Driving down tight fairways

When he is playing a course where the fairways are narrow and tree-lined, the man who is a good driver really shines. A good driver is a player who can plan a certain type of shot to fit the requirements of each hole and then go ahead and execute that plan.

He doesn't step up on the tee and simply aim down the middle and try to split the fairway. What he does is aim down one side of the fairway and work the ball in. If most of the trouble lies to the right of the fairway, he will aim down the safer left side and hit the ball with a slight fade that brings it back toward the center of the fairway. Conversely, when the left is the dangerous side, he will aim down the right, away from the trouble, hitting the ball with a slight draw that again brings it into the center of the fairway. When he takes either of these two routes, he gives himself the whole width of the fairway to work the ball into. Say the fairway is 40 yards wide. He has the full 40 yards to shoot at, twice the room of the man who aims down the middle and so leaves himself only a 20-yard leeway to the rough on either side.

In order to execute these tee-shot tactics, it stands that a golfer must have the ability both to draw and fade his drives. This amounts to skill of a very high order, but the best drivers have it, and it sets them off from the other boys.

LIONEL HEBERT, Lafayette, La.

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NEXT WEEK: Phil Taylor on-playing from hard and soft sand