October 2, 2026 1:41 pm

“Drive for show, putt for dough” is one of the best-known sayings in golf. For PGA Tour professionals, there is certainly plenty of truth in it.

At that level, most players are pretty handy with a driver. Ultimately, the player who performs best with the flat stick on the greens often takes home the trophy and the spoils.

For the amateur golfer, though, I think it can be a little different.

A good drive gets you halfway there in one shot. It also gives you confidence going into your next shot. On the other hand, if you duff your tee shot, there is a good chance that by the time you reach the green, it will not matter how many putts you take. The damage may already have been done.

That is one of the reasons so many golfers spend their time on the driving range hitting the big clubs. Plus, let’s face it, hitting a driver is great fun.

However, there is another part of the game that I have been concentrating on much more with my students recently: approach shots from 100 yards and in.

Why Practise Your 100-Yard Approach Shots?

These shorter iron and wedge shots are incredibly important.

If you can consistently hit the green from 100 yards and closer, you give yourself a great opportunity to make a good score. Get the ball safely onto the green, take two putts from there and things are going pretty well.

That sounds straightforward, but becoming accurate from these distances takes practice.

Using Toptracer Coach, I regularly send my students an assignment designed specifically to improve their distance control and accuracy.

They have to hit shots from 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 yards, with Toptracer setting a target around four or five yards across.

The challenge is to get five out of 20 shots into the target from each distance.

It drives them mad!

It is incredibly challenging and can keep them occupied for hours. However, the improvement I have seen in this area of their game has been amazing.

Accuracy Doesn’t Have to Mean Perfection

There is another important point to remember.

If I set a target that is four or five yards wide and a student finishes seven yards away, technically they have missed the challenge. On the golf course, though, finishing seven yards from the target could still be a very good result.

That is what this type of practice is really about.

You are training yourself to understand your distances, control your shots and become more consistent from inside 100 yards. Over time, that can make a huge difference to your scoring.

So, the next time you visit the range, by all means get the driver out and enjoy hitting a few big ones.

Just don’t forget those iron approaches.

Categorised in: Tip of the month, World of Golf London