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It was the BMW PGA Championship on the West Course at Wentworth this week and, as always, the par 5s matter.
Before the nine it is important to break the fourth to keep the momentum (or maybe make it).
Meanwhile, on the back nine, a player can go downhill with a long attack on the 12th and then try to close out the round with bogeys on the 17th and 18th, both par 5s.
It creates drama for fans watching on the course and on television but what does the average golfer look like making multiple birdies on the long holes?
Michael Block, the teaching pro who became a cult hero when he finished 15th in the 2023 PGA Championship, says the best way to break par is to keep it simple.
In a video the PGA of America recorded at the 2018 PGA Championship Block says: “My job today is to teach you how to manage the par 5 course.”
He starts by tying his tee shots down the fairways and then the tip kicks in.
He says, “Okay, I was lucky to find the fairway and have 250 yards to go to the pin.
“From what I’ve seen from the members at my home course you all want to hit a 3-wood on your second shot on a par-5 and unless your name is DJ or Rory you tend not to hit those 3-woods very well. Is it?!
‘Happy number’
So my recommendation if you want to start making more birdies on the par-5s go ahead and put your happy number.
“My happy number is 100 yards out so I’ll hit the 9 iron to the 100 yard mark and make an easy birdie with my lob wedge.”
When he walks up to the ball, Block looks up at the green, which is surrounded by bunkers, with trees and water in play.
“This style of play,” he says, “takes out the bunkers, and the trees and the water, and the scary 3-wood that I know we’ve all done before.”
“By lying on my 9 iron I was able to dodge a 60 yard shot that none of us wanted and I didn’t cut the ball in the river.
“Now I have 100 yards with my lob wedge and I’ll take it all day.”
Funnily enough, Block then hits the middle of the eagle-3. “Are you kidding?” you prune. “I had to save it for the tournament.”
But Block insists that all average golfers could learn a lesson in fun numbers.
He says: “You just remember.” “Use course management and make a birdie.”
READ MORE: Wentworth: what would be the ‘average’ golf course at the home of the BMW PGA Championship
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