Struggling on par-3s? Try this strategy

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.

For lots of weekend warriors, par-3s represent a great scoring opportunity. Having the chance to hit a green in regulation with an iron in hand can be a rarity for high-handicappers, and most par-3s give them that chance.

With the chance to hit a green with an iron so rare, though, these players aren’t familiar with the best ways to attack these scoring opportunities. When these chances are so few and far between, they often aren’t approaching these shots with the correct mentality.

If this sounds like you, read on. In today’s edition of Play Smart, we get some advice from GOLF Teacher to Watch Christy Longfield on how best to attack par-3s and take advantage of the prime scoring opportunities.

How to attack par-3s

When you step to the tee box on a par-3, the first thing you want to do is get the key yardages. Most players will simply grab their rangefinders and shoot the distance to the pin. But if you want to be savvy in your approach, you need more than just the yardage to the flag.

“Is it truly the target we should be hitting at to get our best score on the hole?” Longfield says.

You might assume that hitting toward the pin will yield the best results, but oftentimes that will only invite trouble into play. Instead, you need to play the percentages.

Instruction

If you’ve got a hazard in between you and the flag, shoot the yardage to cover that obstacle. Once you’ve got that yardage, you’ll know the yardage you need your shot to fly at minimum to keep yourself out of trouble.

Next, shoot the distance to the back of the green. This number will be the maximum you want your shot to travel. Then, when selecting your club, choose a club that will end up between that minimum and maximum number.

“[It’s] a bigger picture of where you can fit the ball in to,” Longfield says. “Versus a four-and-a-half inch circle where you’re trying to get the ball to.”

Getting that range between the front and back of the green gives you a much larger target from front to back to aim for. And if you can consistently hit in that zone, you’ll give yourself much more looks at birdie.

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.

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