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What's your method(s) of course management??

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D.Witt

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As high handicapper, I've realized that not only do I make mistakes with my swing , I tend to make mistakes with my shot selection....Sometimes I'm too ambitious , sometimes too conservative.. What are some of the thought processes or rules you use to managing the course in your round to shoot lower score ?
 
Keep the ball in front of me
Take chances only when they should be taken
 
Hit clubs in comfortable hitting. I have scored better later In the year because I was not trying to hit clubs I am not comfortable with. For me my 3 wood and hybrid were not good for a while so I wasn't hitting anything below 5 iron. I was a lot less frustrated and had better scores. It's amazing how much your confidence goes up when u aren't duffing a fairway wood 80 yards into the rough.
Another thing was I stopped full swinging all my wedges. I switched to a 56 degree wedge that was my 100 and in club. I would just adjust my backswing depending on how much distance I needed. I also stopped trying to hit crazy high wedge shots all the time and focused more on trajectory.


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If you get into trouble off the tee, just ouch out to the fairway and take your medicine. Don't try the crazy hero shot through the trees (or insert hazard here), which most of the time just ends up making things worse. Took me awhile to learn this one.
 
try to only have a one way miss. When I was first starting out on a path to improvement I made sure my only miss was to the right (slice), which happened quite often. But even with slicing it a decent amount of the time, it essentially takes half of the problems out of the way and you can aim accordingly. It's a lot easier to take away one side of the course than it is to get to a solid consistent swing, so that's a decent thing to think about starting out.

As for when to go for things, I basically didn't. Play it safe unless the course is open enough that you can be any what aggressive. Once you start to improve you can start to be a little more aggressive with your shot selections.
 
I try to eliminate one side of the golf course. Keep the ball in front, chase it and hit it again.
Dont try and be a hero on chips and approaches, get it on the green and 2 putt for par.
 
If I'm in the trees/bunker, I aim for the fairway. If I'm in the fairway, I aim for the flag.
 
I am pretty darn aggressive always have been and while that hurts me at times when I try and pull it back I can get to conservative and cost myself

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recently I switched to only playing shots I know I can pull off without hesitation. Even began taking another club just to add to the confidence level.
 
I found this video really helpful, and have employed it into my game. Saved me countless strokes. The Wall!

[video=youtube;_f9-KLDVCtk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f9-KLDVCtk[/video]
 
think about the hole from pin to tee, not tee to pin. When going for the green, always try and be below the hole. If nothing else, selecting a club for the front to middle yardage. Never worry about getting to a back pin.
 
I play whatever shot gives me the greatest chance at the fairway, and then follow that up with whatever has the greatest chance of getting me on the green.

Advance the ball forward whenever possible. Stay out of the bush & water.

Eliminate the penalty strokes, that was the key for me. The majority of my shots wasted a round used to be due to penalty. Now I waste more around the greens than I ever did due to penalty.
 
i play to avoid the big miss and rarely try a hero shot. I look for distance to play to off the tee and on par 5s i can't reach. If i make a mistake i try to take my medicine and reduce the chance for a blow up hole and play what the course gives me
 
Commit to each and every shot 100%. Then hit it. Don't go up there thinking, do that before you address the ball.
 
D.Witt said:
As high handicapper, I've realized that not only do I make mistakes with my swing , I tend to make mistakes with my shot selection....Sometimes I'm too ambitious , sometimes too conservative.. What are some of the thought processes or rules you use to managing the course in your round to shoot lower score ?
Click to expand...

I'm of 17 at the moment, started at about 30. I wiped off 5 shots easily a round with really good advice; 'take your medicine'.

Too many times I would be under a tree, or behind a tree or some other obstacle and think I have to try and get up and down to the green from here. Literally just take a 5 or 4 iron, and run something out on to the fairway. Just take the medicine and get yourself in a better position.

Best advice I ever received when I was starting out playing full time and more regularly. Just gives you more choice in getting to greens.
 
I don't view it as conservative vs aggressive but simply as playing to your strengths vs your weaknesses. Or within ones means, or your higher percentage shots vs lower percentage ones. Playing to ones strengths (relative to ones ability) on a regular basis in this sense is actually imo the most aggressive way to end up with lower scores more often. Of course the more improved one becomes, the more shots then begin to slowly and gradually fall into ones "strengths" category.

Also playing to what the golf course (or hole lay-out) gives me. Many times imo certain hole lay-outs will give one or suggest to one a position"A" such as lets say a dogleg and that shot often falls well within ones means with lets say a long iron or hybrid but too many times most people ignore it, garb driver and go for more which is fine when one is of the ability to succeed more often than not at it. But most people cant and fail most of the time. For every one time they make it, the fail 8 times. Their chance to par that hole and even have a look at bird on occasion ends up being far less often and fewer between vs if they simply play what the hole gave them and what lay within their means and strengths. Now how can it ever be considered too conservative when in fact that person would score better more often by taking the conservative route. Imo that's actually the most aggressive way to better scoring more often. If one is in a competition and needs to make up a shot or two or he loses, than that is a totally different story since he loses either way so he has to go for it in hopes of making it. But we are not talking about that here I don't think. Imo managing to ones strengths is probably one the most over looked ways to better scoring more often but with that said, we still have to execute enough of the shots or none of it means anything lol.
 
