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course mgmt within your own ability. Hero, or Humble? Did you learn it and when?

I dont worry about course management as much as I do hitting a spot. I play pretty conservative golf to begin with so I equate that to course management already but my swing still isn't consistent enough to produce the results I like. The problem I have is the temptation to go for high-risk shots to save the hole when I get into trouble. (ie: punching through a gap in the woods, forcing a fade or draw to get around something, etc...) I am getting better at stayin out of trouble but not quite there yet. If I can produce a more predictable line, my scores would drop tremendously. One thing that has worked is, I've slowed my driver swing way down and it's helped me control my slice. As a result, I have alot less penalty strokes.

The other aspect I am working on is always going for the pin when I am within range of my irons. I need to learn to go for the center of the green more often and stop worrying about forcing the score. I miss the green alot as a result. A little push to the right and now I'm faced with a chip and a putt vs. 2 putts....my short game is getting better as a result though:act-up:
 
So is game management the same as course management? Slowing your swing down, increasing your tempo. Does it all tie together?
 
Tadashi70 said:
So is game management the same as course management? Slowing your swing down, increasing your tempo. Does it all tie together?
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I would definitely say the two depend on one another to be successful. Lots of variables, that's for sure.


Tapping from my Steve Jobs talking device
 
Tadashi70 said:
So is game management the same as course management? Slowing your swing down, increasing your tempo. Does it all tie together?
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I believe it's a different thing but it correlates with course management. I believe when I slow down my tempo, everything falls into place, but then I have a hard time squaring the face when my swing speed decreases but I get more accurate if I slow down enough but not too much.

I also think playing my misses on the course helps me with my scores and keeps me in the fairway
 
Should try to avoid playing your misses. Sets the wrong frame of mind. Eliminate one side of the golf course amd keep that club in front of you.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Should try to avoid playing your misses. Sets the wrong frame of mind. Eliminate one side of the golf course amd keep that club in front of you.
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I like this Freddie. When I turn to that mindset rather than playing my miss, it's much more positive.
 
Great thread rollin! I think for me I am learning this part of the game and man it is not easy. I am learning and trying to take the "ego" out of my game, what I mean by this is that people take a 7i for a par 3 shot of 157 or so, I am taking 6i or even 5i because i know that is the right club for me. I rarely hit over greens and I am really learning my distances with a poor strike, an average strike and an excellent hit.

Course management can really improve scores and ultimately make the game more fun. I think we all will have the " got for it" attitude will never go away, it is all about managing it and using it when appropriate.
 
It wasn't until I joined THP that I learned what course management was. I would just go up and drive the ball with a driver everytime and would always try to reach the Par 5 in 2. Now, that I have joined and been reading and listening to all the guys here, I take my medicine and try to play smart!!
 
I made a commitment to thinking my way around the course more this year, and my scores got better as a result. I don't hit driver off the tee nearly as often (usually about 3 or 4 times per round on the usual courses I play) and I rarely hit a fairway wood to try to get to a par 5 in two. I also aim for more centers of green, especially when I have something other than a wedge or very short iron to the green.

That said, if I'm feeling good on a certain day, I'll get a little more risky when it comes to attacking holes. I also still have fun trying to play funky shots if I find myself needing to navigate trees or something. You know, like that low, running, 30-yard hook around the big tree with overhanging branches? Yeah, I like to try for that one...
 
I would if the fairway wasn't divided by a hazard and (key word here) had extreme confidence three shots would put me on the or near the green. I do know what seperates most pros from good amatuers is the short game. And that I think is one of the keys to course managment. Get to your favorite yardage in as few strokes as possible then go for it.
 
Mine has become significantly better since the second Morgan Cup. Playing with TC and One--T seriously helped my game. Is it great? No. But it is a heck of a lot better than it was
 
A course that I play at has a 325 yard par 4 dogleg right. The green is reachable directly with a drive that carries about 250 yards over water.

I have always tried to play it smart and hit a soft 5 wood or a 6 iron down the center of the sloped fairway and time after time ended up in trouble. Either pulling it left (loooooong way to the green from there) or slicing it into a bunch of bunkers/long grass/water. I typically ended up scoring a 6 or 7 every time. Finally my last time there I said "screw it!" and went for it from the tee box. Ball landed on a rock and bounced up onto the green! Talk about being rewarded for stupidity...now I'm not sure what I'll do next time.
 
Yes it would definitely cross my mind to do this (use 3 six irons) for two reasons you are hitting a club you have confidence in and it is a club you will hit 3 times so in essence you have two practice shots with the same club before the money shot.
 
My driver has never been my best club but I hate to be out of the hole or in trouble off the tee it just seems like such a waste and since I can't hit the driver that long it is not that much of an advantage if I hit driver, at least on most holes. If it's not that much of an advantage why take the risk.
 
For me I had to make a conscious decision to play smart and stick to that game plan. It has helped me immensely. One thing you hear a lot of folks say on THP is "play to your number" and I could not agree more with this statement.

