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Do You Know How To Score?

I've always intentionally been a balls to the wall guy with huge let downs resulting from my choices. But I do so intentionally because of my take on the game.

I am trying to make my risk taking more calculated. I still aim for the pin 99% of the time and am trying to do so less often. I'm trying to utilize course management to keep me out of places that tempt me to try the balls to the wall route. I'm trying to use the 3 wood or long iron off the tee on shorter par 4's or holes where I could more easily find trouble with my driver (forced carry, fairway bunker, short dog leg, etc.).

It's a work in progress and I'm confident I'll learn to be more calculating in time.
 
Course management and knowing what you are capable of is always an issue, especially when playing unfamiliar courses. I have made all those mistakes before (and will again) which is why getting up and down when I hit a less than great (horrible) shot usually comes down to pitching, chipping, sand play, and putting!!
 
Definitely #3 for me.
 
ntanygd760 said:
Every once in a while I would play the reds at my home course. There are like 6 or 7 driveable par 4's so it gets me comfortable with tying to make tons of birdies. You might get a few double takes with people going wtf are you playing the reds for but I don't care.
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I love this! I might have to adopt this idea. :D
 
"A man's got to know his limitations."

Like some others have said, if you are playing a familiar course, you should know where to "go for it" and when not to. This is why practice rounds are always encouraged. Prime example is when I used to play high school & college golf on our "home" course, we would always have the advantage of knowing where to hit it, yardages, contours of the greens, etc. I will never go balls to the wall ... that would always get me in trouble. And I would never consider myself someone that never takes a chance either. But scoring is not necessarily "going for it" all the time either. It's about the short game, putting .... knowing what pins to shoot for (avoid the sucker pins) and which one's to just shoot for the middle of the green and take your two putt and move on. Know when to try harder for a birdie and know when to take a par ... so it doesn't turn into a bigger number.
 
I'm the classic weekend golfer - I live for the moment when I pull off a great shot.
This kills my handicap of course and I have at least a few blowups in my round.

Definitely an area for me to work on ...
 
When I was younger, I was definitely in category #1. I looked at every shot as a singular challenge, and the objective was to see if I could execute the required shot. I thought that was what golf was about. Now, I'm probably solidly in Category 2, and ultra conservative. I think that's why I don't make many birdies, but, I also think that's why I don't have many big numbers. I try to stay out of category #3 "Panic Mode". LOL
 
After this last trip I believe I'm learning to score, played smart when needed took my chances when I could.
 
As been mentioned, I think course familiarity plays a roll too. But aside from that I think its really all subjective and relative. Only the person him/herself truly knows their limitations and success rates for the given shots where being aggressive is an option. And I think the word option is key. I think 'option" is based on the risks involved in combination of ones success rate for the shot. I think one has to way the percentages. But I also think one must make some more aggressive shots sometimes. Its just determining when to try them. More aggressive play imo is something to attempt when the risk of a mishit is not a maximum but is less and these situations will imo pop up often enough in order to take the chances.
 
JB said:
No, I dont mean add, although there are some that apparently struggle with that too. :D
Im talking about scoring. When to take chances, when to lay back and be conservative and when to put the pedal on the metal.

Speaking with someone that knows a thing or two about scoring on the course she said that she often encounters one of three things with amateurs.

1. Balls to the wall and gets huge letdowns because of it.
2. Too conservative that never takes a chance.
3. Panic mode, as she put it, takes chances in spots, but usually the wrong spots.

Do you fit any of these?
Do you know how to score?
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Yes. It's basically just game and course management blended together. I certainly understand the principles, but tend to be faulty at executing the shots needed to achieve the planned strategy. I can lay out a great plan that keeps the shot strategy within my capabilities. The trouble is, it only takes a slight miss on one shot to trash that plan. I'm constantly revising my plan, but still trying to keep the best possible result in mind.

