Course Management...

[phan52]

This.  Nothing ticks me off more than making a smart play, and then having poor execution of the smart shot land me in more trouble or fail to get me out of the trouble I was in.  But it happens and it does not invalidate the smartness of the play I tried.

I was playing in a better-ball with a high handicapper, and he had a long shot into a hole where he was the only one getting a shot. He had a four-iron in his hand and I asked him, "How often have you hit that club onto this green?" He answered, "Never, but there is always a first time", and hit the ball 30 yards left of the green, made a double, everybody else made bogey and we halved the hole. Later in the round he had a 3-wood in his hand on another hole where he got the only shot, and I reminded him of the earlier hole. He wisely took out a 7-iron and hit it short of the green. Of course, he hit the resulting wedge into a greenside bunker and didn't even finish the hole. There was no convincing him that it was the right thing to do. Needless to say, he is no longer my better-ball partner.

[Jeremie Boop]

My problem is I'll be playing well and get overly confident about my game and end up trying a shot that I shouldn't. This is pretty much why I end up only having about 4 really bad holes a round that kills my overall score. I don't get overly upset about it, because I'm trying to learn new shots and find out what I can do when I'm out there. Once I get serious about lowering my scores I'll work more on playing smarter shots all the time. Right now, I'd rather try as many different types of shots as I can when I'm out playing.

[rkim291968]

For me, I used to pull out driver 14 times per round.  Now, I avoid pulling out driver if my drive will most likely end up in trouble.  There are holes I use my hybrid to tee off.  I also tee off to a side with less trouble even if it means my shot is likely to end up off of fairway.  The idea is to avoid OB - a sure two stroke or worse set back.

If green is well guarded by bunkers, I lay up short of the bunkers as I suck at getting out of sand.

On fast green, I do my best to hit a ball below the hole.   I will even hit short of green if I can avoid a steep down hill putt.

I am trying to position my final approach shot to  95 - 115 yards from green, where I'd have a good chance at getting up and down.

But when my mood strikes me in certain way, heck with course management and I will "go for it."   That's part of the fun for me.

[joekelly]

Too often for me, good course management means retreating from ability and accepting easiest path in order to keep score low as possible. Result is i seldom push myself to play the tougher shots, at least to play them well. The tough shots, well executed, build confidence but what does shrinking away from danger bring you except possibly a lower score today? I am not talking about shots out of my range, like 222 yard carry over the canyon from fairway, but ones i know i can do.

[MEfree]

I was playing in a better-ball with a high handicapper, and he had a long shot into a hole where he was the only one getting a shot. He had a four-iron in his hand and I asked him, "How often have you hit that club onto this green?" He answered, "Never, but there is always a first time", and hit the ball 30 yards left of the green, made a double, everybody else made bogey and we halved the hole. Later in the round he had a 3-wood in his hand on another hole where he got the only shot, and I reminded him of the earlier hole. He wisely took out a 7-iron and hit it short of the green. Of course, he hit the resulting wedge into a greenside bunker and didn't even finish the hole. There was no convincing him that it was the right thing to do. Needless to say, he is no longer my better-ball partner.

Playing the 7 iron short may or may not have been the correct play- if the guy is no more accurate with his wedge than his 3w or 4i, then maybe he will actually average a higher score by laying up??

[Rip24]

I keep reading everyone talking about course management as "not trying hero shots" which for some reason for some people, is not obvious...course management doesn't mean playing conservative.  you can cost yourself as many strokes being too conservative as you can taking stupid risks.  Course management is managing your misses and understanding what the course will give you.   If my miss with driver is a hook and there is OB on the left, ill still hit driver but ill aim more right, even if it means a percentage of my drives find the right rough

[vangator]

Since "course management" is such a broad term, anything that affects your choice of shot could be called course management. I think the OP just made the wrong choice. If there's a perfectly viable shot that's passed up over a "poke and hope", then that's experience taking there. Sometimes the risky, low percentage shot is the one to take because the conservative shot would probably lose you the hole (ie match play). Tiger's shot several years ago in the Canadian Open I believe where he hit a 200 yard shot from a fairway bunker over water to guarded pin position was about as low percentage of a shot as I've ever seen. But he felt he needed it, so his course management told him to go for broke. He pulled it off. It is sweet when you pull off the impossible shot. :-)

[Cool Breeze]

I'm trying to break into the 80s myself.  Course management and playing smart has helped me a lot.

