Haney's Key to Low Scores

[tequila4kapp]

Don't you guys think he means manage the course to avoid penalties?

Like if you are playing a par 5 that you can't reach in 2 and hitting driver brings water into play then hit 3W instead....something 99.99% of us don't do.

Likewise, I think there's a big element of course management with the sand/chip/pitch advice. The basic techniques are pretty straight forward, we aren't likely to need 2 of the those shots under normal circumstance. But if we are short sided or have to hit over an obstacle??? How many of us remove the obstacle by aiming for a spot on the green away from the pin?

 

[Ole Gray]

Don't you guys think he means manage the course to avoid penalties?

Like if you are playing a par 5 that you can't reach in 2 and hitting driver brings water into play then hit 3W instead....something 99.99% of us don't do.

Likewise, I think there's a big element of course management with the sand/chip/pitch advice. The basic techniques are pretty straight forward, we aren't likely to need 2 of the those shots under normal circumstance. But if we are short sided or have to hit over an obstacle??? How many of us remove the obstacle by aiming for a spot on the green away from the pin?

Exactly! We have some places around our greens that you can not afford to be at. You could strike a golf shot really well and get on the wrong side of the hole and you are dead. It's going to take three shots to get in the hole unless you are extremely lucky. The greens are fast, often two tiered, and have deep traps guarding approach shots.

 

[Spivey]

Don't you guys think he means manage the course to avoid penalties?

Like if you are playing a par 5 that you can't reach in 2 and hitting driver brings water into play then hit 3W instead....something 99.99% of us don't do.

Likewise, I think there's a big element of course management with the sand/chip/pitch advice. The basic techniques are pretty straight forward, we aren't likely to need 2 of the those shots under normal circumstance. But if we are short sided or have to hit over an obstacle??? How many of us remove the obstacle by aiming for a spot on the green away from the pin?

Is short siding yourself or hitting over an obstacle truly a "penalty" shot? Playing smart and penalty shots are mutually exclusive. If I can avoid penalties, I do, but I have many, many more penalties with woods in my hand than I do wedge.

 

[tequila4kapp]

Is short siding yourself or hitting over an obstacle truly a "penalty" shot? Playing smart and penalty shots are mutually exclusive. If I can avoid penalties, I do, but I have many, many more penalties with woods in my hand than I do wedge.

I may not have expressed myself well. I was talking about two different things - avoiding penalties and not taking more than 2 chips/pitches/sand shots.

 

[-CRW-]

I may not have expressed myself well. I was talking about two different things - avoiding penalties and not taking more than 2 chips/pitches/sand shots.

I think he means any penalty you identify. So for me, I constantly hit pushed driver shots off the tee into the right rough for penalties. I think he means stop being hard headed and stop hitting the driver on course.

But I think the same applies to any other penalty shot you seem to make often. If it's due to a certain club, stop using that club to you work that problem out off course. If it's course management, than make better choices. I think it's just tough for amateurs to do. It takes stepping back and thinking more difficult shots through sometimes. And sometimes that means taking your medicine and chipping from the rough into a fairway or some similar idea.

I was watching an interview of Jack Nicklaus on Tiger Woods last night on golf channel. He talked about a period of time in 1979-1980 when he completely lost his short game. He said during one round he actually putted around a bunker to get on the green instead of pitching it up there. If he can check his ego like that, every amatuer can. I was pretty impressed that he brought that up so many years after it happened because otherwise it was probably long forgotten to most.

 

[Trout Bum]

I'm not a Haney fan at all, but this is solid advice and I'm guessing aimed at golfers in the 90+ and 100+ scoring range. Places where golfers in that range can quickly knock off 5 to 10 strokes by reducing number of chips, penalty strokes and 3-putts. I'm a mid 80's player and at least one of those three things are almost always part of my bad holes. It certainly changes if you are a sub-80's player.

I think you're right Barry, I remember hearing that most golfers won't break a 100 let alone the 90's and this advice is great for those that will listen to it. Golf is one of the only sports where we criticize a good growth plan that works while we stay where we are or get worse lol.