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Optimum way to play golf

Tadashi70

Tadashi70

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I have been thinking long and hard about this topic and I am wondering if there is an optimum way to play golf or a golf hole. I know golf is a game of imperfection but I wonder if there is a way to play a golf hole that will allow you score better than another way.

for instance, you have a 420 yard par four that dog legs right. You can carry the corner with a high drive but must play over the trouble and hug right side but are left with SW into green or PW. I encounter these types of holes all the time. What is the best way to play the hole to score the lowest possible hole.

If you are playing the correct tees then you should have options from each set of tees. The risk reward shot, safe layup shot or a mix of both. Which way will increase our chances of scoring? Or doesn't it really matter because each day on the course is different.

What are your thoughts? This isn't a how would you play this hole exercise
 
Tadashi70 said:
...Or doesn't it really matter because each day on the course is different...
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This pretty much sums it up, for me. There are any number of variables that could influence what would be optimum for MY game, and those can (and do) change on a daily basis.
 
Interesting topic Tadashi and one that I think is different for every person. One golfer will always "go for it" and try to make the lowest score possible on every hole. Others will choose to pick their spots. Play for par and eliminate any chance at big numbers, while picking certain spots that they can be aggressive.
 
I think it varies by the day. Even the pro's don't have their best game under them every day. Based on the day and my control that day off the tees and the physical conditions (temperature, wind, soft golf course or hard) my strategy may well vary from day to day.

I think that is the essence of scoring really. Matching what you have to what the golf course offers and playing the high percentage shot at every opportunity.
 
I try to figure out how the course designer intended me to play the hole.

He intended me to hit my tee shot in a certain area. That's probably the safest place to which to play. He probably also gave me a risk-reward route. Only if my swing is particularly "on" will I consider that route.

I think playing the hole as the course designer intended is likely the option which will result in the lowest score most often.
 
For most of us I would think that serious consideration would be given to what game we came with that day. All other things being equal, correct tees etc., if I'm hitting my driver well, I might take a little more of the short side on a hole. If I'm steering it or whatever and cannot rely on my tee game I want one out there to give me an opportunity for par on the second shot.

so, for me the optimum way to play any particular hole is the combination of my swing that day and what the designer and my imagination offers me. Hopefully, it all adds up to par or better.

JM
 
i think golf is ment to be played aggresive. how many times have you seen someone take out an iron off the tee for the safe play and hit a bad shot off the fairway or into trouble. i will be agressive with the play within reason. not trying forced carry with wind in the face or i wouldnt try to cut a dogleg right with trouble right with a left to right wind.

i think you need to track some how your go for it stats. how many times you take a penalty shot when going for it and how many times you make par or better by playing it safe.
 
For me it does depend on the day. When I have a day where I just can't seem to hit an accurate shot to save my life I pull driver on every hole and it's scramble time.
When my swing is working and I'm in control (for the most part) I like to play smarter golf. In this case I will almost never try to carry trouble unless it's a sure thing, I will aim away from the hole and work it back towards the pin, and there are a lot of 3 woods off the tee. That said, sometimes I just can't miss with my wedges so I do everything in my power to put a wedge in my hands for the next shot.
 
I would have to say that every time you play, the course will be different, so to a degree it doesn't matter what options you have when stood on the tee. However, the way that I play a hole on a course will always depend on a couple of things -

1. How well I am actually striking the ball that day
2. The weather conditions

If both of them are against me, or if I am not striking the ball well, I will always take the safe option to remove as much trouble as possible

If I am striking the ball well but the conditions aren't favourable, then I would lean towards the safe option again BUT I would consider the potential risk outcomes if I went for the 'short-cut' and make a gut decision on whether to take it on

Playing well with perfect conditions then I am more than likely going to take the risky shot in a fun round, and probably 80-20 if it was a bit more serious round


Your scenario is very similar to a hole on a course I have played a couple of times recently - par 4 dogleg left with trees all down the left and a bunker on the corner. If you clear the bunker you can be left with most about 120yds into a green protected by a stream in front, whereas if you play the safe tee shot you can be left with around 170yds
 
My "Optimum way to play golf" on any hole is to get to the 150 yard marker. From there, my confidence level is high enough that I can get out with par.
 
As others have said, it depends on the game you bring to the course each day, but it depends also on the hole you are playing. On my "home" course (a county muni) there are holes where I can be aggressive, but there are others that I play very cautiously (with the intent of avoiding a game-ruining score). For me, knowing my strengths and limitations, and playing to them, usually results in a good round.
 
If you are playing the correct tees then you should have options from each set of tees. The risk reward shot, safe layup shot or a mix of both. Which way will increase our chances of scoring? Or doesn't it really matter because each day on the course is different.
Click to expand...

I'm just going to relate this to a few holes at the course I play most often, because there are a number of risk/reward options there. I think there are a bunch of factors that help me make up my mind as to how I'll play each hole and I play some of them differently based on them.

