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Rules for avoiding big numbers

rghilljr said:
I was guilty of this yetserday. I am slicing the ball of the tee and trying to reposition my hands on the club and correct my swing plane. I tried those things for the first time on the course and it was a disaster.

I should have known better...

There are some great suggestions in here guys and some that I need to learn my self. I am bad for trying something new or something that I have no business trying to do.
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I disagree with not ever trying a shot on the course for the first time. I think sometimes the course is the best place to practice things.
If I have a wide open course and noone is behind me, I practice all kinds of things.
 
RxGus said:
I read through most of the first page:

1. Dance with the girl you brought- if you are hitting the fade, just play the fade. You can't fix it on the course.
2. Aim for the middle of greens. From the fairway, from a chip, from anywhere. If you can make the GIR +1, you have a great chance at saving your bogey
3. Avoid negative thoughts- don't ever think to yourself "I am going to flub this chip". Golf is a mental game and you WILL flub the shot.
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These are great ones. The ones I'd add are:
1) Put the driver away on tight holes: Yeah, it will go 30 yards further, but it will also go 30 yards further out of bounds.
2) Avoid penalty strokes: Stay in play and avoid the hazards.
3) Golf is an old man's sport: This is what I tell myself so I don't try to kill it. The ball goes a lot further with a nice, easy, steady stroke. Go at it too hard, and my natural tendency (slice) comes in.
4) A stroke on the green is the same as a stroke on the course: Putting is important. Don't three putt!
5) Better the ball: With each shot, make sure the ball is left in a much better spot than your last one.
6) Don't try to work the ball: I'm a high handicapper. I stink. Just concentrate on hitting it high and with consistent ball flight.
7) Putting > Chipping > Pitching > Full swings: This is key from 60 yards in when there are lots of options.
8) Ignore what others around you are doing: What they do has absolutely no impact on my score unless I let them.
9) If you feel a miss coming on, back away and approach again: This doesn't happen on every hole, but there's probably one shot per 9 holes where you know you're going to blow it. Back off. Re approach and go at it again.
10) Underestimate my distance: If I'm between clubs, always go for the longer one. I hit it short far more than I hit it long. I'm also far more apt to mess up when I'm trying to go after it.
 
Barberakb said:
I disagree with not ever trying a shot on the course for the first time. I think sometimes the course is the best place to practice things.
If I have a wide open course and noone is behind me, I practice all kinds of things.
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There is huge difference between trying a shot you've never hit when playing for a score then having a wide open course.
To avoid high scores you should not try to pull off the hero shot or the first time shot.
 
RxGus said:
3. Avoid negative thoughts- don't ever think to yourself "I am going to flub this chip". Golf is a mental game and you WILL flub the shot.
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Related to this one: I've learned that my brain knows more about how to swing a club than I do, and I'm buying in to Faldo's school of thought. As I step into a shot, I try not to think of swing mechanics, but I just try to visualize what I want the shot to look like and let autopilot take over.
 
Here are my rules:

1: no 3 putts
2: no double par scores
3: play the safe shot, going for gold typically leads to a bad shot because you're trying too hard.

Dan
 
dleavitt39 said:
Here are my rules:

1: no 3 putts
2: no double par scores
3: play the safe shot, going for gold typically leads to a bad shot because you're trying too hard.

Dan
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I think you might have missed the point of the thread...
How do you avoid 3 putts and double pars? I think we all know to avoid the Par x2, but I seem to struggle with HOW to do it.
 
Tadashi70 said:
There is huge difference between trying a shot you've never hit when playing for a score then having a wide open course.
To avoid high scores you should not try to pull off the hero shot or the first time shot.
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Very true.
 
good stuff in this thread. playing smart with the course management is something I've had a bad habit of getting away from. Definitely going to try to keep that in my game plan these next few rounds.
 
Play to a number. If you are better at hitting a full wedge from 100yds than a finesse shot from 50yds, don't try to get to the 50 yd mark on your tee shot or layup.

Corollary: Know exact distances for all your wedges, for all combos of quarter, half, three-quarter, and full shots.
 
If you are faced with a long carry over water or another hazard and you are standing there thinking "if I hit a perfect shot I should be able to carry the hazard"...don't. Going for the miracle shot is fine if there isn't a lot of trouble in or near the landing area. If there is trouble there is nothing wrong with playing it safe.
 
Gamma said:
Play to a number. If you are better at hitting a full wedge from 100yds than a finesse shot from 50yds, don't try to get to the 50 yd mark on your tee shot or layup.

Corollary: Know exact distances for all your wedges, for all combos of quarter, half, three-quarter, and full shots.
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I like this one, too. I spent a fair amount of time figuring out incremental shots with my SCORs and it has helped immensely. 50 and 100 are my fave yardages now.
 
If I can't execute a shot 70 percent of the time, I wont play it on the course.



Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
 
bigdaddy said:
If I can't execute a shot 70 percent of the time, I wont play it on the course.



Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
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That doesn't really work for the average golfer though. I don't want to putt my way down a fairway from the tee box
 
Don't let you ego write checks that your swing/clubs can't cash.

Think like Dwight: Whenever I'm about to do something, I think, 'Would an idiot do that?' And if they would, I do not do that thing.
 
When you hit into a water hazard with a drop zone, don't Tin Cup it. Take the drop. One stroke is penalty enough, don't take the distance if the rules don't make you.
 
always go for it... always!
there is no such thing as smart play when youve already made a couple of balls drown and another a wilderness explorer
the green is only 320yrds away after that awesome duff off the tee...
man up and hit driver off the deck! heck the grass youre lying in is only 3" deep and your ball is sitting down
dont be afraid of the 5 bunkers around the green... its only sand!
they dont call it a par5 for nothing... 6 on 3 down doesnt even qualify for the worst hole of the day thread!




Spoiler
lol j/k i cant play smart to save my life... i get the same score if i play smart or go for it
 
I wish I'd heeded your first line so I didn't have to do the second one today while i was playing. Hit a 3 wood straight into the woods and had to chip back out. led to a double bogey.

blugold said:
It's better to hit three shots into a par 5 than go for the miracle approach.

Take your medicine when you have to. Sometimes pitching sideways (or backwards) is the best option.

Don't ever try a shot for the first time on the course. If you have never practiced a cutting punch shot, don't try it for the first time on the course.
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bigdaddy said:
If I can't execute a shot 70 percent of the time, I wont play it on the course.



Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
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If I had this requirement, I wouldn't play golf on a course!
 
I didn't even skim, but don't layup unless you're sure the layup club won't end up in trouble. Even farther back. Too many golfers layup and still hit it in trouble. Might as well go for it.

Kevin
 
Gamma said:
Play to a number. If you are better at hitting a full wedge from 100yds than a finesse shot from 50yds, don't try to get to the 50 yd mark on your tee shot or layup.

Corollary: Know exact distances for all your wedges, for all combos of quarter, half, three-quarter, and full shots.[/QUOTE]

What is a good way to get these distances though without a rangefinder or place to walk off the yardage?
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Oh Im sorry is my humor not funny? Does a course with such a big slope and rating let youth of today like me play? Or just pompous white conceited texans like yourself on the teebox?
Nate said:
Oh the youth of today.....
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