Jack Nicklaus

Know when to aim at the flag

When to fire at the flag.

TAKE DEAD AIM

If the cup is here, thank the superintendent. Here’s a rare opportunity when the play is directly at the flag. But be careful of what’s probably your well-conditioned instinct to cheat your aim a little left of this pin position. A shot that pitches close to the middle of this green is dangerous. If the ball runs or has any draw spin, it’s going to feed over the ridge to the back-left portion of the green. Now you’ve got the toughest two-putt on the hole. In this situation, the best miss is short in the neck of the fairway, where you can still make par with a good chip.

FIRM IT IN THE BACK OF THE CUP

As a designer, when I introduce a difficult element, I also give back. Even though the ridge bisecting this green is tricky, once on the correct tier, you’ll see a lot of straight, flat putts. Take advantage. We all can get too accustomed to putting defensively and then neglect to charge the cup on an easy one.

PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTH

With a cup cut here, this is the longest the hole can play. It’ll be 190 yards from the back tees and about 150 from the whites. If you feel you’ve got the trajectory that can hit and hold this back-left portion of the putting surface, you face a decision. If your chipping and sand game are strong, you might go at this flag. If lag putting is your talent, the right half of the green is your play. It’s a more manageable putt negotiating the ridge in this direction, and you keep your ball away from that deep middle bunker.

the king and i

Arnold Palmer was a more aggressive putter than I. He made more birdies but also had more three-putts. Over five rounds at the 1962 U.S. Open (I won in a playoff ), Arnie had 11 three-putts against my one. It’s a matter of philosophy. I didn’t like testing my nerves with lengthy second putts. If I tested them often enough, I figured they were bound to fail me.