golf course management

Does anyone have any good advice for managing your way round the golf course like the pros do. This is a major problem in my game and costs me loads of shots every round.

Play safe and fun golf. Hit away from OB and trouble, and if you can't certainly fly it, lay up certainly short.

CCT You don't have to hit a driver on every par 4&5, whats your best club? if it's say an eight iron and you hit that 130 metres hit your tee shots so you have that left to the pin.
Look at the green if they've put a sucker pin on the left handside and theres a huge bunker left, aim for the middle right side.
The object is to make your next shot as easy as possible.The shot you are about to play now is only to get you in a better position for your next shot.

Good luck and happy golfing

Go in with a game plan. Try to hit fairways instead of monster drives that could end up anywhere and everywhere. I'd rather hit a long second shot into a par 4 than scramble from the trees 100 yards out and then have another shot into the green from about 90 - 100 yards, depending if I got out of the trees or not.

As kiwi said, play to your distances. If you hit your driver 275 and the hole is 350 that would leave you 75 yard shot. If your shortest club leaves you 90 yards, you would be better leaving the driver in the bag in the first place. Using the same example, on a 350 yard hole I would tee off with my 5I. That would leave me around the 150 marker with a wedge to the pin. I could driver the green with my driver if I caught it perfectly, but I could also be in the rough, the trees, a bunker or somewhere else I would rather not be.

Stick with the high percentage shots. If you are not 75% - 100% sure that you are going to make the shot you are attempting, look for a safer alternative.

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

CCT been thinking about this again today(during work hours )

Youve got to know your exact yardage with each club, then think your way backwards from green to tee.
At your home course you know where on the green you want to putt from(maybe be uphill or left of pin offers a straight putt), now to get here is easiest from which point on the fairway,that gives you the target area to place your drive.
Some of the best rounds of golf had a double bogey early in the piece,don't chase the birdie to hard to catch up you can't change the last shot the only control we have is the next shot. Learn from a bad shot but move on quickly otherwise your next shot will be horrible as well. One bad shot or hole doesn't ruin an entire round
As bad as it gets just hang in there,it can all click back into place just as quickly.
Happy hunting
Kiwi

thanks for the advice guys!

Thinking about it now, I never really think where I wanna be on a green or fairway. I just aim down the middle and hope for the best on fairways, and greens I just fly for the flag every time.

Hopefully my handicap will come tumbling down next year...

Put good course management into practice and your handicap won't tumble it will plumet.

May all your shots go straight and true

Kiwi

The best advise is that know your game and stick with it.

Dont try to fade/draw the ball if you dont know how to.

Always aime to the safest place on the fairway (away from the water, traps trees).

Reaching the green: aime to the middle of the green. Makes it much easier.

So called "hero shots" will work only like 1 in 10. Dont use them. If you end up in the woods, play it out safe, dont try to find a cap where you could gain extra yards (most likely you will hit the tree and stay in the woods). Cause in the end of the day, bogey is better than double bogey

__________________
I shot 59 once. Sure! I remember it clearly, I was standing on the 13th green and heading to the 14th tee box and I had 59 shots in my card...

I think one of the most important things is to get your club distances right. Its hard to plan if you dont know your numbers.

Another good tip I have found is to use Memory Aids. A line around the ball helps for aiming for putting and also for the driving. If you know exactly where you are aiming with the driver its a big boost to confidence.

Heres a some course management points i try and use when im out there

1. Driving: Always pick a point that will leave you safe if you hit your normal bad shot but will leave you safe if you hit the good shot. This isnt always in the best spot but the operative word here is SAFE.

2. Long Irons: If in doubt drop to the fairway woods, they are easier to hit and land softer.

3. Short Game: If you cant putt, chip. If you cant chip, pitch. If you cant pitch, lob.

4. Putting: Never up Never in doesnt work!!!! you are better 6 inches short than 4 feet past. On tricky putts I always try and err on the short side especially when the green falls away after the hole.

The main thing about course management is that it needs practice as well. You cant go out and 'play hockey' day in day out and then expect to click into game mode in the medal. If you can, play a round on your own late evening or early morning when the course is quiet. Hit two or three shots when its a shot you have trouble with, for example on a short par four try Driver, then Fairway wood, then 3 iron and see what one leaves you with the best shot into the green. Also, hit putts from the fringes of the greens to get your feel for the longer putts on every hole.

Good luck,

D.

Course management is just that, "management". Ask yourself, is it better to be on a par 4 hole in three, putting for par, or taking an unrealistic shot to hit the green in regulation?

Also, always check the pin placement on the green so you can set yourself up on your approach shot (if you are not going for the green) to have the best line into the pin as possible. If the pin is on the right side, hit your approach to the left side to have the best line in.

I agree with the other responces in that you must know your distances for each club. This doesn't have to be exact, but a good understanding of each range is critical in club selection.

Think about risk/reward ratios. If in doubt, take the longer stick out. If uncomfortable on the tee, use a 3 wood or 4 iron. Shorter, in great position is better than longer in jail. Playing smart is what the pros do. They set themselves up to have the best opportunity to score. That means getting on the green in a spot that provides the best opportunity of dropping the putt.

a good book to have would be pelz's short game bible...alot of statistical advice but you can get some really good nuggets from it

ed

Course management (imho) starts during your warm up just prior to your round. Very few golfers can hit the same accurate distances day after day. Even the top 10 golfers in the world are not 100% round after round. (maybe 99%) During your warm up you will find, for what ever reason, that you are hitting longer, or shorter, that day. Those are the yardages you will be playing with on that day. Some days I am little more left, or right than normal, so I make adjustments to play with what I got that day.

Also, in addition to knowing your yardages with each club, make knowing the "carry" yardage of each club a priority. You may hit a 5i 180, but the carry might only be 160. If there is trouble between the 160-180 yardages, you could roll into it. GJS