90. To improve your iron shots into greens, practice getting out of bunkers. If you get fairly proficient at sand shots, bunkers become less of a worry which consequently makes you less anxious on the approach shot

In this lesson we will look at a helpful strategy for Par 3 holes. Par 3s have a maximum length of 245 yards and thankfully, there are very few at that limit. Making par at a hole this long will feel like a birdie. A four is a very acceptable score for most and never be ashamed of treating the extremely long par 3s as Par 4s. If you are a high handicap player and require a Driver or a fairway wood to reach a par three, then my advice is to lay up short and pitch on for two. Most trouble is focused around the green so your tee shot is not under threat and the trouble evaporates at the green when you have a wedge in your hand for the second. You will make more 3s with this approach rather than the hero going for it in one.

With a hole that is well in range however, the problem quite often is not so much as been unable to reach but rather taking a club out the bag that you can't reach it with; under clubbing in other words. Most greens are protected at the front and all too often I see players choosing clubs that are coming down first bounce in this trouble zone. The player may be adamant that he can hit a 6 iron 155 yards but at times, you have to acknowledge that the pressure caused by looking at a shot into a tightly guarded green can cause you to tighten which affects your timing and club head speed. Take a club extra and swing fuller but softer. About 75% effort.

Also, to improve your iron shots into greens, practice getting out of bunkers. If you get fairly proficient at sand shots, bunkers become less of a worry which consequently makes you less anxious on the shot to the green. There's a bit of lateral thinking for you but it is true.

Make it a habit to play for the centre of the greens more. You will never be to far away from the flag and if you do this it increases your landing area. Quite often, the flag is the last thing you want to be aiming for. A classic case of this was Jack Nicklaus when he played the 12th hole of at Augusta every year in the Masters. On the final day, the hole is cut on the right side of the green. The green is not very deep from the front to the back edge and Rae's creek runs across the front. The front bank is steep and well mown. Any ball under hit runs all the way down the bank into the water and the championship has been lost at this hole many times. Nicklaus never aimed at the flag but went right over the bunker that guards the middle front of the green. If he was slightly short, the sand saved him from the water and as he says, you will make more three's from sand than you will the creek. It is pure damage limitation strategy and it is one of the reasons why Nicklaus has won the event 6 times.

When you play into a green with distinctive slope, aim to play to the low side of the flag because an uphill putt of 20ft is often easier than a 6 ft downhill tester. I hope you can see that there is a bigger picture to look at when playing a round of golf and the clearer that pictures becomes, the disasters become less frequent.