KNOWING YOUR GAME PART 2

Continuing on the subject I started on Tuesday, I know it might be difficult for many of you to find that deserted hole to conduct the exercise, but there were some good ideas tossed out there about going out late and early. And when you do, pick a spot over near the edge of the fairway, nearer the tee, where approach shots are not typically played. And please do take some sand with you if your course provides that.

The fact is that there is no substitute for accurate knowledge about your distances. And you might have to put out a little extra effort to find a way to chart yours. But it is one of the smartest things you can do for your scoring this season, trust me.

Moving along with this subject, I'm giving more and more presentations these days about "Golf By The Numbers", a concept that I think will eventually replace the historic and very obsolete notion of a set of numbered irons. At the long end, we have loft-indicated hybrids, and at the short end, loft-indicated wedges. This makes sense. But in the middle, we can only select from "numbered" irons, which keep it rather secret as to what the lofts really are.

Making this even more cryptic, the irons-makers keep cranking down the lofts of the middle irons — 4-8 — so that they can advertise them as "longer than the other guys'". What I'm seeing is that these culprits are increasing the gaps between the shorter irons from the traditional four degrees to five, thereby increasing your distance differentials where you need precision the most. What you get then, is a set of irons that have very small distance differentials at the long end and big ones at the short end — IT SHOULD BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!!!

I talk to clubfitters all the time who tell me that most recreational golfers of average skill have 2-3 clubs at the long end of their set that essentially go the same distance ... or not far enough apart to warrant carrying them. I am a big watcher of the "What's in the bag?" features in the magazines and see tour professionals having this same issue — 9-12 yard gaps at 200+ yards, at the expense of 20-25 yard gaps inside 8-iron range.

But if the best tour players average over forty feet from the hole on approach shots outside of 200 yards – that's 13-14 yards, right or left — why do they need distance gaps of only 4-5 yards long/short at that range? Especially when it comes at the expense of those tight gaps in short range when it really counts.

I'm just sayin ... why not have your directional and distance accuracy more in line, all the way from long to short?

Terry Koehler is "The Wedge Guy" and President of SCOR Golf- The Short Game Company.

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