Course Name
: Koenigstein Golf Club (Germany)
Course Website
:
http://www.golf-koenigstein.de
Course Style
: Parkland, Open, and Rolling Hills (lots of Rough and OB)
Regular Tee Yardage / Rating / Slope
: Yellow: 6490/71.9/132
Regular Tee Average Score
: 95
Forward Tee Yardage / Rating / Slope
: 5742/69.5/124 (converted to Mens via USGA Chart)
Forward Tee Predicted Score (Aggressive Round)
: 90
Forward Tee Predicted Score (Conservative Round)
: 87
Aggressive Round Score:
N/A
Conservative Round Score:
86
Did you find that the aggressive or conservative round was more enjoyable?
I did not have time to play the aggressive round, but it would have been my typical score, I believe. I had no blow-up holes (defined as triple or higher), and had a great time. There was an older couple behind me, and the man got a real kick out of me playing forward. The lady seemed irritated by it for some reason.
Did you discover a hidden strength or weakness in your game?
Both -- I hit 5 wood and below -- usually a hybrid 3 off the tee for par 4s and 5s which actually left me only 20-40 yards ahead of my driver from the mens tee (when hit well). I'll be trying this from the standard tees since I had only two missed Fairways. Weakness: Thought I was a decent putter, but found that putting for birdie made it harder to focus... I really need to work on putts from 8-20 feet since I three putted three times.
On which area of your game did the shorter tees put pressure?
Putting (see above) and Course Management. GIR increased significantly, but # of putts did as well. Course Management: I had to actually think through what club to use and why since the course seemed so different.
Did you have more fun than normal? Will you occasionally play shorter tees for fun?
I did enjoy the round more than normal -- it was a new experience (and kept feeling like I was doing something naughty and getting away with it). I'll certainly play it forward again, especially as it gets colder.
What'd you learn?
That I can break 90 on this course (Never done it before this round), the Red Tees are not as short as the whites on the course where I played with my brother, and the slope 19 higher -- still a tough course. The mental side of golf must not be underrated. I also learned that setting a target score in my GPS helped me focus -- and applied some pressure -- that I played through. Oh, and playing from the fairway really helps on the score card.
Did you shoot your predicted score(s), and if not, why not? If so, was it for the reasons you suspected?
I beat my prediction (goal) by one stroke, but not necessarily because of length -- it was mostly my mental approach or frame of mind. Thanks for posting the experiment. I'll try the aggressive style when I get my driver back.
Steve
