Game Planning and Strategy

[PhxHacker]

I'm somewhat of a bogey golfer, by that I mean I set my round goal at 90. I try to par every par 3 and short par 4 and add a stroke to each hole I know gives me trouble. (On familiar courses). This tends to relieve alot of pressure on my ability to not get distraught on the course. 

 Doesn't always work, sometimes I get a birdie on Par 5 and out of nowhere hit a 6 on a par 3. A couple weeks ago I was playing within myself when out of the blue on the 10th hole I hit a drive off the hosel straight left about 12 ft in front of me and 20 yards to the left. I teed another ball and duffed it. Meanwhile a guy in our group retrieved my original ball and handed it back to me. I hit the duffed shot due left, straight pull into a stream on my left. I dropped the ball that was retrieved for me and thwack, hit it into the same stream that crosses in front of the green. My buddy tells me toss that ball it has bad mojo, I tossed it and managed to grind an 8 on he following hole 11 a par 4. Normally the rest of the round would have been tarnished, but something happened to me on the 12th tee, I made good contact and came home through the rest of the round at bogey golf. 

Normally i would have brooded about this chain of events till Wednesday but, all I could think about was how I salvaged the rest of the round and a a couple days later, well, I happened upon this forum. And have atleast found a medium to give me hope

 

[Dave2512]

It's a moving target what I want to do and what actually happens can vary greatly. The variation means I take it one shot at a time.

[DrvFrShow]

My strategy this year is focused on advancing the ball. Not necessarily hitting the club I should hit in a given situation, but the club I can hit with confidence in a given situation. I did this on the 9th hole which I've never gotten less than a triple on. I put my drive in a bad spot but instead of taking out a hybrid and trying to get the ball down as far as I could on the par 5 I played a 6 iron because I'm confident with the club. I hit a decent shot. Not the best shot but decent and ended up with a bogey. 

So staying with clubs that I can hit well and keep the ball in play, and not hitting clubs I don't hit well will go far to lower scores.

 

[JonMA1]

Great Topic.

Whenever I think about strategy, I can't help but remember something Erik posted... "Advance the ball, keep it between the ropes, GIR's are king, and occasionally you hit it close and make a birdie." 

Obviously, if it were that easy, my scores would be lower. But maybe I can modify these ideas to fit my game.

• Advance the ball - can't really modify this one.
• Keep it between the ropes - reduce the penalties even if it means turning a par 4 into a 5. Whether it's a tight fairway off the tee, or a long approach shot, at least consider a safer choice and how that extra stroke will affect my score. And whatever I do, I cannot try to make up penalty strokes by hitting a miracle shots.
• GIR's are king - This may be true for most, but until real improvement occurs, there will be some situations where keeping the ball between the ropes trumps a GIR.
• Occasionally you hit it close... - keyword here is "occasionally". To me that means be patient, the good shots will come. String a few together and get a par. Better yet, luck out with a good short iron approach and 1 putt for birdie. But don't expect it on many holes.

As for specifics, I plan on playing from some shorter tees until I start scoring better. Parring/bogeying holes will be my goal for these rounds. Flirting with 90 would be cool. I still want to use the driver during these rounds, just not on every par 4.

Then on maybe 2 out of 5 rounds, give my driver and long clubs a workout by playing a bit further back. From these tees, greens in one over regulation will be acceptable. Breaking 100 from a bit over 6000 yds would be nice

We'll see how it goes. To quote Mike Tyson, "Everyone has a plan 'til they get punched in the mouth".

[Buckeyebowman]

11 hours 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.

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.

BAZINGA, again! The most "holistic" approach you can take to the game is to only think about the shot that you are facing at the moment. It does no good to think about par on the tee. You have no idea where your tee ball will end up. Or your second shot, or third!

You must be totally immersed in each shot you hit. Actually, I'd prefer the term each swing you make.  A golf round is a series of steps. It's kind of like waking up in the morning and bobbling downstairs to have that first cup of coffee. You may not be fully awake so you're a little more mindful of how you're moving, but it's mostly a subconscious exercise. Heck, we've been walking most of our lives.

Golf deserves a little more attention to each step. Why? Because the steps are so large. We may be looking to cover 400 yards in 4 steps!

[Patch]

I play each shot on it's own, in 3, six hole groups. For quite a while now, I have given myself a target score of 26 for those 3 groups. 30-40 years ago, my target score was 24. I suspect I should probably move it to 27 with my current game.

 I have read that some folks do the same thing with 6, three hole groups.

I figure with a 6 hole group, if I screw up a hole or two, I have 4, or 5 more, in that 6 hole group to right the ship, so to speak. 

In between each shot, I rarely think of my next shot, until I start getting closer to my ball. I start each shot with my own preshot routine, which pretty much ends with the start of my back swing. This keeps my actual "focus" time to a minimum. There is no way I can stay continually focused on my game for an entire 3.5-4.5+ hour round. 

Edited April 7, 2016 by Patch

[saevel25]

 

It does no good to think about par on the tee.

I could disagree with this in some respect that I know my history on certain golf holes and I know which ones fit my eye. Par 5's I do have some sort of expectation to birdie every other one. I know on Par 3's I am mostly look at par. I am not setting that as my goal, but I do have an expectation over the long term. 

 

You have no idea where your tee ball will end up. Or your second shot, or third!

I know the general area in which my drives will land. I've plotted out where 80% of them end up on average ;) 

Same with the irons ;)

 

 I have read that some folks do the same thing with 6, three hole groups.

I think that was more in discussion of maintaining focus. I believe this was a Hank Haney tip on taking the course in three hole stretches then reassess where you are at. I think this is a good idea in terms of concentration and energy. 

Trying to maintain a constant high level of focus for 18 holes is tough. Kinda taking a step back to reset is not a bad idea. 

