The flag is staring right at you.  Right in the center of the big old green, with nothing around to protect it.  You're only 140 yards away from a sure chance at a birdie.  The wind is blowing strong into your face, but that doesn't bother you.  You're good with your fade, you say...you're going to aim a little left and let that puppy drop right on the pin.  You grab your 8 iron, swing hard to bash it through the wind, and...

You've heard it said before that golf is a game of misses.  Or alternatively, it's not about how good your good shots are, it's about how good your BAD shots are.  When we step up and hit a ball, only rarely does it do exactly what we want it to do.  Hogan himself said in a typical round he would only hit 2 or 3 shots that actually came off as planned.  Think about that one for a minute.

So those of you who have read my previous post now have a good idea of how to choose the appropriate club off the tee to keep yourself out of trouble.  In this segment, we will talk about those same principles as they apply to shots into the green.  Since greens are much smaller targets than fairways, and our goal shifts more towards hitting the ball close to the pin, club selection takes on an even higher level of importance.  Your club selection into the green will often determine whether you make birdie or bogey.

Arguably the most important element of good course management is having the right tool for the job. In this series, I'm going to share with you the basic fundamentals of club selection, from the teebox all the way up to the green.

But before I get into anything else, I want everyone reading to repeat this mantra: "Safe Line, Aggressive Swing." This should permeate the way you hit every shot. Choose a line and club that will give you the best chance of staying in play, and then rip it like you mean it.