bad course strategy.......it destroys so many rounds for high handicappers.... - Page 2

I hit my driver on 17/18 holes on my home course. The only hole I don't hit driver on is #16 because it's a dogleg right at 90 degrees and only 240 to the bend so I can't hit driver without going OB into the woods overshooting the fairway.

 

I think this golf season during practice I'm going to try hitting irons and woods off the tee more. Maybe I'll see something I like and continue doing it. It's just hard for me to do that though because I feel more comfortable with a driver in my hand off the tee than just about any other club other than short irons.

It helps to have a playing partner that you are willing to listen to when he gives course management advice.

I hit a bad tee shot off of a par 5 today that left me about 225 out with trees to contend with on my right. My first thought was 3 wood and try to shape a shot around the trees. My buddy knowing that I probabaly wouldn't pull it off, suggested I hit a safe shot that would leave me about 100 yards out. I did and then hit a beaut of an approach shot that netted a birdy! I probably saved 2 or 3 strokes on that hole alone by playing smart.

Your home course must have some long par threes if you take driver on 17 of 18 holes...

When I got back into golf about 5 years ago, i honestly didn't consider more than distance before pulling a club. 2nd shot on a par 5 is a 3 wood, right? Well, my buddy got tired of seeing this I guess, and one day as I prepared to hit my 2nd shot - 3 wood - he asks "why are you hitting that club?" I have no answer other than it's a long way to the hole. He suggests I try to hit something that will leave me about 100 yards out. So I hit a 7 or 8 iron to about the 100 yard marker, wedge it on and 2 putt for par. Who knew? I still have a tendency to hit my fairway wood when I shouldn't, but now I understand the risk/ reward I'm bringing into play.

This is a great point. As golfers, most of us tend to focus too much on our own game and too little on the field of play. But it takes conscious mental discipline to get out of your own head long enough to appreciate and understand the terrain around you. The first requirement for good course management is actually noticing the course! 

Welllll ..... I don't really agree with most posts, of course there are clever ways to play most holes, but this may well be not the fun part for the average weekend golfer. They like to see a good drive followed by a nice wedge, and maybe 1 or 2 putts, even if it happens only at one of 18 holes. At a course I play regularly there is a 305 yds Par 4 with lots of bunkers around the green, with a good drive I can putt for eagle ....... I can take a 5i from the tee followed by a wedge and two putts for a par or even better ...... but it is fun to try to hit a teeshot on the putting surface.

 

Some people just like to use a driver from about 14 tees, even though it might not be the wisiest decision ...... but they don't really bother much, they don't play for a score, they just want to have 4 hours of fun, after a week at work ...... not all golfers want to play like pro's or strive for scratch.

 

I prefer to play wise, but I also like to hit the driver at a par 5 even though I know I can not reach it in two.

 

Further ..... high cappers might just not be so accurate at ball striking that they can go for a gameplan and follow that plan, bc most shots will be worse than planned.

Hahahaha omg I didn't even think about that. Make that 13/14 holes excluding Par 3's haha.

This entire thread is very true and very important to think about. I have a great example from Friday to talk about really quick. We were golfing at Deer Pass (http://deerpassgolf.com/golf/proto/deerpassgolf/) and there is actually 2 signature holes. One is the following, quoted from the site:

 

"Our signature hole is the par 3, 155-yard, 7th hole. This hole features an island green with a narrow landing area. Don't be fooled by the shorter length of this hole. A constant breeze, small target and intimidating water makes accuracy a must!"

The next is a 319-yard par 4 that has fairway bunkers down each side of a very narrow landing area. The green is actually wider than the front end of the landing area. I was on my game this day and my father was having a little bit of a tough time. I birdied the first 2 par-3's, one of which I was actually 6 inches from the pin (140-yard). I will probably never repeat that, or if I do, hopefully it will go in next time. The greens were really wet and they played into my high loft really, really well!

Anyway, I grabbed my driver and figured I would easily roll up to either the green, or set up for a chip and birdie. My dad grabbed his 5 iron and planned to lay up for a 110 PW. My plan backfired as I actually hit a nice draw against the wind and 1 bounced right into a lake. My dad's shot laid up perfectly and he was on in 2, 2 putted for his par. I took my drop and was on hitting 3, 2 putted and went 5. Though it was a 1-stroke difference and a good save, the hole played with my head for 3 more to come where I popped off 6, 6, 5 (+5). My dad was confident going par and went 4, 4, 5 (+1).

In the long run, my one risk ruined my confidence for 3 more holes and put me at +6 after the series of 4 holes, where my father was +1 playing a nice lay up shot.

