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3 UP with 5 to play

Six4three5

Six4three5

Tour Star...Layin' Up!
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Complete opposite of Freddie's thread.

Say you're 3 UP with 5 to play.

Do you change the way you're playing?

Do you switch to play a tad more conservative?

Say on the 14th tee you miss the fairway and are in some deep stuff, and your opponent stripes one right down the middle, does that change your playing style?

What if both you and your opponent are playing really well, but the 3 holes you're up on your opponent just have a few bad breaks, so the match is closer than the score shows, at what point do you get a little more aggressive than you've been playing all day?

For me I keep playing within myself. There's only so much you can do. As far as the 14th and missing the fairway and my opponent striping it, depending on par 4 or par 5 I'm just aiming for the middle of everything. Once I get that lead like that i'm going middle fairway middle green and going to make my opponent beat me. I'd make him have to make the birdie. I think golf is one of the only sports that you can benefit from "playing not to lose".
 
Three up with five to play, I totally disconnect from what my opponent is doing. They'll more than likely try to adjust, but I believe five pars is all it will take to win.

I'm hitting a fairway with a club I know will hit it, and then aiming for the safest part of the green. My confidence in putting has gone way up and I believe i can two putt from anywhere easier than I can get up and down from greenside rough or a bunker.

Awesome threads guys. I can't wait to hear how everyone else plays these.
 
depends on the guy I'm against. if he's just had some bad holes, I'm not going to completely lay off, but I'm definitely going to be playing for FIRs and GIRs. ie, no going for par-5's in two.
 
I'm going to do my best to make sure that my opponent has to make birdies to win holes. Even if I am only up due to bad breaks, I am going to force them to get aggressive and potentially make mistakes.

The one key is that I am going to stay aggressive with my swing, if I start to swing easy and steer the ball, that is when I will make mistakes that opens the door. I may pick the fat part of the green or take a three wood off of the tee, but I am still going to try and make a good solid swing.
 
I think you hit it on the head Jimbo. I would just continue to play my game. Leaning a bit towards the conservative side and allowing my opponent to put the pressure on themselves to take chances.
 
I would just keep playing like I had been, but being three up with 5 to play gives you more options. For instance, you don't have to bang a driver on a par 5 if you still have one or two to play. At this point in the match it's GIRS and FIRS, which is the goal of every round I know.


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Keep with what has been working. If I have a tough time deciding between a couple options, I will go with the safer play. I want my opponent to earn a win on any remaining holes and not beat myself. Halving the hole at that stage is almost as good as a winning the hole.
 
For me I am keeping my foot on the gas pedal especially if I am striking the ball well.

I look at it like teams in football that are up and go into prevent defense. They have shut the team down the whole game playing cover 2 or man and now they are playing a soft cover 3 and the let the team right back in the game cause they can drive right down the field.
 
dcbrad said:
I think you hit it on the head Jimbo. I would just continue to play my game. Leaning a bit towards the conservative side and allowing my opponent to put the pressure on themselves to take chances.
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For sure. Like I said I think golf is one of if not the only sport where playing not to lose is actually a benefit. Especially in this situation. And by playing not to lose doesn't mean easing up or taking off on swings or anything like that. I mean playing FIR's and GIR's. Make him beat you. Like Dan said I think 5 pars in this situation takes it home. Let him have to go into red numbers to beat you, you're the one with the advantage.
 
I'm probably staying with what has got me there. Im doing everything I can to make them beat me. No need to beat myself. Judging by the other thread, most are going to press and force their own mistakes. I'm going to let them do that to themselves. Just play clean golf and your going to win on 17 probably.
 
If I am 3 up with five to play, I change nothing. I stay in my game and keep firing away. I make him beat me because I'm not going to beat myself. I don't relinquish the lead once I have it.

If my partner makes a birdie to cut the lead that fine, he will need to win 4 to beat. I can halve two and win.
 
I'm riding the same horse that got me there, 3 up with 5 to play is a par makers dream and I enjoy watching my opponents bleed out in match play.
 
If I were in this situation, I wouldn't change anything but be aware that my opponent might be changing their strategy when backed in a corner and being ready for that.
 
I would change nothing. Make him beat you. A prevent defense only prevents you from winning.
 
I would not change anything... play the same way that I played to get 3 up. Make sure my opponent have to do something spectacular to beat me

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If the next hole is a reachable Par 5, I go for it and try to step on my opponent's throat.

Otherwise, I play for a lot of pars and make my opponent get three birdies and two pars.
 
I change nothing in my thinking. Dance with the one that brung ya as they say. I will say that one of my most satisfying wins I ever had was when I was playing a guy in the semi-finals of the city match play tournament (in a lower flight) who I was beating, but who kept trying to get in my head. I was up 4 with 7 to play and on the 12th tee he actually said "man, I don't see how you can hit it with a grip like that?" (I used a 10 finger Azinger like grip at the time). My reaction wasn't to wonder what was wrong with my grip, my reaction was, "here, I'll show you". I won that match 6 and 5. I used to play really well against people like that. Not so well against friends.
 
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Just keep doing whatever it is you've been doing......
 
Canadan said:
Three up with five to play, I totally disconnect from what my opponent is doing. They'll more than likely try to adjust, but I believe five pars is all it will take to win.

I'm hitting a fairway with a club I know will hit it, and then aiming for the safest part of the green. My confidence in putting has gone way up and I believe i can two putt from anywhere easier than I can get up and down from greenside rough or a bunker.

Awesome threads guys. I can't wait to hear how everyone else plays these.
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Well put Dan. You really need to ignore anythign they are doing and play for the fat of the fairway and the fat of the green and take your pars and go home victorious!
 
Fairways and Greens my friends. You cannot control what your opponent does but you can make sure you force your opponent to do something special


Proud Member of #TeamParadise
 
3 Up w/ 5 left. Even with the poorly struck tee shot I am putting the ball back in play to the safest spot. Hole isn't over until a putt is made.

Outside of that nothing changes and no need to press or adjust my playing style. Fairways n Greens are winning this match. Over aggressiveness losses the match.
 
For me, I would just keep playing my game, I try to play the course and play my best. The only thing I would change is to make sure to not be too aggressive off the tee, take penalty strokes out of the equation.
 
There's a reason why I've gotten up by 3 with 5 to go. I'm not changing a thing. More than likely, your opponents hand is forced and they have to make mistake free golf the rest of the way in to have any sort of chance in the match. Play your game, secure that W!
 
I think that if I was 3 up with 5 to go that I would want to keep playing however I was playing to get there but I can't help but feel that I would subconsciously take my foot off the gas and play everything on the safe side. At this point the only way he wins is if I make 1 or 2 major errors or he plays lights out.
 
Slow and steady wins this race, thats a pretty big lead and should be held. If you have been hitting fairways and greens, your opponent knows that. If you keep it up its on them to change something to beat you. My view is that they will inevitably beat themselves and you can cruise to victory.
 
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