Golf Stratagies

[Templet0n]

I was thinking about a course that I play a lot. There is a bit of an odd hole. It is number 14. It is a par 5 that goes down hill then back up hill then flattens out. Right about where most hit there drives is right at the bottom of the hill and it goes really steep back up hill. So how far you hit your drive down the middle is kind of negated as you just drive it into the side of hill and will be swinging extremely up hill. Or o you will end up at the bottom and you cannot see the green.

There is a catch that I found that if I intentionally miss the fairway left you can get around the very steep portion of the hole, you have a flat lie and you can see the green. So the hole plays much much easier if you intentionally miss the fairway.

Do you have any holes where you use a bit of strategery and gamesmenship that may not be obvious the first time you play?

 

[ntanygd760]

Dogleg left par 5 where a straight shot is gone in the woods so calls for 5 wood then hybrid. There is a small shoot of trees and you can go down the other hole with a fade leaving like 6-7 iron in. I go that way if no one is on the hole or if it is cart path only. Same goes for a miss in left trees, bunching out to the right hole is tough where just blasting 5 wood down other hole leaves you close to pin high 80 yards left over trees that are no issue if you hit it high.

 

[orchard53]

We have a par 4 of about 370 which crests a hill 200 out, downhill 80 yards, then uphill to green. about 5 yards of flat lie, if hitting driver well will hit it right to next fairway where you have a good angle and a flat lie.

 

[WLG1952]

My #1 playing strategy is to play away from any trouble spots as much as possible. Over the years, I've save myself a lot of strokes using this course management thought.

On long up hill slopes, I try to leave myself and up hill lie. I just treat the next shot as an uneven lie, and use the appropriate club for the distance required. I may need take two, or more clubs for that distance, but it's still just an up hill lie. My thinking is to never hit from a level lie into a up sloped fairway of any length.

On another note, my hc has a par 4, dog leg right at about 350 yards. The hole is designed to be played with a shorter tee shot (130-150 yards) and then hitting a longer second shot into the green.

Now if one decides to cut the dogleg, the front of the green is only about 220 yards away. 210 yards of that is a forced carry, over a large pond, a pump station bldg, tall rough, bushes, and a couple of very tall palm trees. Sounds easy, but most fail trying to go for the green.

The ideal way to play this dogleg is to carry just the smaller inside portion of it, which leaves the golfer about an 80 yard approach shot. In other words, with this hole, is don't get greedy.

 

[-CRW-]

Yes and on every hole. I use the Decade golf system and play the expected shotgun pattern of my clubs.

In the hole example you gave, I’d aim to the center of the area off the tee that allows me to stay out of trouble most often. That means I’d only hit your specific target some of the time, but over time I’d score lower on average using the Decade system because it takes the big number out of play more often than trying for a specified target.

 

[Snickerdog]

#6 par5 at the home course. If you miss left you almost have to punch out from behind the trees. You can however play to in front of #7 teebox or onto the tee box and still have a chance for birdie on the hole.

 

[Canadan]

the fourth hole at my course is one of our best par 5s, that has a three tree grouping that is very much in the way if you hammer a driver off the tee.

For the longest time, I hit a fairway wood or 3 wood off the tee so I don't have anything to stress about. Sure, I don't get a lot of eagle looks obviously on that hole, but, I definitely feel like an easy approach to a wide open landing area in wedge distance is a better solution. Especially with bunkers surrounding the slightly elevated green, being able to throw a wedge dart is always good.

It's just nice to not stress on a hole for no reason.

 

[Tenputt]

We definitely have some holes like described. A couple of doglegs seem to present all kinds of trouble. One is even blind to the green, but you can just launch a hybrid up over the top of the trees and you are left with a 50 yard shot. If you play it conventionally, you have a fairly small landing area at the dogleg and can easily run it down into some trees, because the fairway slope down and away.

