Getting Distance Right Isn’t Easy

By T.J. Tomasi

Universal Press Syndicate

Knowing the distance to the target is only one-third of hitting a golf shot; the other twothirds are knowing how far you hit a particular club and then being able to hit it that far.

And trying to figure out the distance by just looking at the target is not as straightforward as it sounds because the course architect, knowing how your brain works, tries to fool your eye by building in optical illusions.

It works like this: To determine distance, your brain makes an assumption that big objects are close and small objects are far away, so golf course architects either surround the green with some very large trees, which make the green look closer, or they do just the opposite and put nothing around it so it looks farther away.

This creates confusion in your mind because the "card yardage" and the "eye yardage" don't match, and you can't make a good swing when you're confused.

To neutralize this deception, you need to do two things: 1. Find the exact yardage. 2. Make a commitment to the club you choose based on that yardage.

Another suggestion is to invest in a range finder a handheld device that will tell you exactly how far away the target is.

It speeds play because you don't have to hunt for yardage markers. And knowing the exact yardage will help you to swing more freely because you'll have confidence that you've chosen the correct club.