Rate your course management ability.

[JonMA1]

I dont think the point is limited to one type of format nor player but Imo it would be legit in any format , vs any opponent/s . The competition itself and how its unfolding as it takes place will still be the primary driving force behind decisions.

I think there's a difference - but I could be wrong as I almost never compete.

Here's my point. There is likely a best way to play a course and score the lowest, week in and week out. If I'm playing a 15 and getting strokes, I'm going to play the exact same way I would if I were out there as a solo trying to shoot my best score by considering risk/reward. I use my best strategy and because of the handicap system, I have a decent chance of winning.

But if I'm not getting strokes, the only way I beat a 15 is to be more aggressive than I normally would and hope I'm a little luckier than normal. I'll likely lose by a greater margin but it's probably going to be the only way to win.

It's no different than being in the lead vs being behind with a few holes left in the competition when evenly matched. The strategy changes because it almost has to.

As I said, I could be wrong.

 

[F.N.G]

3 for me. I just walk and hit it 90% of the time.

Driver on almost everything even if I have to carry a corner.

 

[tequila4kapp]

Currently, I’d say it’s a strength - maybe the strength - of my game

 

[Stemmy66]

I said 5…. I take too many unnecessary chances

 

[BigMac]

I think there's a difference - but I could be wrong as I almost never compete.

Here's my point. There is likely a best way to play a course and score the lowest, week in and week out. If I'm playing a 15 and getting strokes, I'm going to play the exact same way I would if I were out there as a solo trying to shoot my best score by considering risk/reward. I use my best strategy and because of the handicap system, I have a decent chance of winning.

But if I'm not getting strokes, the only way I beat a 15 is to be more aggressive than I normally would and hope I'm a little luckier than normal. I'll likely lose by a greater margin but it's probably going to be the only way to win.

It's no different than being in the lead vs being behind with a few holes left in the competition when evenly matched. The strategy changes because it almost has to.

As I said, I could be wrong.

The kind of game you're playing can definitely affect your strategy.

If I'm playing in a skins game, I'm going to play it a lot differently than if I'm playing a stroke play or match play game. You don't win money in a skins game with pars or bogeys, and your overall score doesn't matter - you need to win individual holes. I'll play more aggressively and take more chances in a skins game, because laying up for a bogey vs. blowing up on a hero shot and taking a double or triple doesn't matter - I'm out of the hole either way.

Even match play can demand a different strategy than stroke play. My strategy will depend, at least in part, on his strategy. If he hits a bad shot and puts himself in a position where he's probably going to double bogey a hole, I'm playing it safe and trying to get a par, or bogey at worst. If he takes an aggressive approach and hits a par 5 green in 2, I'm going to step it up and try to keep up. I'm probably going to lose the hole with a bogey, maybe even with a par, so who cares if I lose it with a bogey or a triple? We're back to zero on the next hole.

If it's straight stroke play, I'm playing my own game, managing my risks and trying to keep the big numbers off the card, and I'm not worried about what anybody else is doing. Now doubles and triples from stupid hero shots matter, and they add up quickly. I don't have the kind of game where I can make birdie runs to make up ground, I have to grind it out and try to stay in the game by not playing myself out of it with silly mistakes.

 

[Drexel]

Agree. I think as one becomes better and develops more options, course management perhaps becomes more complex and at the same time, expectations get tighter.

A simple example would be... I'm in the rough 60' behind a 40' tree that's between me and the green 130 yards away. Of the skills I possess, which is the best option? Can I get an 8i up high enough and fast enough out of the rough to get it over the tree? How confident am I with my ability to punch a 5i with enough hook to get around the tree without hitting into trouble on the right side of the green? Or should I take my medicine and punch out to the side leaving myself an approach that I'll hit 40% of the time?

It's not just the skill level to consider. What are the risk/rewards of each option?

While good enough to have the 3 options, I'm bad enough to crap the bed with any of the 3 (yes, even the "safe" punch-out sideways). The reward for me would be to execute options 1 or 2 with a slight chance for par but a more than 50/50 chance for bogey. The risk would be a failure and a resulting triple or quad. There's a better than 50/50 chance that option 3 would result in DB. (There are variations of the 3 options but trying to keep the scenario simple.)

A newer player in that situation might have just the one option of punching out to the side. Easy course management decision and getting in the fairway would be a win.

A better player might have a 4th or 5th option that I wouldn't even consider. His/her expectation would be higher so it might be a tougher decision.

I guess it could be argued that better course management on the tee would have prevented this scenario in the first place.



I think this is legitimate if I'm playing straight up stroke play against someone at a different level.

I think it very much depends on your skill set. You always take the shot that you think has the higher chance of succeeding - the one that matches your ability the best.

 

[rollin]

I think there's a difference - but I could be wrong as I almost never compete.