 

[Joshnoble01]

There's one course I play where on the front 9 you can basically hit into the fairway on the side of the dogleg for 4 or 5 straight holes and make the holes shorter and eliminate trees. The back 9 has 2 like this.

I don't play it like that because I don't want to hit anyone in those fairways and I am not good enough to do it on purpose. But it's nice to know you can try and cut the corner and if you miss you are probably ok.

 

[GoldenBuff]

@NVGOLFER80 we have a par 5 that is very similar to the one you describe. Dogleg right, elevated tee area to lower landing area to elevated green. The smart play is an easy drive 230-260 down to the level landing area. That leaves a clean and visible shot up to the green. I typically try to cut the corner somewhat and end up landing into the hill and have a tough non level lie with a blind view to the green. I can save 30-50+ yards but at a cost. With OB right there is a small window over 3 spruce trees where a tee shot can land and jettison into the promised land. That’s a 280-290 carry. So easy to miss tee shots OB on ghat line, and short or left (my norms there) leaves a harder angle with the blind shot on an uneven lie. There are days where I hit 3w or even 3 hy into the flat area.

 

[jvbart]

There’s a par 4 at our home course with a narrow fairway with water running the whole right side and trees on the left. After about 260 it takes a sharp dogleg right to the green. Anything 200-250 in the fairway is an easy approach so it’s smart to lay up but the water is a major risk. A couple of my best scores on that whole have been nasty slices that clear the water on the right and end up on an adjacent fairway. It leaves you with an easy wedge in and a much better angle then the fairway.
I haven’t tried to hit over there intentionally yet but money on the line I’m pulling drive and aiming for the adjacent fairway for an easy chip to the green.

 

[Templet0n]

I remember Greg Norman mentioned that at Augusta on one hole he would intentionally hit it into the pin straw. He said it was the only flat lie he would get all day. I can’t remember which hole it was.

The last round I played. The second hole is up hi the whole way to the green which has a big bunker in front

The pin was tucked in the left side. The green on the side slide down to the back away from the lip of the bunker.

The smart play is to play it deep into the fat part of the green.

I stupidly tried to go after the pin. I hit a good shot but it was probably about 3 feet short of where it needed to be. So the ball shot back over the green into the crap.

I ended up taking a double from 110 out in the middle of the fairway.

 

[Smiter]

Theres one par 5 that has finally beaten me into submission. It’s a shame too as I have a lot of eagles on that hole. Probably my third most eagled hole of all time. It’s only 500 from the tips.

It’s flat about 210 then it goes down a valley. It doglegs left but no real hard. The problem is where they put the tee boxes. You have to execute a hard 25 yard power draw. If you hit it dead straight you go OOB right. There’s woods on the left. The best play was driver up the adjacent FW and honestly how I made most of my eagles. They’ve now made it OOB again, probably 2 years ago. Must have had an incident.

So anyways there’s no advantage of me hitting anything more than a 7i. I risk being in the valley with a crap lie. So I hit 7i to the top of the shelf. Then I hit 7i to the center of the FW. Then some sort of wedge in from a 100-120 or so.

Prior to this strategy I made a ton of birdies and a lot of eagles. I also made a few dreaded “others” and since it was hole 9 it ruined many many rounds.

I’ve played it probably 30 times this way and probably made 25 pars, 4 birdies, and one bogey. I can live with that but man is it boring. I don’t miss many FW’s with 7i even as craptastic as I can play sometimes.

Chaps my ass a little to have that be the best way to play the hole for me. My kid plays it with driver but he draws everything so it’s just a normal tee shot for him. Sure he could and has got in trouble but it’s rare. It’s 50:50 on me pulling off that tee shot.

It’s set up perfectly for @OldandStiff and his low draw, I’d like to see him play that hole. Eagle putt incoming most likely. Right @Snickerdog ?

I’ve even tried a high fade over the trees on the left and had it work out ok, but man do you have to elevate it and it’s almost always into wind so at best I’m in the fairway on an upslope, and not very far due to the nature of shot and wind.

