In the Trees? The Punch-Out Almost Always Wins

Trying to hit the one-in-ten shot through a tiny gap or over the trees, catching a branch, and turning a bogey into a triple.

A recovery that fails often stays in trouble or ricochets somewhere worse, stacking a second lost stroke on the first. Taking your medicine caps the damage at one dropped shot.

Find the widest, safest gap back to the fairway, even sideways or slightly back, and take the club that guarantees you reach short grass. Give yourself a full next shot from a clean lie.

≈ 0.5-0.9 strokes per hole where the hero shot is a long shot: the difference between bogey and a blow-up.