Club selection

I belong to the world's most exclusive club, the Take Enough Club Club. If my buddies are swinging a 7 or 8 iron, I've probably got a 5 in my hand from the same distance.

Why?

1. Because knowing that I have enough club means that I can modulate my stroke, from what feels like about 60% effort to about 80% effort, and
2. that, in turn, means that it's extremely unlikely that I'll have a gross mis-hit, either fat or thin, pushed or pulled, sliced or hooked.
3. That means I don't have to feel like a dummy for having hit an embarrasment of a shot, and
4. THAT MAKES THE GAME EASIER. Not easy, mind you, but easier. And
5. that means I have more time and energy to devote to preparing to hit the best shot of my life.

Part of my routine this year has been to silently repeat to myself, before each and every stroke, that this is the most important golf shot of my life. It's the only one I have any control over. The past is gone, the future isn't here yet. So I have to first visualize the perfect shot -- the one that I know is within my physical limits. Then set up for that shot, mentally and physically rehears the checkpoint of my stroke, then step up to the ball and perform the stroke.

One final point about club selection. The most important club in my bag is not the one that I use the most, it's the one that shortens the golf course the most. That would be the driver.