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Target Focus All clubs Expert / Intermediate ⏱ 9 min 🇬🇧 Video in English, summarized

Aim Based on Your Missed Shots: Golf Digest

Do you aim for the flag and end up in the water too often? Golf Digest features Scott Fawcett, a former professional golfer and mathematician, who shows all golfers how the pros choose their targets by first considering their missed shots.

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Golf Digest · his YouTube channelFree lesson selected by Fred P.

To be continued

23 minSame problemHitter vs. Thrower Swing: The Real DifferencesJérémy Goergen · Intermediate5 minSame problemPredicting Ball Contact: Edouard Montaz’s DrillEdouard Montaz · Intermediate / Expert12 minSame problemDriver: Build a Fairway on the Range Like MorikawaCollin Morikawa · Beginner / Intermediate

What the lesson shows

Ben Hogan used to say that golf is “a game of misses”: whoever misses best wins. Golf Digest explores this idea with Scott Fawcett, a former pro and mathematician who founded the DECADE course management method. Imagine 100 shots hit with each club: they form a dispersion cone, which gets wider and wider with distance. For pros, a 300-yard drive spreads out nearly 70 yards wide; for amateurs, it’s even wider. Off the 18th tee at TPC Sawgrass, aiming for the middle of the fairway would send about 30% of drives into the water. The pros aim almost at the trees on the right to bring the left side of the cone back onto the fairway.

The same logic applies on approach shots: Scott Fawcett recommends that youforget about the flag and aim for the center of the green. Misses on the water side turn into birdie putts, while those on the other side stay on the green; from beyond 30 feet, pros two-putt or better more than 90% of the time. Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith, Tiger Woods, and Matt Fitzpatrick have hit famous shots that were actually misses from a conservative target. Hogan, for his part, never aimed at a flag tucked in a corner of the green and played the widest part of the green: your best shots won’t end up in the best spots, but your bad shots will be better placed.

The Exercise, Step by Step

  1. Identify the most costly hazard on the hole (water, out of bounds).
  2. Imagine the cone of missed shots with the club you've chosen.
  3. Move your target so that the dangerous side of the cone remains in play.
  4. When aiming at the green, aim for the center rather than the flag.
  5. If the flag is in front, take one more club; if the flag is in the back, take a three-quarter swing.
  6. Commit to that target and accept the result.

Key Takeaways

Golf is a game of bad shots: you don't get to choose which shot comes out.
Your shots form a cone of dispersion that widens with distance.
The goal is to keep the entire cone in play, not to make the perfect shot.
Toward the green: Forget the flag—aim for the center.
Hogan never aimed at a flag placed in a corner of the green.

Mistakes to Avoid

  • Aiming for the perfect shot rather than for your whole shot pattern.
  • Aiming at a flag tucked in a corner, near the water.
  • Following the yardage book line without accounting for your dispersion.
  • Believing you can “force” a good shot on demand.

Driving Range Mode

Keep it in plain sight, on the rug.

  1. Hit 100 balls with one club and note how wide your dispersion is
  2. On a course map, place your cone on each hole
  3. On the course, aim for the center of the green for an entire round

Your Questions

What is a dispersion cone?

This refers to the pattern formed by all your shots with a club: as you hit them, they form a sort of ice cream cone, widening as the distance increases. For pros, a 300-yard drive spreads out over about 70 yards.

Why aim away from danger—sometimes toward the trees?

Because you're moving your worst shots—the ones that would otherwise end up in the water—to a playable area. Your shots on the other side aren't quite as good, but the overall result is very positive.

Should you aim for the flag when hitting shots toward the green?

According to Scott Fawcett, no: aim for the center of the green. Misses on the danger side still stay on the green, and the others leave a longer putt, but rarely a bogey.

What did Ben Hogan say about that?

He never aimed for a flag in a corner of the green; instead, he played the widest part of the green and adjusted his club and swing based on the flag's position to avoid missing on the wrong side.

Learn More

All “Target Intention” videos →Find the lesson that's right for you Driver: Build a Fairway on the Range Like MorikawaA fairway winding between two driving range markers, a gentle rise up to waist height, and an outer target in sight: Morikawa’s driver. Hitter vs. Thrower Swing: The Real DifferencesCompare the swing of someone who hits the ball with someone who throws it to the target: intent changes the setup, the move, the release and the finish; change the start and the end. Predicting Ball Contact: Edouard Montaz’s DrillContact is a prediction, not an action: lower your stance in stages (swing at the air, top, clean ball, ball-grass-ground) while aiming at the target.

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