Pulling back on a wedge can be a tough thing to do. You’ll often find that when you try to swing slower your body falls out of rhythm and you end up dipping a shoulder and duffing the ball 10 feet instead of 90 yards. Or you may do the opposite and pull back sculling the ball and sending it shooting past the green. Either way your not in a very good position to putt let along get up and down.

How do you get into No Man’s Land?

Getting into no man’s land is easier than you think. Just remember back to that last round on the 346 yard par 4. What club did you pull out of the bag? That’s right, your driver. The hole is so close and you wanted to be the guy who only had 40 yards left to the hole. Bragging rights back in the bar. But it turns out you can’t hit the ball 300 yards into the wind and you end up putting the ball to your normal driving distance of 280 yards.

Now you have 66 yards to the hole and your sand wedge easily goes 100 yards on the nice fluffy fairway that you smacked your driver into. But the good news is you are able to shoot last and laugh at all your playing partners for their wimpy drives and that guy who took out his 5 wood and left himself 120 yards to the hole. What a chump, or is he?

Staying out of No Man’s Land

Turns out there is a way to stay out of no man’s land. You just need to suck it up butter cup. That chump who took out his 5 wood and left himself 120 yards to the hole now has a nice controllable full pitching wedge left that he’ll most likely stick a few yards from the hole. You on the other hand are stuck with your knees knocking over a 66 yard shot that you’ve now taken 20 practice swings at to get the “feel” right.

Playing a lower club and not always going to your big dog is smart golf. It’s how the course designer envisioned getting you trapped in that game that goes on between your ego and the course. He or she made that hole so close to tempt you to drive the snot out of the ball, but forgot to tell you he was leaving you with a half club shot to get on.

You need to develop some self control and play a smart game. When you see a hole that looks to close to be true, it is. Play down a few clubs off the tee. You’ll get more control on your first shot and have a smooth sailing second shot leaving you an easy chance at par with a possible birdie. This is how scratch golfers got their game to where they are. They played smart. You should start doing the same.