 

There is no way I can stay continually focused on my game for an entire 3.5-4.5+ hour round. 

Oops, finally ready that sentence ;). Yep I agree 

[uitar9]

Aim for the largest part of the green to to the main entrance of the green

Use the right club for the distance and factor in hazards - try and know the real distance for your clubs, not what others say

Play the right shot-I might get over the trees 2 in 8 shots-instead bump it out to the fairway and hit a clear shot to the largest part of the green-save two shots

With my handicap, I have no control

[newtogolf]

You have to adapt your round to the swing you have that day.  Some guys I play golf with refuse to hit another club except driver off the tee, no matter how many times they hit it OB or into the woods.  They start off almost every par 4 or par 5 with a 3 because their first drive goes OB or into trouble, then act shocked when their score is over 100.  

If I don't hit my driver well on a given day, I tee off with a 5w or hybrid.   If I am not chipping well I'll putt whenever it's feasible.  

I notice some professionals don't always adapt either.  Rickie was wild with his driver but kept hitting it.  Els should have marked his ball and reset instead he just kept on missing putts.  Is it a lack of discipline or refusal to acknowledge something isn't working?  

[Mr. Desmond]

34 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

You have to adapt your round to the swing you have that day.  Some guys I play golf with refuse to hit another club except driver off the tee, no matter how many times they hit it OB or into the woods.  They start off almost every par 4 or par 5 with a 3 because their first drive goes OB or into trouble, then act shocked when their score is over 100.  

If I don't hit my driver well on a given day, I tee off with a 5w or hybrid.   If I am not chipping well I'll putt whenever it's feasible.  

I notice some professionals don't always adapt either.  Rickie was wild with his driver but kept hitting it.  Els should have marked his ball and reset instead he just kept on missing putts.  Is it a lack of discipline or refusal to acknowledge something isn't working?  

It's called "give up" or temporary insanity.

Something in your mind turns off the focus and discipline and says, "What the hell, I give up" -- it's mental. One would not acknowledge it and you see it more with putting than with a full club. You don't go through shot preparation, you lose your cockiness.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Mr. Desmond

[9wood]

On 4/6/2016 at 2:07 PM, 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?

My strategy is ---- the hell with the score, attempt the impossible shots and just have fun

[Lugowskins]

I've kind of taken my same approach from pitching in baseball to the golf course. When I started a game I would always go out with the intention of throwing a perfect game if I walked someone it'd go to alright I want a no hitter if I gave up a hit then it was alright I want a one hit shutout and so on and so forth it would keep me focused on every batter. Now I step on the tee wanting a GIR if I hit a poor shot I go to thinking alright I want to put myself in the best position for an up and down and just constantly trying to put myself in good position for my next shot. Maybe not the best analogy but I'm rolling with it.

[Mop Bucket]

I pretty much golf under the motto "swing aggressive on low risk shots". When it comes to positioning off the tee, I feel that I should never be punished for hitting a ball too pure so I tend to hit a lot of 3 woods and 2 irons from the box. 

But it's funny that @Lugowskins imagines golf as a pitcher because I do somewhat of the same. On my approaches, I use the swing thought of a 'strike zone' on the putting green. It starts close to the front of the green and extends to the upper 1/3 or so. I figure if I land an approach within this imaginary box there's a good chance it will stay on the green but also give me a decent and safe look at birdie.

Putting is pretty much set up a two-putt unless it is within 15-20 feet, then give it a good run at the hole.

[iacas]

31 minutes ago, Mop Bucket said:

I pretty much golf under the motto "swing aggressive on low risk shots". When it comes to positioning off the tee, I feel that I should never be punished for hitting a ball too pure so I tend to hit a lot of 3 woods and 2 irons from the box. 

You're giving up strokes if you hit a lot of shorter clubs off the tee.

I wrote a book. Check it out.

[Mop Bucket]

8 minutes ago, iacas said:

You're giving up strokes if you hit a lot of shorter clubs off the tee.

I wrote a book. Check it out.

I'll give this a read once May comes around. Finals have me buried in Shakespeare at least for the next few weeks 

[boogielicious]

6 hours ago, Mop Bucket said:

I'll give this a read once May comes around. Finals have me buried in Shakespeare at least for the next few weeks 

Alas, poor Hogan, I knew him well...

[JonMA1]

On April 7, 2016 at 10:08 PM, JonMA1 said:

 

• Advance the ball - can't really modify this one.
• Keep it between the ropes - reduce the penalties even if it means turning a par 4 into a 5. Whether it's a tight fairway off the tee, or a long approach shot, at least consider a safer choice and how that extra stroke will affect my score. And whatever I do, I cannot try to make up penalty strokes by hitting a miracle shots.
• GIR's are king - This may be true for most, but until real improvement occurs, there will be some situations where keeping the ball between the ropes trumps a GIR.
• Occasionally you hit it close... - keyword here is "occasionally". To me that means be patient, the good shots will come. String a few together and get a par. Better yet, luck out with a good short iron approach and 1 putt for birdie. But don't expect it on many holes.

We'll see how it goes. To quote Mike Tyson, "Everyone has a plan 'til they get punched in the mouth".

Well, I got punched in the mouth today. But I'm sticking to the plan.

Remained patient, didn't try any hero shots (one tactical error). Penalties didn't hurt me, and no real blowup holes. Even had a couple of lucky bounces/rolls. I just failed to take advantage of an abundance (for me) of decent shots.

5 GIR and only 1 par. Putting was horrendous, but that was only part of the story. Lots of missed (easy) nGIRs and subsequent 5's and 6's on the card.

Moral of the story: while the strategy helped prevent blow up holes, I simply didn't string together enough good shots for par to offset the doubles. Still, it was good to get out.