THE 10 HARDEST SHOTS IN GOLF

Golf is tough, and some situations on the course demand an extra degree of skill and/or self belief. Fergus Bisset runs through the most nerve-jangling scenarios...

- Fergus Bisset

1st tee shot

It doesn’t matter how well you’ve prepared, how mentally ready you are or how many balls you’ve hit in the nets, you have no idea how your day is going to pan out until you strike that first shot. This is the blow that will set the tone for the day. Can you compose yourself to swipe it down the middle? Or will it be a nervy, powerless prod that, quite frankly, could end up anywhere? Whatever course you’re playing on, in whatever event, the 1st tee shot is a mental hurdle that you want to sail over rather than stumble into.

Four-footer on the 18th green

For some players, every putt is difficult, but this one is the most challenging of all for amateur players. Make this and the day will be saved. You can go home and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Miss it and you’ll feel you’ve wasted four hours and will want to spend the rest of the weekend in the cupboard under the stairs. “I think it’s pretty straight. No wait, maybe it moves a little from the right… But if I hit it firmly enough…” 

Carry over trouble

If you don’t catch this right, it’s curtains. Between you and safety lies water, gorse, the sea, a canyon… whatever. But you have only one option: make a decent contact and fly the trouble. With nothing to fear, you’ll achieve a reasonable enough strike nine of ten times. But with the threat of imminent doom to your precious white orb, the odds of failure are greatly shortened.