If you can hit your 3- and 5-woods with confidence from the fairway, par 5s become birdie opportunities, and 420-yard par 4s are a lot less scary.

You have to know how to read your lie and take a calculated risk when you hit out of the rough.

I had a bit of a rough start there and made some good par putts on the first two holes,

For the most part, when you play a full shot from the primary rough at your course, you're gauging how close to a standard shot you can hit based on your lie in the grass.

I'm sure you have a hole at your course where you love to hit the tee shot. You can't wait to get up there and bomb away because the fairway is wide, or the hole always plays downwind.

When you get to the tee on a really long par 5, I know what you're feeling. You want to let the shaft out on the driver and try to bomb it down there. I get the same feeling. But a big tee shot is not always the best strategy, especially on a long hole.