Brooks Koepka, and one thing that amateurs ‘don’t understand’ about golf

Brooks Koepka’s playing partner punches his ball out from a spot below a palm tree, and the five-time major winner approves. It’s a good shot. It’s what he’d do. 

It’s what amateurs don’t do, he said. 

But what if they did? And what’s the result when they don’t? Koepka knows. He was talking on a video recently posted to Rick Shiels’ YouTube channel, and the shot described above, hit by Shiels, started his thoughts.  

Playing the shot like Shiels equates to a better score “nine times out of 10,” Koepka said on the video. It’s boring. But it keeps you in the hole. 

But what about, say, hitting a longer iron? Maybe you could curl the ball onto green. Or you could also hit the tree. Or worse. Chances of a blow-up go up. 

All of it is a rule when dealing with trouble, Koepka said, and it’s one thing amateurs don’t understand. 

“Amateurs, like, play pro-ams or just playing with them at home and different things like that,” Koepka said on the video, “when they get into trouble, it’s they always think they got to go for the green and the hero shot. And I think it’s amazing when you go play with these guys, I’m like, if you literally just hit it out to like how you did — play it safe, you know, take a wedge, you’re going to end up making a better score nine times out of 10. 

“And coming from you, you’ll be like, hey, you know what, I’m going to hit 3-wood and try to hit it on the green, or try to hit this 3-iron and run it up and miraculous shot. Look, I couldn’t hit it on the green from where you were at, because I think that’s just one thing that ams, they don’t understand is, pros, when you get in trouble, the first rule is get out.”

OK. Good point. 

But why don’t they? There’s the lack of excitement — but on the video, Shiels thought of something else. Or someone, rather. 

“But it’s also your guys’ fault,” he said to Koepka, “for giving everybody hope that it can be achieved.” 

Koepka laughed. 

“Yeah, no, yeah, no, no, true,” he said. “We’re the ones to blame for that. And then you got some guys, like you stand back there, they might hit it on the green exactly where I hit it and you’re like, how in the hell did that happen?”

Let’s keep the stroke-reduction conversation going. Last August, GOLF.com wrote a story headlined “Nick Faldo, other pros asked 1 way to cut strokes. Here are their answers,” and that story can be found by clicking here, or by scrolling immediately below. 

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Think differently on success on shots played to the green, a young star says. 

Think differently on the club played around the green, a six-time major winner says. 

Think differently on the green, a DP World Tour pro says. 

Makes you at least think, right? The three players, along with four others, were talking this week on a video shared by the DP World Tour social media team (which you can watch in full here), and the thoughts seemingly followed a relatively easy question: What’s one way to cut strokes per round? The answers, though, were understandably unique. Gleaning tips from pros is a fun exercise, as not only do we learn, but we get a bit of a peek at what the world’s best prioritize. 

But enough with this story’s introduction. Below are the seven tips, with some thoughts below each one. 

Instruction

‘Chip old school’

“So if you want to get rid of one shot, chip old-school with your 8-iron a little more,” said Nick Faldo, a six-time major winner. “Because it’s great, especially when you’ve got a little bad lie off the side of the green, the ball’s sitting down a bit. And you’ve got this lovely radius here, and you use it almost like a mini-rut iron. And I used to lift my hands up, weight’s here [lifts right foot up] and put the ball right off my right toe. And I’m going to hit it out of the toe because that will dig that ball out of the little lie, you see. And it’s just like putting. Here’s your putting stroke. So it’s just a little more — just a brushing stroke.”

Author note: Notably, Faldo didn’t hit the 60-degree. An 8-iron can also be a play for bump-and-runs. 

‘Five percent’

“This is how to lose one shot a round by managing your expectations,” said Rasmus Hojgaard, a 23-year-old pro. “For us pros, let’s say we have 100 meters to the flag. If we hit it to within five percent of the distance, which would be five meters or 15 feet, we are going to gain in strokes gained. So for us, when you think about it, to hit it within five meters, it doesn’t look that good from the fairway, but you’re actually gaining on the field by hitting it to that distance. So I think for the amateurs in order to manage their expectations, don’t think you have to hit it to 10 feet every time if you have a wedge in your hand. It’s a good rule to remember, that if you hit it to about five percent of the distance you have, you’ve hit a pretty good shot.”

Author note: From an old-school thought, to some newer-school math. This was really good.  

‘If you’ve got shots, it’s using them’

“This is how to save one shot off the tee, per round,” said Connor Syme, a seven-year pro currently playing on the DP World Tour. “You’re trying to take the bunkers out of play, take the hazards out of play. Especially if you’ve got shots, it’s using them to your advantage. So it could be a 3-wood off this tee so you’ve always got a full shot into the green. And that’s how I would save one shot a round.”

Author note: The bomb-and-gaugers may disagree. But there’s nothing wrong with the safe play.

‘Aim for the good side’

“This is how to save one shot from the fairway,” said Adrian Otaegui, a 13-year pro currently playing on the DP World Tour. “I think for amateurs you can save one shot or even more. Instead of aiming for the pin every time, you aim at the good side. So obviously if the pin is tight on the left, you can aim a little bit on the right side. So if you miss a shot, you don’t miss on the wrong side and you don’t lose shots there.”

Author note: Another safe play thought. Birdies are nice. Doubles aren’t.

‘Careful with the pace’

“This is how I would advise an amateur to cut one shot on the green,” said Vincent Norrman, a four-year pro who’s played the past two seasons on the PGA Tour. “I see a lot of amateurs fall in love with the line and mishit the pace quite a lot. I would just advise them to be careful with the pace first before you get your read and then try and die them in. On these lag putts, just try and go for an easy two-putt, and if it goes in, that’s a little bonus.”

Author note: There’s more than one part to putting.  

‘Don’t be scared to get the putter out’

“If I was going to help you save one shot around the greens, don’t be scared to get the putter out,” said Tyrrell Hatton, a three-time Ryder Cupper. “Your worst putt is better than your worst chip. Use the putter.” 

Author note: This play is a personal favorite of mine, especially if the grass is short and dry. 

‘Take an extra club’

“This is how you can cut one shot off your round,” said Marco Penge, a 26-year-old pro. “I think most amateurs think they hit a 9-iron or an 8-iron farther than they actually do. So I’d recommend all amateur golfers take an extra club and hopefully that helps.”    

Author note: Using a launch monitor may open some eyes.