Course strategy: Playing to a front pin position

Sophie Walker is a professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour. We took the Shack on tour to Forest Pines to get some tips from Sophie. In this series of videos she discusses course strategy. Today she shows us how to approach a shot when facing a front pin position.

I often see golfers just lazer the pin and say ‘oh that’s 125 yards’ and that’s all they think about. That specific yardage. I think you have to look at where the pin is on the green.

In this case we’ve got a front pin, so whenever I’m playing to a front pin my main aim is to get the ball there. There is plenty of room behind the pin which I think a lot of players forget. They seem to think that after the pin there is nothing.

Step 1

The first step is looking at where the pin is on the green. Knowing whether you have a front or back pin location should change how you approach the shot.

Step 2

Knowing that the pin position is at the front of the green the next thing you have to make sure you remember is that there is plenty of room behind the pin.

Too often golfers focus solely on the actual yardage and forget that there is room behind the pin.

Step 3

Time to calculate your yardage. In this case you have 125 yards to the pin. Remember, there is plenty of room behind the pin, and if you are short, you’ll be chipping onto the green.

125 yards might be a typical 9 iron for you. If you are playing into the wind, don’t forget to club up. But you can also play behind the pin. Club up to an 8 iron to make sure you will be hitting the green.

If you follow these simple steps you will start to hit more greens when faced with front pin positions. Don’t forget the key point which is that there is plenty of room behind the pin. Club up to make sure there is no chance you will come up short.