Trouble out of Play

I'm here on the 1st tee at the Bayhill Country Club in Orlando, Florida. This is a dogleg left 444-yard par-4 hole. There are trees down the left side of the dogleg and it takes about 200-yards to reach the corner of the dogleg. On the far end of the dogleg there are two bunkers, the first bunker is 240-yards away and the second one is 260-yards away. What I want to do is try to take all of the right side trouble out of play on this hole.


In today's world, most people like to take out the driver because they're looking for all the distance they can get off the tee. But I suggest you take out a 3-wood in this type of situation.


1st Hole
BayHill Country Club


I like to play my normal left-to-right shot, especially when the wind is blowing slightly from left-to-right as it is today. If I can hit my tee shot down the left side of the fairway it should fade back into the middle of the fairway. I hit my 3-wood about 235-yards off the tee and that club should keep me short of the bunkers on the right.


What I'm trying to do is take the trouble out of play on this hole. Rather than taking a driver and taking the chance of hitting it into the bunkers on the far side of this dogleg, I would suggest hitting a 3-wood off the tee. What I want to do is put my ball in the middle of the fairway to give me a good chance of having a mid-iron shot into this green. If you try this tip and take the trouble out of play, you will save a few shots.