Published: May 10, 2009 01:19 am      

The human factors in shotmaking

Shot-making skill is developed from years of practice, building a feel and confidence for almost any imaginable shot.

Professional golfers are excellent at running down a long list of factors before arriving at a shot-making decision, considering the lie, footing, incline of the original position and the landing, turf surrounding the lie and that of the potential landing, wetness of soil both at the address and at the target area.

They also account for the numerous environmental conditions (gravity, wind, air density, and temperatures) that also vary significantly and require adjustments.

Obviously, good golfers assess all these factors and have the confidence in their muscle memory to make the necessary adjustments, intuitively visualizing how hard to hit the ball, calculating the trajectory, spin, landing, and the bounce and roll expected to best take advantage of the conditions.

Nevertheless, what is so simple in principle is devilishly difficult in execution.

Whenever the slightest bit of uncertainty — over-factoring, or over-discounting sneaks into the picture — a shot that should have been well executed can turn into a nightmarishly bad one.