Where It Went Wrong - Course Management Edition

[ChrisATL]

Seeing a couple threads discussing bad rounds & blow-up holes, I started to think about recent rounds where a specific shot / event caused my round to go off course, and more importantly, how I did (or did not recover).

So I was curious - is there a course management mistake that most golfers make without even knowing? And if so, how you suggest they recover?

I'll start - in a recent round, I got a pretty bad bounce on an approach shot that took a spill into a ravine past the green. Yes, I probably caught it TOO well, and you know, rub of the green. But that one shot put me in a funk that lasted 3-4 holes. Why? Because, I was lacksidasical in my recovery, and proceeded to duff two chips and eventually pick up. Looking back, I should have completely moved on after that approach shot, focused on my recovery, and saved the hole for a bogey. But instead, I thought I should do better - yes, even as a 12 handicap, I assumed I would have hit the perfect approach.

So I'll turn it over to you THP - what is one course management mistake you'd say is most common in your game? And how are you addressing it?

 

[BriMac]

Firing at pins…

Should be middle middle every time. Next time, maybe.

 

[ChrisATL]

Firing at pins…

Should be middle middle every time. Next time, maybe.

Sounds so easy, yet....

Just based on most hackers dispersion with a mid / short-iron, why don't we go for the middle of the green moreoften?

 

[WSox fan]

Firing at pins…

Should be middle middle every time. Next time, maybe.

Agree with this.

 

[BigMac]

Trying to do too much with a recovery shot, rather than just taking my medicine and getting it back on short grass.

 

[amarkabove]

Taking less than driver to eliminate risk.

 

[Papa 3-Putts]

Improving my course management this year has probably been the biggest revelation in my game, so I don't really make a lot of the mistakes I used to make that caused blow-ups.

But honestly, if there was one that stuck out to me right now - it would be not having enough faith in myself to execute whatever shot I'm about to hit...that Murphy's Law somehow applies to every aspect of my golf game.

95% of what's keeping me from being a scratch golfer is between the ears.

 

[Papa 3-Putts]

Sounds so easy, yet....

Just based on most hackers dispersion with a mid / short-iron, why don't we go for the middle of the green moreoften?

The only way I ever really feel like I'm firing at the pin (outside of when there's obvious reason not to) is when I have SW or LW in my hand...or when the distance to the pin is within a couple yards of my stock 8-PW distance is.

Also...sometimes, the middle of the green is where the s**tshow is bred.

 

[Hitsnmisses]

Forgetting / lazy shot preparation.. and the resulting error ..then thinking your in the justice league with super powers and recovery shot lol… only to see compounded error …

I can put 15-16 solid holes together .. then the spiky bad one , causes a blow up

Iam improving but it’s annoying and influences score soo much

 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Just losing focus on the back. It's been a problem for a while. I get around 13-14 and I start thinking I've done enough to finish well I guess. Knowing that is an easy way to pick up an extra 4-6 strokes for no reason, it's just a dumb mental lapse.

 

[JimmyDee]

I could name a few but probably not spending as much time looking at a putt. I have tendency to basically walk up to my ball, mark it, clean it, if required, take a 15 second look from behind the ball and then hit the putt.

Great for pace of play but sometimes I just totally miss something as simple as a slope that I didn’t take into account. I need to improve my process to factor in the obvious and just take a minute while waiting on others to be more deliberate.

 

[DataDude]

My two most common errors are not aiming away from danger when hitting toward a green and trying to do too much on a recovery shot.

I'm thiking something like the below. Even the middle is a dangerous shot here, why would I not aim at the right side of the green? That banking is going to kick the ball left down toward the green no matter what, but so often I would zap that flag and aim right at it. The smart shot is hitting it 10 yards past the hole and aiming right and letting the lay of the land take care of where it ends up, then putting it from there/ Do I get a 3 putt bogey? Maybe, bu that's better than ending up in that sand getting a double or triple.

 

[Coulter]

I could name a few but probably not spending as much time looking at a putt. I have tendency to basically walk up to my ball, mark it, clean it, if required, take a 15 second look from behind the ball and then hit the putt.

Great for pace of play but sometimes I just totally miss something as simple as a slope that I didn’t take into account. I need to improve my process to factor in the obvious and just take a minute while waiting on others to be more deliberate.

If 15 seconds isn’t long enough then what do you reckon is? Serious question

 

[JonMA1]

I wish I was good enough for course management to be the cause of high scores. 99% of my blowup holes are due to a failure in executing the correct shots. Not to say I never make course strategy mistakes, but they are such a rare part of the equation and easy to immediately identify.

Frustration doesn’t start to play a part until the round has slipped away. And even then, it’s gotten to the point of mentally moving on and accepting the round won’t be anything great.

 

[ChrisATL]

Improving my course management this year has probably been the biggest revelation in my game, so I don't really make a lot of the mistakes I used to make that caused blow-ups.

