The Clever Aiming Strategy Tour Pros Actually Use | The Game Plan | Golf Digest 

Allow me to introduce you to my 200 yard wide cone

In all honesty, I'm a +2 handicap & this is mind blowing. Not so much tge strategy but the realization that some of the best shots in history were misses. That kind of puts in perspective the fickleness of golf & should ease our minds knowing we're trying to miss it better.

Cone is such a valuable concept. Most mid-high handicappers only consider a one way miss and forget that they also randomly block shots in the complete opposite direction.

I genuinely think this is one of, if not the most helpful instructional golf videos I've ever seen. Seems like an incredibly simple concept, but I think seeing pros put it into practice - especially producing some all-time shots because of it - really helps the average golfer put their game into perspective. That Ben Hogan quote may have changed my golf game forever.

As a golf instructor, I would love nothing more than to make every single one of my students watch it. I cannot tell you how many of my students will answer the question “how many pins are you firing at during a round” with a quizzical look and say “well, all of them.” If more golfers had a better understanding of their misses and how to aim themselves properly to make their misses be less destructive, it would change their games.

Came on my feed, i nearly didn't watch it but im bloody glad i did, i have never looked at the game like this, brilliant

such a game changer and shows why pros are pros. As a bogey golfer I just dont understand how poeple think of this stuff lol! its great thank you!

I think this is the best video I have ever seen, basically, if you try to use theory throughout your game, you will immediately understand how to select a club as well! That means for club selection, the distance is no longer important, it is all about having your dispersion always within the fairways and greens. Great video!

This is exactly what people mean when they talk about course management. People who are guilty of poor course management take risks that aren't proportional to the rewards, like trying a 200 yard carry over water when they can only pull that off if they absolutely flush the shot. Or people who aren't good bunker players aiming right at a pin tucked near a bunker. Your scores are much more determined by how good your bad shots are than by how good your good shots are. A great shot won't necessarily end up with a birdie unless you convert the putt. But a lousy shot can put you in a situation where you can't hit a good recovery shot (like behind a tree, in taller grass, or buried in a bunker) and lead to a double bogey or worse. Aim for the heart of the fairway, shade your approaches to the fat of the green, and allow for some error and you will shoot better scores. Signed, a low handicapper with 60 years of golf behind me.

Captivating! Felt like i was watching an indiana jones hunt for ancient relics and found it in the end like the happy ending i deserve 🎉

This is so classic, I am a 2 handicap and when I get in scrambles with people they expect me to be within 8 feet of the pin on every iron shot. they don't understand tap in pars are awesome.

What a great great video! Will definitely put this to use next time I’m out on the course. Bravo GD!

Gonna try this! Thanks GD 😎

helpful. Thank you!

I love these course management videos...keep them coming GD!

This is all about course management. Love it!

Very insightful, thanks! Would have come in handy at my club champs this past weekend....LOL! Definitely going to put this strategy into play going forward!!

I love this series of videos!!!!

This is great, thanks for sharing this info!!!

These in depth look golf digest videos of late have been incredible

Outstanding details on playing the misses... ty!

Great points here. Use a sim get an idea of ur dispersion for each club full swing , 3/4 and half swing Then apply that to the course. Winning shots are many times misses is eye opening

Excellent video, thanks all

Wow!! Never thought about this. Thanks.

That's really good advise. Contrary to intuition which says "I gotta go for it or I'll lose anyway ". It applies to everyone except Moe Norman!

Such a cool video, thanks for this

I wish I had seen this video before I played the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass.

Going to try this today - thank you

Going to try this today!

Coming back to this video because Rory put one in the water on the 18th at TPC Sawgrass because he aimed right down the line of the water and overdrew it. Didn’t put his cone in the right spot

Scott Fawcett is a quality dude. If you know you know. We appreciate you Scott

My late Grandfather, a 25 year PGA professional, told me "Play the shot that makes the next shot the easiest.". That has stuck with me every round.