We have a par 5 that takes a severe dogleg left.  You only need to hit the ball about 220-230 from the tee.  Further than that and you're in trouble.

The 2nd shot is another 220-230 and I've always took a 5 wood and ripped it trying to get it as close as possible.  I've done okay occasionally but usually it is not a good hole for me.

The other day I hit a decent drive but instead of ripping a fairway wood, I hit 8 iron/PW into the green.  Got my GIR and two putted for par.

I still shot 90 because I can't use the flat stick, but I learned my lesson about just hitting it as close to the green as possible.  I hit my wedges better than anything in the bag, so now I'll often try to hit it to about 110-115 yds so I can hit a full PW into the green.

[golfbarefoot]

Golf management can be tricky. You must be able to assess all the factors and play the odds correctly, WHILE staying confident in yourself and the shot in front of you at the same time and really believe you will pull off the best shot, hopefully you do. If you don't the course mgmt strategy you employ prior to the play will allow you to recover a little better if the shot is subpar. I like the saying, "plan for tomorrow, but live for today, in the moment.. in the now" Have a plan, but don't let it affect the now negatively. Hope that helps!

[vangator]

Layups are for wimps! Live on the edge. It's only a game! :-)

[Cool Breeze]

Layups are for wimps! Live on the edge. It's only a game!

You didn't get that 5 handicap by playing recklessly.

[vangator]

You didn't get that 5 handicap by playing recklessly.  :-$

Boy, I used to go for broke all the time. I tried to be on every par 5 in two even if it was 280 carry over water. :) There's a par 4 on the course I play that is probably 250 carry over a 20 foot wide canal. When I was a lad, I used to drive that with ease. Now I lay up to 210 with my 3 iron. Less birdies now and less bogeys.

[Cool Breeze]

I used to go for broke every time too.  The only problem is, I've never had the skill to do it.

Now I know my limitations.  230-240 from the fairway isn't within my capabilities.  I hit the hybrids pretty well, so 190 or so in I'll try if the green isn't too protected, but if it's 200+ it is a two shot endeavor.  Coming to terms with that has improved my scores and decreased my frustrations significantly.

[vangator]

You'd be surprised how far you could hit the ball with the proper technique. You don't need strength to generate club head speed. I'd have a problem beating my daughter in arm wrestling.

[MS256]

Boy, I used to go for broke all the time. I tried to be on every par 5 in two even if it was 280 carry over water. :)

There's a par 4 on the course I play that is probably 250 carry over a 20 foot wide canal. When I was a lad, I used to drive that with ease. Now I lay up to 210 with my 3 iron. Less birdies now and less bogeys.

I never saw a shot I thought I couldn't hit (only very slight hyperbole) but occasionally now some common sense actually prevails and I play more sensibly.

I think the birdie to bogey ratio is about the same but many more pars, many less eagles, and many less doubles, triples, and beyond.

[chasm]

A few weeks ago I was beaten in our club matchplay championship by a seven handicapper. On our way round he commented that I didn't hit the ball like an 18-handicapper and that when he saw me play the first couple of holes he had thought he'd never be able to give me 11 shots. By then, of course, he was 3 up having dropped only one shot to par in nine holes. He then said something that has stayed with me. "When I make a mistake," he said, "I just concentrate on making bogey." That's exactly the opposite of what I had been doing. When I made a mistake I tended to try to recover the lost ground, and often got into still more trouble as a result, with doubles and triples littering my card. Since then I've taken his advice to heart and concentrated on limiting the damage. It seems to be working - on several occasions recently I've played below my handicap in social games. Now I need to take that attitude into competition.

[iacas]

He then said something that has stayed with me. "When I make a mistake," he said, "I just concentrate on making bogey."

Meh. Not really a fan of that. That leads to doing things like laying up, just chipping back to the fairway, and play that tends to be a little too conservative.

I play for the lowest score (it's what wins, after all! :D) on average, and let the strategies I've documented guide me along the way.

[chasm]

Meh. Not really a fan of that. That leads to doing things like laying up, just chipping back to the fairway, and play that tends to be a little too conservative.

I'll play the most ambitious shot that I think I've a good chance of making. Before, I was tending to play the most ambitious shot that I had any chance of making. And for now, if playing more conservatively cuts out most of the double bogeys, it'll bring my handicap down significantly. No doubt my strategies will evolve as my capacity to execute them improves.