Off the tee, get it in play. A long second shot is better than OB, hazard, etc. Driver is only one of the options, even on long par 4s and par 5s.

If I have a tough carry, I am fine leaving it a little short and having to get up and down.

With putting, speed control is priority.
 
Firm believer in taking your medicine. I now aim for the safe shot on the green instead of pin hunting on tight pin locations. I also play the course 3 holes at a time so I dont get overwhelmed.
 
Don't hit it into the trees.

If that fails, make a safe shot back to the fairway instead of the crazy recovery shot that might end up behind you.

Out-of-season rounds are a good time to practice the crazy recovery shots though.
 
Next season I'm going to specifically start hitting to numbers. In the past I just went up and hit it as far as I could every time. That hasn't worked out to well to me. If I'm 250 out I can just take a huge swing and see what happens or hit a solid 8 iron 155 or so with a nice 100y pitch with much better accuracy. Biggest plan I'm working on over the winter.
 
Girardcorp said:
Next season I'm going to specifically start hitting to numbers. In the past I just went up and hit it as far as I could every time. That hasn't worked out to well to me. If I'm 250 out I can just take a huge swing and see what happens or hit a solid 8 iron 155 or so with a nice 100y pitch with much better accuracy. Biggest plan I'm working on over the winter.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it has to be a number. Although many do play to a number. But what good is a number if that landing area is not the most desirable one and if getting there from your current position is also less than desirable? I think one has to simply look at (factor in) where he is currently coming from and then see the best way to get to the next best place without necessarily playing to a given number. But the idea I do agree with. Weather its a par 5 or perhaps we screwed up a tee shot on a par 4, how many times are we then recovering to a green from a very significant yardage with little room for error and often from less than desirable lies and places in the first place and actually being successful doing it? So yea, it again comes down to playing to our strengths and not weaknesses. Far too many people imo simply grab the longest club they have regardless where they are and regardless the forgiveness on where they are heading all because they are still far away and far too many of those times fail to only make things worse. When all along there may be a desirable landing area a much more makeable distance away taken with a much more makeable club and which will also allow for a very makeable pitch from there. Its about strengths vs weaknesses imo.

Even from the tee I would argue too many always take driver even when other clubs are far more the successful shot to still par and even bird the hole. Whether its due to total hole yardage or due to hole layout, there are many times where laying up is the better choice where as the chance for par or even look at bird will present itself more often by doing so vs the amount of times one screws up the longer (and not really necessary) tee shot. There are days when my driver works really well all day and then sometimes I'll use it on such a given hole but only because my chances are high that day with it. But that's not the norm and on just an average day or day when its not working well then I take the higher percentage route via the layup. And those days are more often than the former. lol But again its about managing to my strengths and in combo with what the hole and my current place within it offers me..

But again imo it comes down to what shots one has in his bag that he/she can make more often then not based on ability and/or sometimes also perhaps how well he/she may be playing that day with given clubs. Sure we can and do screw up the better choices too. Afetr all we still have to make decent shots. But it still going to be the better play for better scoring more often than it will be vs if we fail to consider to manage better.
 
This has been a great year as far as course management for me. Some keys for me have been playing my swing (meaning stick with the fade if the fade swing shows up that day), usually my miss is consistent with that approach. Also depending on the situation I've rarely gone for the green at over 200 yards. I'm just not consistent enough with that long of a shot, especially if there is trouble ahead. This means most times I lay up on longer par fives. And finally I've tried to eliminate the hero shot. If I'm behind trouble I'm punching out or looking at laying up to a solid yardage. It's easier and better imo to take a bogey than a snowman by going the hero route.
 
Keep ball in play first and for most.

Play to the most forgiving spot on the course that sets you up for the next shot.

If you can't reach the green confidently because of a poor first/second shot play to a position that leaves you a good chance to get up and down. If the pin is tucked on the right play down the left side of the fairway to give you more green to work with.


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golfinFF said:
Keep ball in play first and for most.

Play to the most forgiving spot on the course that sets you up for the next shot.

If you can't reach the green confidently because of a poor first/second shot play to a position that leaves you a good chance to get up and down. If the pin is tucked on the right play down the left side of the fairway to give you more green to work with.


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Click to expand...

I agree wholeheartedly with this advice but I will add that for me, if I do happen to find myself in some relatively good positions I'll make a conscious decision to try and take advantage on occasion. I attempt to do this by choosing the least risky opportunity that I'll likely encounter during the round and where my worst miss will still leave me a chance to recover somewhat. I simply cannot play an entire course so conservatively that I don't stretch myself any.
 
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