Here's my point. There is likely a best way to play a course and score the lowest, week in and week out. If I'm playing a 15 and getting strokes, I'm going to play the exact same way I would if I were out there as a solo trying to shoot my best score by considering risk/reward. I use my best strategy and because of the handicap system, I have a decent chance of winning.

But if I'm not getting strokes, the only way I beat a 15 is to be more aggressive than I normally would and hope I'm a little luckier than normal. I'll likely lose by a greater margin but it's probably going to be the only way to win.

It's no different than being in the lead vs being behind with a few holes left in the competition when evenly matched. The strategy changes because it almost has to.

As I said, I could be wrong.

If you dont mind the (fun and interesting to me) debate/discussion to continue.

But even when getting strokes (which is evenly matching you) , managing is still going to be driven in large part by that competition itself. The fact that the HC system is matching ability via strokes isnt imo relevent. It would imo be the same if playing a same cap opponent without strokes.

Of course as you know the player is better and is why your getting strokes. Your going to fail more often at basic normal (non special) golf shots than he is during the round. The strokes your getting are only making up for those failed basic golf shots which is what separates you in the first place. . Now being even via the HC strokes you still have to now beat him. And that is still going to require the different managing choices than we normally make in our own casual golf. Youll want the best right then and there on the spot and not a gradual better average. Still is two different driving forces.

 

[cjroman]

It's gotten a lot better lately. I will hit more irons for tee shots and take more 8/9 irons as bump and runs instead of "trying" to flight a wedge in close.

 

[JonMA1]

And that is still going to require the different managing choices than we normally make in our own casual golf.

While competition may bring about a heightened focus, I take course management seriously in my normal solo rounds. I will occasionally make a choice that I know is illogical, but unless I’m working on a specific skill, I’m trying to shoot my best score - the same as if I were competing.

Two different rounds are not going to be exactly the same because the randomness of execution and result makes every round unique. But for me, the general risk vs reward decisions are going to driven by what I think will result in an overall best score. Those decisions come from experience and, to a lesser degree, data collection.

 

[CTRosarian]

In match, a clever player will prey on their opponent's weaknesses. How often have you seen a good players dump one in the bunker after someone else has done the same? Bad shots are indeed contagious! If you are a great bunker player take advantage of that!

Rolling a 3W into a bunker may be one of the better options if your opponent hits it much farther than you do.

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

I play the same course 150+ times a year, thousands of times in total. Playing at home makes up at least 95% of my rounds. I know what will happen on good shots or bad shots from just about anywhere on the property so there's no trick at all to being a "10" at course management. It's entirely execution.

P.S. And almost all of the few rounds I play away from home are at a course near our vacation spot that I've played a couple hundred times. So few real course management challenges there either, although occasionally I will end up in a spot I've never visited before.

P.P.S. There's a subset of course management that translates into "playing ultra-conservatively to minimize any chance of a lost ball or of taking a double-digit score on a bad hole". That's not something I ever do or have any interest in. Whenever I play I'm picking up at net double bogey except for the rare occasions it's match play and my opponent is making a big number on a hole so I have to finish out my own big number. And even then I can't work up much give-a-dam after about 7 or 8 strokes.

 

[Jmk202]

I think I’m pretty good. But I know I lack the discipline to always make the right decision. Going 7 out of 10

 

[1860VS]

I play the same course 150+ times a year, thousands of times in total. Playing at home makes up at least 95% of my rounds. I know what will happen on good shots or bad shots from just about anywhere on the property so there's no trick at all to being a "10" at course management. It's entirely execution.

P.S. And almost all of the few rounds I play away from home are at a course near our vacation spot that I've played a couple hundred times. So few real course management challenges there either, although occasionally I will end up in a spot I've never visited before.

P.P.S. There's a subset of course management that translates into "playing ultra-conservatively to minimize any chance of a lost ball or of taking a double-digit score on a bad hole". That's not something I ever do or have any interest in. Whenever I play I'm picking up at net double bogey except for the rare occasions it's match play and my opponent is making a big number on a hole so I have to finish out my own big number. And even then I can't work up much give-a-dam after about 7 or 8 strokes.

When playing a new course, I will go to their website and look at what they have to say about each hole, local rules, etc. and look at the score card. I will then take at least one Google Earth tour of the course, measuring off the distances to various features from the front of the middle tee box. (We usually play the middle tees). I will also look at various options for playing the hole. One can get a very different and complete perspective looking at holes from above than one often gets live, especially on hilly venues. My memory usually serves me well, but I also have Earth on my phone just in case I need a quick refresher or to get around any surprise locations while the others hit..

 

[RecGolfer]

Not braggin', but it's a lot better than almost everybody I play with.

 

[LSMO]

I gave myself a 6, I used to think I was better, but a recent round with a up and coming professional made me realize I have a lot to learn lol