Five golf shots that travel well

Golfers preparing for a golf holiday often ask themselves the wrong question.

They ask:

"How do I get my swing better before I go?"

I would ask something else.

Which shots can you rely on when your swing is not quite behaving?

Because travel golf is different.

You are playing unfamiliar courses.

You may have different grass beneath the ball.

The wind might be stronger than you expected.

You do not know the greens.

You have probably eaten more breakfast than usual.

And there is every possibility somebody persuaded you to have a second glass of wine the night before.

You do not need eighteen perfect holes.

You need a few reliable shots.

Here are five I think travel extremely well.

1. The sensible tee shot

Notice that I did not say driver.

There are holes where driver is absolutely the correct club.

There are also holes where golfers take driver because that is what they do on a par four.

When you play an unfamiliar course, give yourself permission to use something else.

A three wood.

A hybrid.

Even a long iron if that puts you somewhere useful.

You are trying to start the hole.

Not win it with one swing.

If the widest part of the fairway is 190 yards away and the narrowest part is 240, hitting the ball further might actually make the hole more difficult.

That is worth remembering.

2. The low shot

If you travel to play golf, at some point you will encounter wind.

Possibly quite a lot of it.

The golfer who has a controlled lower flight immediately has another option.

You do not need anything complicated.

Take more club.

Grip slightly lower.

Keep the swing controlled.

And resist the temptation to hit the ball harder simply because the wind is blowing.

One of golf's more entertaining contradictions is watching somebody respond to a 30 mph headwind by swinging 30 per cent harder.

It rarely improves matters.

3. The little bump-and-run

Golf abroad has a habit of putting your ball in places around the green that look straightforward until you stand over it.

Different turf.

Tight lies.

Unfamiliar grain.

A flag cut on the other side of the green.

The bump-and-run gives you a simple option.

Get the ball on the ground.

Let it behave like a putt.

Remove some of the variables.

I am not suggesting you should never play a high, spinning pitch.

I simply think you should have a less dramatic alternative.

Golf is considerably easier when we stop demanding heroics from ourselves.

4. The lag putt

If I offered the average amateur a choice between improving their putting from four feet and improving their putting from 40 feet, many would choose the four-footer.

On a trip, I might choose the 40-footer.

Why?

Because you are going to encounter unfamiliar green speeds.

The first few holes can be difficult simply because your brain has not calibrated itself yet.

Good distance control prevents three-putts.

And preventing three-putts is considerably less stressful than having to hole ten six-footers to repair the damage.

Before your round, spend more time putting across the green than standing in one place hitting short putts into the same hole.

Learn the speed.

5. The recovery shot

This may be the most useful of all.

Golf courses abroad have trees too.

And bushes.

And bunkers.

And unpleasant places where tourists tend to hit golf balls.

You need a shot that gets you back into the hole.

Not necessarily onto the green.

Back into the hole.

A little punch beneath branches.

A wedge back to the fairway.

A bunker shot that prioritises getting out rather than finishing next to the flag.

The ability to take your medicine is a golfing skill.

Nobody likes doing it.

But one sensible recovery can prevent a six becoming an eight.

Reliability beats perfection

That is the theme running through all five.

Travel golf rewards adaptability.

The player who has a handful of dependable shots can find a way around almost anywhere.

The player who relies on everything being perfect can have a difficult day the moment conditions change.

That is something I like working on during hosted trips.

We are not trying to produce the perfect golf swing before dinner.

We are trying to make you a golfer who has answers.

What do we do when the wind gets up?

What do we do when the driver disappears?

What do we do when the greens are quicker than yours at home?

What do we do after a bad hole?

If you know the answers, golf becomes much less frightening.

Before your next trip

My advice is simple.

Do not spend the two weeks before departure trying to rebuild your swing from something you saw on the internet.

Practise a few useful shots.

Find a tee club you trust.

Hit some low shots.

Chip with something that gets the ball rolling.

Work on long putting.

And practise getting out of trouble.

Pack those shots along with the sun cream.

You will probably use both.