The Tee-Club Decision Matrix
Reaching for driver on holes where driver is the only club that can make a double.
Set up
Before your next round, mark every driving hole on the card: where does trouble start, and how wide is the landing zone at your driver distance vs your 5-wood/hybrid distance?
The reps
Write the club on the card before the round. Play all 18 tee shots to the pre-committed club. Review after: how many penalties and re-tees?
How you know it's working
A full round with zero tee-shot penalties. The card decides, not your ego.
Why it works
The penalty doesn't happen at impact — it happens 5 minutes earlier when you pulled the wrong club. Pre-committing removes the on-tee negotiation you always lose.
The evidence
Arccos data shows big numbers — not a lack of birdies — are what separate handicap bands: a 20-handicap makes ~7 doubles-or-worse a round vs 0.7 for scratch, and penalties are a leading cause. Decision-first frameworks (the same expected-value logic behind DECADE and Broadie's tee-shot analysis) cut them without changing your swing.
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