Do You Play Smart Golf?

I do try the hero shot from time to time or hit driver off the tee when I would normally hit less club but I try to play course management for the most part.

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This year I've played much smarter and my scores have come down because of it. It is humbling to play safe sometimes but the scores don't lie.

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Prior to a month ago I would say I played smart most of the time. Since straightening out my hook I tend to just hit it as far as I can off the tee. If I’m going to be way offline I might as well be closer to the pin. My scores have stayed about the same. I’m not sure what that says about my game.
 
I play smart golf, and as time has gone on and my game has improved, the scores have come down

There are a couple courses that I play now and again that will severely punish you if you don't play smart and put the ball in the right place, and to be honest, if you just try to bomb and gouge you will suffer and most likely not enjoy them. However, think about your golf and you will relish the challenge they provide
 
Nope. Not at all. All Brett Favre, all the time.

No - I tried this year to be more conservative and play the smart shot, but it's harder than you'd think. It's something I hope to work on a lot more going forward.
 
I play 3 wood off the tee all of the time. I don't play 7,000 yard courses and I hit this 3 wood pretty straight. Most of the times I'm going in with 9 iron on the medium length par 4's. Not reaching many 5 pars in two but also not having those BLOW UP holes either. Scores are staying in the mid 70s so it works for me. Don't know if this would change if I COULD hit driver but for now this is working for me.
 
I do. I don't attempt shots I haven't practiced, avoid sucker pins, lay up in front of a hazard if the odds of clearing it are slim, punch out instead of trying to hit a shot between a bunch of trees, etc.
 
In a football analogy, I tend to thing I take what the defense gives me which makes me lean toward the Alex Smith side of things. I don't really try things I'm not really comfortable with or think is in my talent ability, but I have to take the occasional risky shot to keep myself honest if I see a good opportunity.
 
I wish I did play smart golf, but I know I don’t. I definitely have that Tin Cup mentality. I like to believe I do it to challenge myself haha
 
I'm a plodder which falls in the smart golf category. My hero shots typically produce a big number.
 
Ugh! Probably not...but chicks dig the long ball right?
 
I have never seen a 2 yard gap that I didn't think I could hit. For real though in casual rounds I play dumb, especially since my esc max is a double. Tournaments I will play it more on the safe side. Getting a 10 because you are stubborn is a good way to end your hopes for that tournament.
 
I play reckless and it gets me in trouble more times than it helps, but every now and then it works out spectacularly! Occasionally I'll play smart, but thats rare.
 
I played smart golf today. The driver stayed in the bag most of the day. I hit wedges into the fairway from trouble, and I played like I had a clue. It worked. According to my golf app I shot net 61.....which was in all actuality a 94, but I played well for me, and didn’t have many terrible mistakes.
 
Not that it helps my score tremendously but I play pretty smart golf. I have no issue using less than driver off the tee and I will punch out as well.

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I’ve tried to play smarter golf this season. In the past, I would come up to a par 4 or 5 and automatically pull driver. Now I’m looking to play to a number or to put myself in a good position. Execution is another story, however.


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I’m a conservative golfer by nature. Whether that’s “smart” or not is a matter of opinion but it works for me.
 
Is there a more conservative choice than Alex Smith? I'm in the "John Birch Society of Game Management".
 
First day at ultimate weekend i was brett. That didn’t go well. 2 nd day i was alex. Went much better. Lesson learned? Who knows.


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my friends say I am a boring golfer, I guess that makes me smart?
 
Let's see

Less off the tee box ... YES. I will hit 3 wood or even an iron a lot just to keep it in play.
Punching out ... sometimes. I like the hero shot just to see if I can pull it off. Even if that opening is only about a window in size.
Play to the fat of the green ... NOPE. I like firing at flags regardless of location. I like to think that I can work the ball into the flag regardless of location, but we all know it's hit it one way & let it go whatever way it wants. If it fades, great ... draws, well that was an accident. That's why I end up short siding myself a lot. Maybe if I start to just aim at the middle of greens I might score better? :dont-know:
 
I play a mix I would say, I still sometimes try to think of trees as 90% air, which isn't the case down here when we deal with Oaks & Cedars :laugh:

For me, my driver is still incredibly inconsistent, so it comes out on rare occassions where width affords me the miss if it happens, most of the time its 3W for me, and i've tried to start thinking more along the lines of long approaches in two clubs instead of a hero shot in 1 leaving me a tough pitch shot in.
 
Let's see

Play to the fat of the green ... NOPE. I like firing at flags regardless of location. I like to think that I can work the ball into the flag regardless of location, but we all know it's hit it one way & let it go whatever way it wants. If it fades, great ... draws, well that was an accident. That's why I end up short siding myself a lot. Maybe if I start to just aim at the middle of greens I might score better? :dont-know:

... Depending on your skill, you do not have to aim at the middle of every green. You can go right at middle of the green pins wether they are from middle or back. But you can also go right hatpins tucked to either side as long as here is not big trouble if you short side yourself or go long/short. Every flag is different depending on where the trouble is on that hole.

... I shot a 68 yesterday and went right at some flags like a 147yd par 3 into a 15 mph wind tucked up front, just over a bunker. The bunker was not too deep so even if I did come up short it would have been an easy up and down. Hit it to 6 feet and made birdie. But on a tough par 4 I had 169 to a pin tucked just over a very deep bunker with thick grass surrounding the sand. Landing in the sand would be a tough shot but landing in the thick grass is at least a one stroke penalty as you cannot even see your ball and you have to just hack it out not knowing where it may end up and I have left balls in the grass with the first swing. So I aimed a good 10 yds left of that bunker and took enough club to guarantee I would be middle/long or just over the green. Hit it were I aimed and it left me a 35 foot lag putt as this was just not a birdie hole but could easily be a bogey or double hole.
 
I used to be a bomb and gouge guy and try to hit all those hero shots.
Then I got smarter and started playing smarter. I think I manage the courses very well and have limited my hero shot attempts.
 
I play smart golf -- aiming for the fat parts of greens, nearly almost always punching out, being less aggressive on long lag putts, keeping driver in the bag when necessary -- but because I lack consistency, the results I get aren't often much or any better than if I went at pins or hit driver on the short fours.
 
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