Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: Realistic expectations

Published

6 years ago

Feb 25, 2020

(Today’s post is one I actually wrote nearly eight years ago, but I’m using it to start a series about “thinking your way to better golf.” I hope you enjoy the next few weeks.)

One of the great regrets of my life is that I missed the fatherhood experience, never having had children of my own. As I get older, I find that I gravitate to the younger folks, and offer my help whenever I can, whether on the golf course, on the water fishing, or just life in general. One of my joys is working with younger kids on their golf. That includes instruction, of course, but what I think is more important for them in the developmental stages is to learn to manage
their expectations. Actually, we all could benefit from that bit of advice.

On Sunday, I had the joy of playing with the 16-year-old son of one of our partners at SCOR Golf. Kyle is a tremendously talented young man who I’ve worked with quite a bit, but he really hasn’t committed himself to golf yet. I’m talking about the kind of commitment that keeps him working hard at it as long as there is daylight. He might not ever get that, and that’s OK, but he hasn’t figured out yet that your expectations can only rise from your achievements, and not from your desires.

On a core level, Kyle has great strength but hasn’t learned to harness it yet. He wants to choose his clubs based on his maximum distance with that club—if everything falls exactly into place. Like most golfers, and especially young ones,
he’s enamored with the power game. When we play, I show him that throttling back and controlling the shot is much more reliable.

What I discovered Sunday is that Kyle has very unrealistic expectations about what a round of golf should really be like. He, like most of us, expects all the shots to be struck solidly and fly like he imagined. So I explained that he hasn’t
earned the right to have such expectations yet. His scores average around 90-95 and his best ever is an 85.

So, here’s my point (finally)

Kyle was off to a good start with three pars and two bogeys in his first five holes. He kind of “fat-pulled” a 4-iron approach on a 200-plus yard par three. His shot left him only 10-15 yards short and left of the green, but he wheeled around, dropped his club and expressed his disgust with the shot. And I got on him about it. “What’s wrong with that? It’s a difficult par-3 with a 20 mph crosswind and you are in good position to get up and down or at least make no worse than bogey on one of the hardest holes on the course.”

I went on to explain that he was only two pars away from tying his best round ever, and if he just played for bogeys – and stay excited—he would probably make twice that many or more. And I seemed to get through to him of the reality
of golf, or his golf at least. He stayed in the moment, with only a little more cajoling from me, and shot an 86—one shot off his best ever! And I MADE him congratulate himself on his accomplishments. Instead of focusing on those few
shots that were bad, and the 2-3 doubles he made, I told him to focus on the good that came out of that round.

So, here’s my point (or points) for managing your expectations, too.

If you are a low single-digit player, you’ll still only hit 2-3 shots a round just like you wanted.
If you play to a 12 or higher, any shot that keeps you in the game isn’t really all that bad.
Regardless of your skill level, there is no such thing as a “birdie hole” when you are standing on the tee. A “birdie hole” can only be claimed when you have executed an approach to makeable putt range.
If you are a 12-15 handicap player, you only need to make 3-6 pars to beat your handicap, as long as you don’t chop up any holes. Bogeys are good scores unless you regularly shoot in the 70s!

So, the next time you are on the golf course, try to set and manage realistic expectations. Your golf will be better for it, and you’ll have a ton more fun.

NOTE: I read a great article this morning by Geoff Ogilvy about the quality of golf being played on the PGA Tour. It reflects what I’ve often said about how the modern tour professional plays the game. Here it is.

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

5 Comments

myron miller

Feb 26, 2020 at 2:09 pm

I disagree with his idea of a birdie hole. To me, a birdie hole is one that I can reasonably expect if i hit the ball decently have a reasonable chance of birdie. Hell, there are times that I’ve hit miraculus shots that went totally unrealistic distances and hit near the hole eventually for a birdie, where normally I have no chance of getting anywhere near a birdie. My normal chances on some holes, is slightly greater than 0 say 1% (1 in 10,000 or less. But a hole where I can if i do everything ok, have a realistic putt (within 20 feet) at a birdie to me is a birdiable hole (birdie hole). I approach the hole with the idea that I can birdie the hole if I hit each shot reasonably and can reach the green or very close (within 20 yards) in regulation. Those holes that I have zero chance of reaching in regulation (like a par 3 of 200+ yards or a 575 yard par 5.

His idea of any shot that “keeps you in the game” isn’t bad is unclear. What does this actually mean. say I’m on a 400 yard par 4. If I hit the ball only 100 yards off the tee am I still in the game? It can be in the middle of the fairway but I have zero chance of making par and have to hope to make bogey by hitting the next 3+ shots well. More likely, I’ll make double bogey on this hole. Yet there have been a number of times where I was very happy with the way I hit the ball on the hole and only made the “dreaded double bogey”. Wind screaming at 25+ mph with gusts to 30-40mph and swirling, not in a consistent direction.

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Joe

Feb 25, 2020 at 10:56 pm

This is something I need to keep in mind too. I’ve found that when I’ve thought positively, I’ve played better.

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iutodd

Feb 25, 2020 at 4:13 pm

I really enjoy all your articles. This whole concept is something that I have to remind myself of a lot. I’m, oh, an 8-10 handicap and when I play as a single I’m usually the “better” player of whomever I get grouped up with. But that still means on average I’ll miss 9-11 greens a round and about half of my fairways! I try to keep high expectations – but I do have to manage those expectations when shots don’t do what I want them to do. I’m also very time constrained and barely/rarely warm up – in fact I don’t really even know what a proper “warm up” feels like. So I generally start off slow, then I play really well from holes 5-13, then I get tired or lose focus. This leaves out entirely the inclusion or exclusion of beer.

I played with what had to be a sub-3 handicapper or better late last year – I was mostly blown away by their focus. I play a lot as a single and often I end up making small talk with the twosome I get paired up with and I end up not focusing all that well and subsequently I don’t play that well. It’s also just hard to be that guy who grinds for 45 seconds over every 3 footer when the other two have beers in their hands. This guy, the low single handicapper, was playing his game and focusing on what he needed to do – it was really impressive to see right up close like that.

I’m not as good as he is – but I aspire to golf like he does. I think managing expectations is totally a part of that because it does break your focus and your confidence and make the game less fun.

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Brandon

Feb 25, 2020 at 11:32 am

This is good advice except for the part about club selection. Why would you take more club because you are expecting to hit a bad shot? Seems like you are setting yourself up to fail before you even make the swing. I’d rather be short on most approach shots than long anyway.

Reply Report comment
- Alex
  
  Feb 25, 2020 at 3:48 pm
  
  I dont think you understood the point. What he was saying is that the kid was choosing his club based on max yardage instead of a controlled shot. I.e., hitting a 7i you can take to 175 1 out of 10 shots, instead of taking a smooth 6i to hit the number with an avg shot. I dove down into the low single digits after going off this mentality, taking the stronger club and swinging at ~80% gives way better results than full swings with all clubs.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

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6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

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