 

[Smiter]

Now if one decides to cut the dogleg, the front of the green is only about 220 yards away. 210 yards of that is a forced carry.

Oh I’m for sure going for that. I hit the ball HIGH though and depending on wind that could be the Sub70 7i (it’s as long as my 5i in my set) or a slightly higher than normal tee with my 4h. Wind dependent but I’m sure as heck going to try that route the first time. I may strategize after the failed attempt but I’m giving it a whirl for sure.

There’s one local course that you’re literally only about 285 from the hole on a 500 yard par 5. The problem is you start out going severely uphill. There are tall trees all the way up the left and you run out of FW at about 190 yards. If you could hit a huge sweeping draw you might be able to get to the green in two, but the hole goes slightly right and then 120* left. It’s the most severe dogleg I’ve seen. At the top of the hill you’re still 320 or so out.

But I’ve GPS measured it and the greens only 285 away and I’ve rarely reached it in two. A couple time when I was younger I hit a big sweeping 3i that left me another 3i in. I wouldn’t attempt that shot now unless I was just screwing around. Plus I don’t hit a 3i nearly as far as I once did. At best I’d pull off the shot and still have a 3w likely come up a little short.

 

[OldandStiff]

Theres one par 5 that has finally beaten me into submission. It’s a shame too as I have a lot of eagles on that hole. Probably my third most eagled hole of all time. It’s only 500 from the tips.

It’s flat about 210 then it goes down a valley. It doglegs left but no real hard. The problem is where they put the tee boxes. You have to execute a hard 25 yard power draw. If you hit it dead straight you go OOB right. There’s woods on the left. The best play was driver up the adjacent FW and honestly how I made most of my eagles. They’ve now made it OOB again, probably 2 years ago. Must have had an incident.

So anyways there’s no advantage of me hitting anything more than a 7i. I risk being in the valley with a crap lie. So I hit 7i to the top of the shelf. Then I hit 7i to the center of the FW. Then some sort of wedge in from a 100-120 or so.

Prior to this strategy I made a ton of birdies and a lot of eagles. I also made a few dreaded “others” and since it was hole 9 it ruined many many rounds.

I’ve played it probably 30 times this way and probably made 25 pars, 4 birdies, and one bogey. I can live with that but man is it boring. I don’t miss many FW’s with 7i even as craptastic as I can play sometimes.

Chaps my ass a little to have that be the best way to play the hole for me. My kid plays it with driver but he draws everything so it’s just a normal tee shot for him. Sure he could and has got in trouble but it’s rare. It’s 50:50 on me pulling off that tee shot.

It’s set up perfectly for @OldandStiff and his low draw, I’d like to see him play that hole. Eagle putt incoming most likely. Right @Snickerdog ?

I’ve even tried a high fade over the trees on the left and had it work out ok, but man do you have to elevate it and it’s almost always into wind so at best I’m in the fairway on an upslope, and not very far due to the nature of shot and wind.

That's not my stock shot or anything. I have it, but I mostly just draw the ball for @Snickerdog . lol He saw me playing a high fade more for a stretch, thought that was my only shot I think, and started yelling at me when I'd screw up and a draw would have played. That's why I call them Snickerdraws in the Live Round!

 

[TheDoctor]

If the pin on the first hole at my home course is on the top tier at the back of the green I always lay up

The hole is a short par 5, but you have a hazard to carry if you want to leave yourself a short second shot, so laying up short of the hazard will leave you anything up to about 220-230yds to the back of the green and trying to hold an approach in the summer is virtually impossible due to how small the top tier is - you can try and land it in the middle of the green and chase it up, but if you don't get it right you can leave yourself with a very tricky putt that has to climb a 4ft slope

Laying up to a nice wedge yardage gives you the chance to attack the pin with some spin to get the ball to hold