Yesterday I played a new course that had a ton of risk/reward type situations. For the most part I played incredibly conservative and was rewarded with what I consider a decent score for a course I had only seen on their website. My buddy is a "driver at all costs" type guy and the poor guy was playing out of self inflicted trouble all day. Hitting what you are confidant in is the best way to play this game. It also helps to be comfortable with the driver, controlling that bad boy sure simplifies the game.
 
ArmyGolf said:
A course that I play at has a 325 yard par 4 dogleg right. The green is reachable directly with a drive that carries about 250 yards over water.

I have always tried to play it smart and hit a soft 5 wood or a 6 iron down the center of the sloped fairway and time after time ended up in trouble. Either pulling it left (loooooong way to the green from there) or slicing it into a bunch of bunkers/long grass/water. I typically ended up scoring a 6 or 7 every time. Finally my last time there I said "screw it!" and went for it from the tee box. Ball landed on a rock and bounced up onto the green! Talk about being rewarded for stupidity...now I'm not sure what I'll do next time.
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lol. thats pretty funny story. U gonna be debating that in ur head probably before u even tee off for the round. But i hope not
 
Learning not to do stupid things helped me out a lot this year. I still do them, but not as frequently. Hell, I'll lay up from 180 yards out if I know that my normal miss with that club can put me in big trouble. The difference for me this year was that I felt like I could get up and down from inside 95 yards though. Years past, I didn't feel like that at all, so there was no point to lay up.

I know my game pretty well and it's not a game of good ball striking, bombed drives, and long shots into the green. I'll say that I'm working to improve that, and have to some extent, but if I rely on those things I might as well plan to put up a 90+ score. I have to play to my strengths, which are wedges and the putter. Sometimes that means playing some pretty funny looking golf, but scores don't lie. I've shot some pretty good rounds (by my standards) by losing the ego.

To answer the question about three 6 irons, no I probably wouldn't do that. Mainly because I think that missing one of those shots would leave me in a situation where I felt like I had to do something dumb. Instead, I play like normal and react to a miss in a way that gets me to the yardage I feel comfortable. If I don't get there until my third shot, so be it.
 
It just hit me too late yesterday that I was being a dummy on the course. Say I push a shot right, and I'm like 150+ out. That's a long enough shot that I probably only get it on the green a few times out of 10. Yet I still aim at the green. I don't necessarily have to punch out right to the fairway, but I need to get back there. Or else I push my next shot, or hit it too fat, and I'm hitting from the rough again. And next thing I know, I shoot a 7 or an 8 lol
 
Being a higher-handicapper, I'm thinking of trying the following rules next time out.

Drive: 3-wood unless terribly difficult to get into trouble or requires large carry. If I can get to 150-to-100 with a shorter club, do so.

Approach shot distance 6-iron or less: shoot for the center of the green

Approach shot distance 5-iron or more: layup to the best possible position to pitch on. Play for bogey, hope for par.

It will be interesting to see how many doubles and triples I can avoid, as well as whether any layups result in unexpected pars.
 
I would be an interesting way to see if you can eliminate big numbers. I think working on your wedges and putting will make it much more effective.
 
Hawk said:
I would be an interesting way to see if you can eliminate big numbers. I think working on your wedges and putting will make it much more effective.
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Agreed. My wedge game and putting are typically decent. The place I get into trouble around the green is trying shots I know I should have, but don't use often, such as a bump-and-run from 30-yards out or deciding to chip a long chip with a 7-iron and accidentally hammering it. With no short-game practice area at my driving range, it's rare I get a chance to try such shots. I realize that on the course is not the place to practice them, but given the rarity of my access to a proper short-game area, it's pretty much the only chance I've got if I'm going to get better at them eventually.
 
Yea, I know how that goes. Lots of courses here have little more than a practice green.
 
there's always a shot i just have to go for, and really shouldn't. usually i just try to play smart golf, but sometimes, like one time at my home course where i was on the hardest hole on the course, and the worst place to be around the green, on a side slope of a big hill right behind the green, and the green slopes away from where i was. i should have just punched it lightly down the hill and let it roll out and let it curl up to the hole, but instead i went hero, flopped it, and luckily it hit the hole and went it (lol, never would've thunk it was possible to get a birdie on that hole). -
 
Remember it may take a round or two to get comfortable with this strategy. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work out the first time out, we all still hit some bad shots even when making the correct play. It will also help you when practicing/warming up to know what clubs you use the most. I like the 150 yard marker idea a lot too, that way you get comfortable with a couple of clubs and hopefully you will have 6-8 approach shots per round with them. Just take control of your game and don't let the course/situation dictate to you.
 
For me I try to manage to at least get my approach shot to within one of my favorite distances
and go from their. When I do I'm confident in my approaches ,but when I'm between clubs or further out than I'd like
then the wheels fall off.
Knowing where to hit a shot to manage a course is one thing, doing it is another story.
For me that story sometimes has a happy endings and sometimes it is just nightmares all night long.
 
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