On The Tee with Hank Johnson

PGA Championship Special
Preparing for Hazeltine!
Prepare yourself mentally and physically
1) Be rested and refreshed
2) Get all distractions taken care of
3) Decide to enjoy the experience

Study the golf course and get to know it intimately
1) Walk the course backwards to evaluate the approaches to the greens and the landing area for your tee shots
2) Get acquainted with the speed of the golf course (ie. Putts, chips, pitches and run up shots)
3) Get a feel for the bunker sand from different types of lies
4) Practice chips and pitches from different lies around the greens

For your yardage book
1) Make sure you have lay up yardages
2) Chart the greens for general breaking patterns
3) Pick a driving target and a driving club for every hole
4) Have a strategy for the play of every hole

During the round
1) Hit the ball in the fairway - be willing to hit whatever club that requires
2) After a poor shot, come up with a conservative plan - the PGA Championship is no place to try to be a hero
3) Be patient no matter what happens, everyone else out there will be struggling too
4) Expect to face more up and down situations
5) Expect to have to make more putts for par than normal
6) Stay focused on what you do want to do. Don’t let your mind wander on to what you want to avoid