My swing, how well I'm swinging certain clubs, the wind/temperature, how I've played up to that point, or just my general tempermant that day, all play a factor. In general, I err on the side of conservative, especially with par 5's. There are three that I can regularly get into position to take a swing at making it in two, but I probably actually do it 5-10% of the time. Why is that? Mostly past experience.
 
To answer which way will increase the chance of scoring I think it comes down to some math and very much depends on just where one is with his game and his overall ability.

If one is mcuh less likely to succeed (less than 50%) at the riskier shots than he has a better chance at scoring by playing the safer routes. But while i put a line at 50% I think its very deceiving because in order to chose the riskier routes one has to be at a much higher level of success than 50% because for every risky shot he doesnt succeed at he just doesnt lose that shot but usually now has to take an extra one too. If he makes it 50% of the time he will save a stroke but only to be taken away the other half of the times he had to take an extra one and it becomes a wash and sometimes it also can be more costly than just one stroke too and may end up on the negative side of that wash. So the success rate for the riskier shots would have to be about 75% in order for them to pay off and offer a consistent increase in the scoring imo.

This is why imo for most people (average amateur and weekend hacker) i think it safe to say that the overall increase to better scoring will come from not playing the riskier shots. Only the better players at higher levels who are way more capable of succeeding at them are those who even stand a chance at increased scores on any consistant basis by chosing the riskier routes. But thats only provided they make them enough times to overcome the costs from the ones they missed.
 
Pretty much every shot I make is at risk in some way or another, so I try to not tempt fate and avoid choosing aggressive lines. Penalty strokes add up quickly.
 
JB said:
Interesting topic Tadashi and one that I think is different for every person. One golfer will always "go for it" and try to make the lowest score possible on every hole. Others will choose to pick their spots. Play for par and eliminate any chance at big numbers, while picking certain spots that they can be aggressive.
Click to expand...


I am the bolded.

Im not a fan of hitting the low percentage risk/reward shots. I do better when I just keep the ball in front of me and minimalize the gambling
 
I would say no, there isn't one optimum way to play golf. However, one optimum way for each individual, maybe. You could have to golfers who hit the exact same distance, on the exact same hole, and they could play it differently, with each being the right way for themselves. In your hole example, one may hit his driver better, or be able to shape his shot with a driver, so going for it is a good play. While the other one hits long irons better, so laying up with a longer approach shot is the right play. Day to day weather, tee locations, and stuff like that effects it too.
 
I think it varies just the way you're playing that day. Some days things are firing well and you can go out and hit driver wedge and make a putt for 3. Other days you're just saying jeez please just hit the fairway and then you're hitting a mid iron off the tee, hitting it again, then just scrambling for par.

For me, trying to assess what to do the day before can just leave myself second guessing it if it varies when I get up there. It just helps keep the head a little quieter when I get up to the tee.
 
I like to weigh the options and where I'm at in the round. However, it comes down to one simple question for me.

Are you comfortable when you stand over the shot? If I stand over the ball and think, I don't know I can do this, I will immediately grab the Hybrid and hit to the fat part of the fairway.
 
#6 at my course is a 450 yard par4 that dog legs to the right. On the right, past the berm, is the river. To the right of the fairway is a mini-forest. The optimal drive is a baby drive over the edge of the berm, leaving you about 150 out. How i play holes like this is i think of what clubs i am hitting well. If i'm hitting my 7i, for example, well, i'm going to play it straight down the middle at 85%. That way i dont feel like if i do something wrong it might possibly go OB, and there is no returning from the OB with a decent score on that hole.
 
For me it's simple. Golf is a game of knowing my limits, but pushing myself to them
 
I think playing optimum golf has to do more with focusing on each shot, than the hole itself because most folks don't know where the ball is going to land up exactly. You have to limit your mistakes if you miss where you want to go and make sure to get up and down as many times as possible.
 
I used to be the guy that could and would try anything to get to the green ASAP. Now, I tend to try and get between 100-150 to have a comfortable wedge into the green. Staying out of trouble, recognizing my normal misses (and accounting for them) and giving myself the best chance to score low is the way I play now.
 
I think it depends on how your striking the ball that day and how confident you feel about making the shot.

I think optimum way to play golf is to play the way your most confident in your ability to score without adding unwarranted strokes.

I admittedly play the game too risky way too much and am working on changing that mindset.
 
So many variables come into play on a day to day basis where I don't think there is a "correct way" per say. Could be a difference in wind direction from one day to a next. One day you could be have a great day with your wedge game and want to have a 100 yard shot. The next you might be smoking your driver and wan to play the odds over the corner. One day your might be throwing darts with your 7 iron, you want to play a iron or hybrid off the tee. It's soooooo much a day to day internal calculation with yourself, that I can't say there is a perfect way to play any one hole.
 
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