Flashback Jack: Jack Nicklaus shares his shot-shaping secret to dominate your next round

When it comes to scoring low, it’s important to understand how your ball moves in the air. While it might not feel like much, the difference between a baby fade and a butter cut can be the gap between a tap-in birdie and a fortunate bogey.  But in this week’s Flashback Jack, Jack Nicklaus says the key isn’t in straightening out the natural flight of your shot, but rather understanding how that ball flight correlates to your approach.

“All of us have a tendency to either hit the ball left to right or right to left,” Nicklaus says. “We all like to favor that shot, and I think that’s fine.”

To illustrate his point, Nicklaus lined up a series of approach shots at a pair of pins on the green in front of him.

“If you were to look up at this hole here we’ve placed two flags up at the green,” Nicklaus says. “If I’m playing very well and playing left to right, then I’ll go ahead and take my shot at that right-hand pin placement.”

What should come with favoring your ball flight, Nicklaus says, is discipline. Discipline that allows you to understand the impact of green shape, contour and size on the flight of your ball.

“There are probably maybe five to six pins in a day that I can’t shoot at if I’m playing that way,” he says. “If I am playing those ways, I’ll just forget those holes. I’ll go ahead and try to make par and move on.”

By implementing this mindset in your game, you can turn your attention to playing smarter, not better.

“Playing percentages, playing the right shot, choosing the right shot for you and for the pin placement on the green,” Nicklaus says. “It’s very important.”

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