It was a hell of a risk and I'd probably try it again, but that's most likely just being 26 and trying to reach everything in 1! LOL I assume responsibility for stupidity most of the time at least and I don't go throwing my clubs or being angry. When I saw the splash I heard my dad try to hold back his laugh and I just shook my head laughing. It was one of those deals where you hear your pop's words without him saying anything. "Keep it up Tiger, keep trying to kill it! How many times do I need to tell you that distance isn't everything?! Play every hole with the intention of 5 being max - 3's and 4's will come!". You don't even make eye contact after that lol I just got back in the cart laughing and cracked a cold one and told him "....Drive".

I have a rule of thumb:  If a par four is less than 400 yards, I hit three wood.  I hit my three wood around 235-260 (or farther) depending on conditions.  At worst, I'm hitting a 7 iron into the green.  I played a shorter course last week with many short par fours and hit my driver only once and shot 76.  Only way I would hit driver on a short par four is if there were no trouble and I had a chance to get there.

I've never understood the mindset that sees 3 doubles, 2 triples and one birdie as being more fun than 3 bogies and 3 pars.  Since when did making par become boring for the typical 15+ handicapper?  I like nothing more than starting a round with 4, 5 or even 6 straight pars.  And if that means that I only use the driver once, then so be it.  That is fun. Scoring as low as possible is fun.  Scoring low on one hole at the expense of 4 others isn't.  My only eagle in the last 3 years came this last May, and it was during a round where I shot 93, not a fun round despite the one good hole.  But that wasn't because of poor course management, but because of a swing which somehow deserted me for the first half of the season this year.  I normally play my home course fairly consistently in the low to mid 80's, with the occasional 78 or 79 to  screw up my handicap.  I didn't break 80 this year until 3 weeks ago, and that was on a round where I played smart all the way, and my full swing and putter were both working.

 

Just one more note.  I played a course this July which I'd never seen before.  It is a Craig Stadler designed course in the mountains here outside of Granby, Colorado called Grand Elk.  It winds its way through a valley wetland, with lots of trouble, good bunkering (both fairway and greenside), and interesting but playable greens.  The course is clearly designed for a good course manager.  Most of the holes have generous landing areas, but not always for driver.  And if you choose to use the driver on holes where it isn't advised, then the fairways neck down to almost nothing, with either bunkers one side and hazard on the other, or bunkers or hazard on  both sides.  Clearly a layout designed for the player who likes to think his way around the course.  The course was great fun to play, and I shot an 87, a score which is very unusual for me on a course I've never seen before.   I will be back there again this summer, just because the course was so much fun.

a friend of mine is at least a 20 handicap, and he's one of these macho sorts that feels like he simply MUST pull a driver on every hole and go for it.  of course, he would constantly find himself frustrated and often take a month or longer off from the game before the bug would bite again and the process would repeat.  one weekend, we played both saturday and sunday, and he'd had his usual horrible day saturday.  so as we walked off the course that evening, i said "look man... tomorrow, let's try something different.  let me caddy for you.  for every shot except for putting, let me club you."  so we played 18 like that, and only twice did i hand him the driver, and those two times being wide open fairways where he could afford to miss a good 50 yards on either side.  he shot 8 strokes better, mostly because he only lost one ball instead of his usual five or six (which were 90% of the time the result of a driver sailing deep into the woods or into a water hazard 220 yards out).  i think it kind of got in his head at that point "hey... there might be something to this 'playing the safe shot' business."

as a single figure handicaper i can safely say that at my home course i pull driver maybe 6 times a round and 3 of those holes are par 5's. . i actually got to my handicap by thinking my way around the course and im not going to change that to live up to the long macho image.

When I'm playing to keep my score low, I play very conservatively to maximize par or bogey opportunities.  I'll leave the driver in the bag, and try to manage the course in a way that's best for my current game, which is to keep my shots to the green within 80 - 130 yards for a wedge - 7i. 

 

I do at times also attempt more aggressive play, as at some point I'll have to hit your driver on a long par 4 or 5 if you want a shot at birdie.  Plus there's nothing like hitting an awesome drive 260+ yards right down the middle to set you up for a perfect look at the flag on a Par 4. 

 

On the course I play at mostly there is a 450 yard par 4 which I really have no chance at hitting at 2 unless I hit the driver.  Even then its a long shot as I would have to go perfect drive, perfect 3 hybrid to have a chance.  Luckily its a pretty open hole so I usually go for it.

It's because it is more fun, laying up may be the smart play, but unless I am in a tournament, I go for it...tin cup style.

Yep.  You're the guy the OP is talking about. 

 

By the way, if you turn in all of those scores, what you describe is just another form of sandbagging. 

 

So true, I still have to remind myself to play smarter from time to time. However, I think for higher handicappers they're just trying to hit the ball solid and since the driver has the largest face.. Teeing off with a 4 iron probably wouldn't work out well for them anyway.
 

 

 

Which may be one of the reasons so many amateurs "need" 5 wedges.