It's often easy on the course to think you can pull off a miracle shot and that's when big numbers begin to appear on your scorecard.
Ross Fisher's pitch in on the second hole was made to look easy by the young maestro whereas in actual fact it was fraught with danger.
His ball landed on the very edge of the green on the upslope which killed the speed and let it trickle to the hole, had it landed two feet shorter it would have no doubt finished back at his feet and six feet further on and he would have faced a 30 footer back.
Paul McGinley faced a similar shot on the second hole and elected to use a putter and on that occasion the ball did indeed finish back at his feet.
Compare that to Tom Watson's bump 'n' run shot from the rear of the third green and in two holes you've witnessed three ways of playing the same shot.
The choice of method for each player wasn't down to their preference of shot, it was the lie of the ball that determined what options were available to them.
Fisher's ball was in the thicker rough with at least a 2" cushion of grass which means the sand or lob wedge could be used, the angled sole of these lofted clubs (the bounce) requires a fair amount of grass underneath the ball.
McGinley's ball was on the tight grass at the bottom of the slope and the golden rule of 'hit the ball as low as you can, whenever you can' came into force, he just didn't hit the putt hard enough.
Watson's bump 'n' run was played from the short rough by the green and a 6 or 7-iron was sufficient to chip the ball over the fringe and run out to the hole.
Try each shot and you'll begin to develop a feel for the situation best suited to each club.
A good experiment is to have a go with completely the wrong club - a 7-iron from thick rough, a sand wedge from a tight lie - and you'll soon see which club NOT to use. It's often easy on the course to think you can pull off a miracle shot and that's when big numbers begin to appear on your scorecard.
As the back nine unfolded today and the Championship really hotted up there were plenty of decisions about which greenside method to employ, especially as lots of the greens sloped sharply away from the hole locations.
And as we saw in the scoring - those shots were the difference between winning and making up the numbers.
Nevil Bland is head professional at Brocton Hall and can be contacted on 01785 661 485 or at nevil.bland@foremostgolf.com
19 July, 2009 | By Nevil Bland, PGA professional