Game Planning and Strategy

[pumaAttack]

In the past I usually have fallen into two camps:  If the round is going well, I get excited and start thinking I could shoot low.  That usually leads to a blow up hole or two and the round is shot. 

Or I have a few bad holes and let the whole round get away from me. Instead of one double bogey I let two or three sneak up on me.

 

So I have decided to try a new strategy during my rounds, and its pretty simple.

"Just try to par each hole."  Regardless of how the prior hole went, my goal is to start fresh on each hole with the aim of making par on that hole.  

 

Does anybody else have any other similar strategies or plans that help them out?

[saevel25]

4 minutes ago, pumaAttack said:

"Just try to par each hole."  Regardless of how the prior hole went, my goal is to start fresh on each hole with the aim of making par on that hole.  
Does anybody else have any other similar strategies or plans that help them out?

http://lowestscorewins.com/

Know your shot zones, know where to aim, hit your shots, move on to the next shot. 

[pumaAttack]

3 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

http://lowestscorewins.com/

Know your shot zones, know where to aim, hit your shots, move on to the next shot. 

I have read "Make Every Stroke Count," are those similar books?

And I get the aiming and shot zones part, this is more about looking at each hole separately and not worrying about the previous holes. 

[saevel25]

Just now, pumaAttack said:

I have read "Make Every Stroke Count," are those similar books?

Every Shot Counts is more of a technical read. Lowest Score Wins has way more applicable information and actually tells you what to do. 

1 minute ago, pumaAttack said:

And I get the aiming and shot zones part, this is more about looking at each hole separately and not worrying about the previous holes. 

If you just take each shot at hand with LSW then you don't have to worry about any hole. 

[pumaAttack]

1 minute ago, saevel25 said:

Every Shot Counts is more of a technical read. Lowest Score Wins has way more applicable information and actually tells you what to do. 

If you just take each shot at hand with LSW then you don't have to worry about any hole. 

 

Gotcha!  Maybe I will pick up LSW then.  I always just thought they were similar strokes gained approaches.  

Thanks Matt!

 

[Golfingdad]

17 minutes ago, pumaAttack said:

In the past I usually have fallen into two camps:  If the round is going well, I get excited and start thinking I could shoot low.  That usually leads to a blow up hole or two and the round is shot. 

Or I have a few bad holes and let the whole round get away from me. Instead of one double bogey I let two or three sneak up on me.

 

So I have decided to try a new strategy during my rounds, and its pretty simple.

"Just try to par each hole."  Regardless of how the prior hole went, my goal is to start fresh on each hole with the aim of making par on that hole.  

 

Does anybody else have any other similar strategies or plans that help them out?

When you say "just try to par each hole," if you mean "don't get ahead of yourself and try to make birdies by doing careless stuff and going after flags you shouldn't" or something along those lines, then I generally agree with you.  Birdies are hard to come by and should never be expected or played for.  But you can also get into trouble with your statement because if your goal is to make par and you've started with a poor shot, do you press after that?  That's just as bad as pressing after a good tee shot to try and make birdie.  Like, trying to get a flop shot close to the hole and dumping it in the bunker or something.  With that in mind, I would argue that you should go even more micro and change your next statement from:

"Regardless of how the prior hole went, my goal is to start fresh on each hole with the aim of making par on that hole."

to:

"Regardless of how the prior shot went, my goal is to start fresh on each shot with the aim of making the best possible shot." 

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, pumaAttack said:

Gotcha!  Maybe I will pick up LSW then.  I always just thought they were similar strokes gained approaches.  

LSW uses the concept of strokes gained to develop applications for game planning, and on how to prioritize what to work on with your swing. 

Every Stroke Counts just gives you that information. It kinda does delve into application, but not to the way and ease of use the LSW does. 

 

[pumaAttack]

1 minute ago, Golfingdad said:

When you say "just try to par each hole" you mean "don't get ahead of yourself and try to make birdies by doing careless stuff and going after flags you shouldn't" or something along those lines, then I generally agree with you.  Birdies are hard to come by and should never be expected or played for.  But you can also get into trouble with your statement because if your goal is to make par and you've started with a poor shot, do you press after that?  That's just as bad as pressing after a good tee shot to try and make birdie.  Like, trying to get a flop shot close to the hole and dumping it in the bunker or something.  I would argue that you should go even more micro and change your next statement from:

"Regardless of how the prior hole went, my goal is to start fresh on each hole with the aim of making par on that hole."

to:

"Regardless of how the prior shot went, my goal is to start fresh on each shot with the aim of making the best possible shot." 

That is probably a fair point.  I was looking at it more holistically, as in don't worry about the prior double and just focus on this hole.  

I definitely get what you mean with the start fresh on each shot approach and will try to implement that.   I mainly want to get away from that double bogey ruining a round and maybe this individual shot approach will help.

[DaveP043]

24 minutes ago, pumaAttack said:

"Just try to par each hole."  Regardless of how the prior hole went, my goal is to start fresh on each hole with the aim of making par on that hole.  