Great video! Important takeaway is to be realistic about your potential misses. Aim for a conservative spot that can still supplement a miss hit.

Brilliant! This is precisely why Hogan was such a master of the game. Being a “student” of his game this was something I lost in studying it. I can’t wait to apply this to my game. Thanks

This is awesome and so helpful

This is genuinely such an important video

If I’m not mistaken I thought the decade method wants you to be somewhat aggressive going into pins. It’s just the same principles over again going into a green as off the tee. Knowing your shot pattern as it relates to the club your hitting then picking your landing zone. If it ends up being the middle of the green so be it, but its not an absolute of always going for the middle of the green

this makes a lot of sense, i hit mostly draws and a lot of pull draws and i don't aim enough right to allow for it and aim down the middle. i'm gonna try this cone method, thnx for the info, it's what i needed.

I never ever thought about golf like this.. mind blowing

Thanks for sharing ❤

Going to try this tomorrow.

That was excellent advice

Really like the video but you could also talk about where you miss, most people don't have a cone but have a regular miss albeit left or right and therefore use your own shot shape to build your own private cone. obviously if you are a beginner or double crossing it's different. just an idea.

Wow - simple, clear, and makes sense.

I shoot in the upper 70s on average and I stumbled upon this strategy years ago, by myself. In my mind, it was just common sense. Yes, it does keep my game score consistent, but in the end, if I wanna shoot better, I need to play more and I just don’t have the time.

Love your videos!

This was great!

Finally a good explanation of Decade I can wrap my head around

Awesome video. Now if I can remember it. I now have an 847 swing

Really good video. I’ve been trying to do that, but it takes discipline.

The most consistently great golfer of all time, Jack Nicklaus, played this way. 😉

excellent visualization of Hogan's genius I notice myself falling for the shooting at the flag more than I like to. Looking for that perfect shot ... now... I see that I should be looking for that perfect miss.

The part that most golfers struggle with this strategy the most? Actually sticking to it.

Being a 1 handicap player this is really amazing, playing conservative golf is key to shooting low scores

the best piece of advice here

This is fascinating and such a great strategy (though my cone is pretty wide!)

I think this applies to other shots, too. Like don't try the flop shot over the bunker; just play a normal pitch to the other side of the hole. Take those big numbers out of play. Great video 👍

Definitely an "ah ha" moment. Going over my last few rounds, I can see that this approach would have improved my scores. Thank you for an informative and well presented video.

The only hole in one I ever had was aimed at the middle of the green. I pulled it slightly and in it went.

Great vid. It's what's meant when you hear pros talk about "where to miss it"... they never aim to miss, rather they understand they will miss some shots so they factor that in to avoid missing it in a really bad place.

That makes so much sense and is so simplistic in logic that it is in a way laughable that a golfer of any level does not know that theory of the game. I now feel like an idiot as I have never considered such logic, and as such have self sabotaged many years of golf. Great content, thank you.

Jack Nicklaus was probably the best at this. His record in Majors speaks for itself.

Thanks!!!!!

Funny. This light went off for me during covid when we were all playing a lot of golf. I actually started doing this to save money on lost balls off the tee because I was playing so much and losing so many at the hilly tree-lined course I played. By the end of that first covid year it became a regular occurrence to play 18 with 1 ball after easily going through 2 sleeves per round sometimes more. It became 1 ball and occasionally 2-3 at the most and even that wasn't always because they were lost. Often it was because some were approaching a near 10 rounds of play and just felt slightly worn out... My scores dropped like crazy, broke 80 a lot more often and my handicap got REAL low even though that wasn't my intention. Especially when I started only shooting at fat parts of greens. And to think it all started because I wanted to save money on balls. Best golf season of my life. 🤷‍♂️

Amazing video

great vid

Great content, and now I'm desperate to get out there and try it.

Great video but i hate when people misconstrue concepts to best fit their arguement. When talking about the tiger and matt fitzpatrick aiming more left when they were meaning, you decided to draw a straight line off of the feet instead parallel on the ball.

