It doesn’t matter whether you’re a professional, or an amateur playing off a handicap of 20. Either way, you’ll realise that golf comes down to decision-making. At every moment during a round, you’ll be thinking about your next stroke.

It’s this level of thought that helps to make golf such an intriguing sport. There are rarely times when you can simply switch off and hope for the best. Instead, you’re constantly seeking to put strategies in place and then execute them correctly.

The decisions start before you even set foot on the course. Which clubs will you be using? It goes without saying that you should be opting to use clubs that you feel most comfortable with. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should select clubs that are expensive, produced by a certain brand, or used by a particular golf professional. Instead, make sure that you are happy with the choice.

In reality, this means that you’ll want to spend some time on the practice greens and driving range before committing yourself to use particular clubs. You need to know that, when you’re under pressure, you have the optimum putter to sink that putt, or the driver that will give you the most yards and accuracy off the tee.

You also need to make the right choices in terms of the number of clubs that you’ll be using. Make sure that you’re happy with the selection that’s available to you within your golf bag.

Of course, there are plenty of other decisions at this early stage that could have an impact on your game. Have you got the right clothing? This is particularly important if you’re unsure of the weather conditions. Be prepared, with plenty of layers available, but also make sure that your swing won’t be negatively impacted by anything that you’re wearing.

Have you thought about the glare of the sun too? That could also cause problems, so you’ll want to consider choosing a suitable cap and sunglasses. If you usually wear prescription glasses, then make sure that you opt for prescription golf sunglasses too – you’ll want to be able to see the pin!

Once on the course, safe in the knowledge that you are using the correct equipment and accessories, you’ll really be needed to make the difficult decisions. Do you take risks and attempt glorious drives, or seek to keep things simple?

There are no easy answers. You need to react differently depending upon the circumstances. That’s what makes this great game so challenging and fun!