Not the time to be half safe

Jack Nicklaus

October 24, 1966

The golf hole at left illustrates the concepts involved in tee-shot management. There are four bunkers surrounding the area in which you would like to hit your drive. Even though the safe section of the fairway is only 15 or 20 yards wide at any point, you say to yourself, "I'll have an easy second shot to the green with a six-iron if I can hit the driver between the bunkers." You don't stop to think what happens if you miss your target area—the odds of hitting it are against you—and land in a bunker. This is a case where you should use an iron off the tee and land short of the bunkers, planning then to hit a longer iron to the green. There is an ample target area short of the bunkers, and it should not be difficult for you to get a two- or three-iron shot into a safe position. This is a tactic that all of us used repeatedly during this year's British Open at Muirfield, and I must say that in my case, at least, the results were most rewarding.