I shorten my time frame even further.  I try to hit THIS SHOT to the best possible position, taking into account the risks and my tendencies.  Then forget "THAT" shot and move on to the next shot, which is by now "THIS shot".  I don't think about making a par while I'm on the tee, I think about hitting a solid drive in play, preferably in the fairway.  Wherever my tee shot ends up, I try to forget it, and play the next shot as if I'm starting the hole from that spot.

Edit....And of course in the time I've taken to type that, @Golfingdad has said basically the same thing.  I think @saevel25 is saying the same thing too, but definitely in more technical terms.

[pumaAttack]

1 minute ago, DaveP043 said:

I shorten my time frame even further.  I try to hit THIS SHOT to the best possible position, taking into account the risks and my tendencies.  Then forget "THAT" shot and move on to the next shot, which is by now "THIS shot".  I don't think about making a par while I'm on the tee, I think about hitting a solid drive in play, preferably in the fairway.  Wherever my tee shot ends up, I try to forget it, and play the next shot as if I'm starting the hole from that spot.

Thanks for the reply Dave.

How long did it take you to get to that mentality?  To not jump ahead or look back.

[Golfingdad]

Just now, pumaAttack said:

I was looking at it more holistically, as in don't worry about the prior double and just focus on this hole.

I believe that is a very healthy approach to have because too often people (myself included - I'm learning though) will have a bad hole or two and sort of "give up."  I don't mean I stop trying, but there have certainly been rounds where I thought I was out of it after that first double or triple or quad or whatever, only to find out that I was totally still in it.  Perhaps if I stayed fully focused throughout, I'd have still contended. :P

[DaveP043]

Just now, pumaAttack said:

Thanks for the reply Dave.

How long did it take you to get to that mentality?  To not jump ahead or look back.

Well, I started playing when I was about 13, and I'm 61 now, and I'm still working on it.  Golf is hard!!

[pumaAttack]

4 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

I believe that is a very healthy approach to have because too often people (myself included - I'm learning though) will have a bad hole or two and sort of "give up."  I don't mean I stop trying, but there have certainly been rounds where I thought I was out of it after that first double or triple or quad or whatever, only to find out that I was totally still in it.  Perhaps if I stayed fully focused throughout, I'd have still contended. :P

I definitely know that story!  I let a decent round turn into an awful round because I stop grinding.  

Heres to hoping this new approach helps!  Cheers guys!

3 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Well, I started playing when I was about 13, and I'm 61 now, and I'm still working on it.  Golf is hard!!

Haha, so its gonna take some time I see.

[newtogolf]

4 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

When you say "just try to par each hole," if you mean "don't get ahead of yourself and try to make birdies by doing careless stuff and going after flags you shouldn't" or something along those lines, then I generally agree with you.  Birdies are hard to come by and should never be expected or played for.  But you can also get into trouble with your statement because if your goal is to make par and you've started with a poor shot, do you press after that?  That's just as bad as pressing after a good tee shot to try and make birdie.  Like, trying to get a flop shot close to the hole and dumping it in the bunker or something.  With that in mind, I would argue that you should go even more micro and change your next statement from:

"Regardless of how the prior hole went, my goal is to start fresh on each hole with the aim of making par on that hole."

to:

"Regardless of how the prior shot went, my goal is to start fresh on each shot with the aim of making the best possible shot." 

I've been learning that lesson the hard way.  Trying to make up a stroke on the same hole after a bad shot is usually a recipe for failure for me.  

Last week I was having a good round (43 on front 9) and hit my drive OB on a par 5.  My next drive was good and landed in the middle of the fairway leaving me with about 240 yards.  I would normally just try to hit 150 yards and leave myself a gap / sand wedge into the green but since I hit my first drive OB I tried to over swing my 3w and pulled it.  Had I not pressed I could have made a bogey on the hole, instead I ended up with a snowman.  

[pumaAttack]

4 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

I've been learning that lesson the hard way.  Trying to make up a stroke on the same hole after a bad shot is usually a recipe for failure for me.  

Last week I was having a good round (43 on front 9) and hit my drive OB on a par 5.  My next drive was good and landed in the middle of the fairway leaving me with about 240 yards.  I would normally just try to hit 150 yards and leave myself a gap / sand wedge into the green but since I hit my first drive OB I tried to over swing my 3w and pulled it.  Had I not pressed I could have made a bogey on the hole, instead I ended up with a snowman.  

I am the same way, hopefully this new approach leads to fewer snowman and more bogeys!

[DaveP043]

7 minutes ago, pumaAttack said:

Haha, so its gonna take some time I see.

On the plus side, my handicap now is the lowest its ever been at this time of the year.  If you keep improving into your 60s, there's no limit on how good you can be.

[Jakester23]

4 minutes ago, pumaAttack said:

I am the same way, hopefully this new approach leads to fewer snowman and more bogeys!

Make sure you have a preshot routine. If you do already make sure you go through it before every shot no shortcuts. Also if your standing over the ball and something doesn't feel right step back, hit reset, and go through your routine again.

[pumaAttack]

1 minute ago, DaveP043 said:

On the plus side, my handicap now is the lowest its ever been at this time of the year.  If you keep improving into your 60s, there's no limit on how good you can be.

Thats encouraging!  Congrats on your improved handicap Dave!