The hardest shot to hit in golf is a perfectly straight shot. Almost every single long shot you play will have a right to left or left to right spin on the ball, and even the greatest players in the world have a natural shape. The secret is not to fight that spin but to play with it.

If you generally hit the ball in a certain direction, your key priority is to course manage yourself and only attempt to play certain shots or clubs that suit your personal ball flight.

Double the size of the fairway. If you aim down the middle, you are already reducing your landing area by half. If your tendency is to draw or hook the ball from right to left, tee up and stand on the left side of the tee markers.

This will allow you to aim up the right hand side of the fairway and allow the ball to draw back into the centre or left side. If your tendency is to hook, try teeing the ball a little lower which encourages a slight descending blow and a less inside angle of attack to reduce the chance of the ball spinning left.

The most common shape and direction for most club golfers is to fade or slice the ball. If you fit into this category, tee the ball as close as you dare to the right hand tee marker and aim away form the right side of the fairway.

Allow the ball to start on the left edge or semi-rough and watch the ball spin back into the short stuff. Remember a fairway is 25-35 yards wide, so that width becomes your total landing area.

If this sounds like your shot pattern, try using a driver with a little more loft, drop down to a three wood or tee the ball higher to encourage a shallow angle of attack to sweep the ball off the tee peg.