So I'd say that I don't fit any of those categories. Maybe at one time I did, but I learned from experience that having any sort of an unchangeable plan doesn't work. Taking a risk unnecessarily just because that's what you do will rarely lead to your best possible score. Never taking any risk at all out of fear or excess caution is also going to end in a higher average score than you should have for your ability.

Particularly in competition, you have to balance a conservative course management plan with whatever risk may be needed to be competitive. In one tournament, you might get by with playing safe, while in the next you have to take a few chances because one or two of your competitors is going balls to the wall and conservative will never catch them. Have a good plan, but be aware of what is happening in the rest of the field and be willing to modify your plan if necessary. That still doesn't mean that you throw the plan in the trash. Sometimes no matter how good the plan is and how well you execute it, the results aren't going to be what you hoped for. It still doesn't make any sense to just go off the deep end - third place is still better than 5th or 7th or last.
 
I would say I fall into number two sometimes. Although what has helped me scoring wise is a piece of advice I got from my boss back in my working days. He a an All American at North Carolina and is in their Hall of Fame. Played in a few US Opens and was a protégé of Harvie Ward (from The Match Fame if you don't know who he was) actually played in the old Crosby with him. And won the Mich Am four times (might even be five) so when he talked golf I listened. We were talking one day regarding strategy and he asked me "how many birdies have you made on a five par with your 3 wood vs your wedge"?
For some reason that has stayed with me and has helped me conquer more five pars than not. I think back to how many times I had just grabbed my fwy wood and banged away in the past and gotten into trouble it was amazing.
 
miparman said:
I would say I fall into number two sometimes. Although what has helped me scoring wise is a piece of advice I got from my boss back in my working days. He a an All American at North Carolina and is in their Hall of Fame. Played in a few US Opens and was a protégé of Harvie Ward (from The Match Fame if you don't know who he was) actually played in the old Crosby with him. And won the Mich Am four times (might even be five) so when he talked golf I listened. We were talking one day regarding strategy and he asked me "how many birdies have you made on a five par with your 3 wood vs your wedge"?
For some reason that has stayed with me and has helped me conquer more five pars than not. I think back to how many times I had just grabbed my fwy wood and banged away in the past and gotten into trouble it was amazing.
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Great advice and a good perspective.

I still like a go with the 3W when it's a smart play but sometimes it just isn't. On a par 5 late last year I was a little pissed because I hit really good drive but it was next to a bunker. Good lie in the fairway but no stance. Forced me to hit a wedge for my second which led to another wedge from about 120 for my third. Driver, 2 wedges and I had a 4' putt for birdie.

To your point, wedges can really help you score.
 
When I'm having a good round I'll back off on the throttle and play conservative. When I'm not having a good round I'll put the pedal to the metal and take one risky shot after another.
 
I think I'm starting to learn to somewhat. For example, one hole at my home course has trouble left, right and behind, you miss the green and you will be lucky to get out of there with a bogey. For the longest time I would fire at the pin, miss the green and wind up with a double or worse and ruin a good round I had going. Now, I'm starting to see there is no shame in landing short of the green, avoiding the trouble and trying to chip up and save par.
 
To me scoring is taking advantage of when you put yourself in position to score well. It also involves keeping the result of your mistakes from becoming a blow up. Scoring involves both sides of the coin and I make notes about how well I thought I scored in my journal after every round.

It's not about the number but wether I minimized the result of poor shots and got the ball in the hole effectively on the greens.
 
I'd say I know how to score. I've come a long way from just wanting to hit the green in regulation, so actually looking at where the pin in and knowing in my mind, if I can go for the pin or I need to shoot for a better spot on the green.

NOW, with that said, that doesn't always mean I'm able to actually convert on that play, it IS golf and golf is hard. ha
 
I'm a mix of 1 and 3. Trying to blend some two. I mainly worry about fairways and greens hit and I am just learning 'where to miss' and how to be happy with that...for now.
 
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