But honestly, if there was one that stuck out to me right now - it would be not having enough faith in myself to execute whatever shot I'm about to hit...that Murphy's Law somehow applies to every aspect of my golf game.

95% of what's keeping me from being a scratch golfer is between the ears.

This. Always reminds me of Bobby Jones famous quote:

“Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course—the distance between your ears“

 

[Bosco...]

Biggest problem is forcing myself to aim at something I don’t want to hit knowing the ball is going to fade.

You know, because “this one” might go straight.

 

[Razorback01]

Previous years it would always be trying to do more than I'm capable of reliably doing...aiming at flags no matter what, forced carries, etc...just crazy stuff when I think about it after the shot! I started really focusing on what shot I needed to hit to make par or bogey depending on the hole and that helped. I also implemented a rule that I do not attempt a forced carry over 150yds unless it's from the tee box.

Currently my biggest course management blunder that repeatedly gets me is just not understanding the shot before I hit it. Definitely helps with pace of play, but there's 8-10 shots per round that I would have played a little different if I had realized how much green I actually had to work with, if I knew that slope was that severe and it was much further uphill, etc. I stop analyzing the shot once I think I understand it, and several times per round I'm wrong and wish I had more information.

 

[ChrisATL]

Previous years it would always be trying to do more than I'm capable of reliably doing...aiming at flags no matter what, forced carries, etc...just crazy stuff when I think about it after the shot! I started really focusing on what shot I needed to hit to make par or bogey depending on the hole and that helped. I also implemented a rule that I do not attempt a forced carry over 150yds unless it's from the tee box.

Currently my biggest course management blunder that repeatedly gets me is just not understanding the shot before I hit it. Definitely helps with pace of play, but there's 8-10 shots per round that I would have played a little different if I had realized how much green I actually had to work with, if I knew that slope was that severe and it was much further uphill, etc. I stop analyzing the shot once I think I understand it, and several times per round I'm wrong and wish I had more information.

Do you use any type of shot tracking tech? Could help in going back and analyzing certain situations.

 

[mikefrench]

Most costly mistake I make (other than not going for middle of greens which has been covered above) is when I'm edge of danger on the right hand side (usually trees / bushes at my local club) having pushed a drive.

I'll often take too tight a line when playing my second and if I push it again then I'm deep in the trouble / lost ball rather than looking to be more left of middle fairway.

 

[joshparker]

Trust the process and trust your shot.

 

[shendy]

My nemesis, #9 at my place.

Par 5 where I have to lay up. If I’m right side I have the corner of a pond to carry if the pin is right. There’s about 15 yards of green and it slops towards the fairway. Behind is rough on a hill and OB behind that.

Now, smart man would aim left and just drop it 25/30 feet left and take the par. But for me ( because of the short game “I used to have”) I must take the shot. Sadly my hands are not as sensitive as they once where and my avg is 50%. That is not good and kills the back side almost every time because I’m normally cruising pretty good on the front. If I were to guesstimate it puts 4-5 strokes on the card via mental meltdown. Something I intend to work on this next season. I waste a lot of shots trying to be someone I used to be instead of who I am now. Smart will pay off I’m sure.

 

[outlawx]

I bet that @Jeff Spicoli guy has a novel or two written

 

[Pops]

Course management is a common issue with my game. It has gotten better but still lots of room for improvement. Hero shots after a bad shot never seem to payoff. I’m learning to take my medicine but don’t always do it. One of my biggest problems is only using range finder. I need get back to using Shotscope to compare distances so on back pin locations I’m going at middle vs pin then sailing it over green due to wrong club choice.

 

[outlawx]

Previous years it would always be trying to do more than I'm capable of reliably doing...aiming at flags no matter what, forced carries, etc...just crazy stuff when I think about it after the shot! I started really focusing on what shot I needed to hit to make par or bogey depending on the hole and that helped. I also implemented a rule that I do not attempt a forced carry over 150yds unless it's from the tee box.

Currently my biggest course management blunder that repeatedly gets me is just not understanding the shot before I hit it. Definitely helps with pace of play, but there's 8-10 shots per round that I would have played a little different if I had realized how much green I actually had to work with, if I knew that slope was that severe and it was much further uphill, etc. I stop analyzing the shot once I think I understand it, and several times per round I'm wrong and wish I had more information.

Yeah I’ve been really trying to take a moment to look at my chip shots and try to read those better.

My big blow ups usually come from going for it on a par 5, blading a chip or diffing it, and 3 putting. Some times when I’m not familiar with a course I can hit some really great shots that get me I trouble as well.

 

[JonMA1]

Trust the process and trust your shot.

This is a really good mental approach regardless of skill level.

I know which shots are in my wheelhouse and which push the boundaries. That doesn’t mean I can’t fail on a safe shot or succeed on a high risk shot, but the result of a single shot shouldn’t change my overall approach. I have to trust what I know about my game and commit 100% to each shot.