On an intentional slice, take at least two clubs longer.

A draw or hook is also hard to hit with the short irons. However, it's relatively easy to move the 6-, 5-, and 4-iron from right to left, and although the long irons and woods are easier to fade than draw, they certainly may be played both ways.

You can draw the ball from any good fairway lie, but a ball that's sitting up on the grass will be a help rather than a hindrance. At impact, the swing path for a draw/hook is more an across-and-outward move, and when the ball is slightly perched, it's easier to make this happen. Conversely, it's not always easy to go right to left from hardpan, fairway bunkers, or any sort of tight lie.

You'll put extra curve on any hook or draw hit with a right-to-left wind, and you'll get basically a straight ball into a left-to-right wind. As with the fade/slice, be aware that a tailwind will straighten your shot and a headwind will increase its bend.

Don't try anything fancy from the rough or wet grass unless you're also in one of the hilly lies that favors a draw. These are the sidehill lies with the ball above your feet and the uphill lie.

Finally, remember that right-to-left shots tend to be "hot." They bounce and roll much more actively than straight shots. So allow for this by taking at least one club less when playing a draw, at least two clubs less on an intentional hook.

The red and green lights on the low shot are obvious. Stay with the low-lofted clubs such as the 2-, 3-, and 4-iron. Beyond the fact that these clubs have less loft built into them, they're smart choices, even for shots in the 150-yard range, because they force you to make a controlled swing. In general terms, the more softly you hit the ball, the less actively the ball will spin. And since you usually don't want backspin on the low shot, it's wise to take plenty of club and keep your swing quiet.

The low shot is a great weapon in the wind because both a tailwind and a headwind will knock it down still more. A tight lie is a good place from which to hit a low shot, but a fluffy lie or a nest in the rough is not. Don't expect to be able to keep the ball down when you're standing uphill, but do expect a low shot from a downhill lie.

High shots are very difficult to play from hardpan, tight lies, and fairway bunkers, but relatively easy from perched lies in the fairway or from light rough. A strong headwind will tend to increase the backspin and height on a high shot, sending it almost straight up, whereas a strong tail-wind can have a flattening effect. Finally, just as a downhill lie encourages a low shot, an uphill lie will naturally help you to get height, as you catch the ball more on an upswing than normal.

- Greg Norman