I'm glad I was taught by my grandfather. I've got excellent fundamentals. I learned this in 1977.... He taught me.... Proper etiquette and integrity above all..... Then, he moved to the grip. I was hosting at TPC Oak Bridge, and my friend griped at me about the 13th hole, "Someone could really get pissed off golfing with you." I started scrambling for why. I talk a lot, but not while someone is addressing the ball. I didn't walk across a lie. Hmmm? "Mike, what's the problem?" His reply....."You're always in the fairway." I just laughed and told him..."I haven't hit a drive over 200 yards all day. I shot 90. Too many below average golfers take their golf too seriously AND have unrealistic expectations that are regularly unmet. Drive for show. Chip and putt for dough..... even though I never bet on golf. I did tap the thumbs up 👍 button to feed the algorithm monsters.

Insightful

mind blowing realization

Some say Moe was the best ball striker of all time. I guess it depends on how you measure it. Excellent video!

Classic TY! 😎

amazing concept here, just 1 more swing thought

I have been able to make my misses left or right depending what I want the ball to do, irons always have a good right to left fade, driver I can hit fade or draw 200-225 and most chips can place exactly where I want, I use a similar method to play half decent, usually shoot 80s. Just got 78 first time the other day

Check out Practical Golf by Jon Sherman. It’s super easy to understand and you only really need to cover the first half to drop a ton of strokes with no swing changes.

Great vid. I thought he was saying "Tall" players ha!

Awesome video and great advice. However, let's keep in mind that not all tour players setup perfectly "parallel left" !!

Lmao... over 9 minutes on the longer you hit the ball, the more you should account for left and right misses... and Moe Norman is the greatest ball striker that ever lived. The PGA would rather remember Hogan since they didn't laugh him off the tour for being a little kooky. Couldnt even get that right, though... 😂

This is awesome! I am just getting started with golf. For someone who is barely an amateur, is there a good way to define your own cone? Just go to the range and try and watch every shot?

Funny that he used that Tiger fw bunker shot as an example cause when Tiger has been asked about hitting perfect golf shots he said he’s only hit two of them that did exactly what he envisioned and that was one of them.

Sam Snead said “aim for the center of the green and let fate take over” or something. Best advice ever.

This video and format was really cool, I wish these RU-vidrs like you became more popular… nobody cares about a DOD king lol

This guy’s voice is something else

Recently, I went to the range and really worked my wedges and short irons. I paid attention to all my misses, and had the tracer data to study after. A few days later, I went to my 9 hole course and shot the best round I'd ever done. Every shot I thought about where my misses could go, I didn't go in a single bunker and only lost one ball. It was amazing, now I just need to do the same for my longer clubs.

also they try to move the ball fade or draw to maximise target area

Best advise I’ve never taken 😂

Never knew I was so lucky to have my dad explain this to me at 13 years old. Doesn’t mean I never attack a pin, though!!

I've stood in that bunker at Glen Abbey's 18th hole. It literally looks like a mile away... over water

2:24 Scottie Scheffler: Hold my beer.

Without wanting to sound like a shill, this is exactly what Shot Scope offer with their strategy planner, which you can use before your round to determine the best club for each tee shot

It's important to note that the left side of the cone has longer shots and the right side of the cone has shorter shots. This is for right handed players. Pulls to the left deloft the club and go longer. The opposite for right. This is a crucial stat to know for most of this to be useful.

DECADE

Did JT use his cone last weekend?

A good read would be Hank Haney's " The Big Miss "; he talks about some of this.......

"best ball striker ever" Moe Norman has entered the chat.

Cone is a great system but a bit of a stretch to say Tiger wasn’t playing the fade on that shot 😂

This is why in my opinion, GPS is better to use than rangefinders. GPS can put you in the middle of the green. Rangefinder users always default to the flag.

3:04 what if the top of my curve is 3 different fairways?

It's all about reducing errors and variance