Game Strategy

[bkuehn1952]

I am playing in a new game format.  Everyone starts on the White tees.  Bogey and you move up a tee.  Par one stays put. Birdie you move back a tee.  Two birds in a row and you move back again.  Make two early bogies and get on the Red tees and try to par in???

Any other ideas?

 

[Big C]

Two thoughts.

1. Would you ever trade a full stroke on a hole just to move up one set of tee boxes? Sounds like a pretty bad trade to me. Missing that 1 footer for par costs you a full stroke. Getting to move forward might gain you a quarter stroke. Just try to do your best on every hole. I would avoid trying to overthink it.

2. If the players in this game are your average mid-handicappers, everyone will be playing from the red tees by about hole 5, and several will stay there for the duration of the round. I might tweak the format a bit to say that you can't play more than 3 consecutive holes from the front tees. Interesting format, though.

[DaveP043]

I'm with @Big C, I think you go for the lowest score on each hole.  I know from personal experience that I can bogey even the shortest hole out there, and birdie some of the longest.  Pick up every stroke you can, wherever you can!

I've played in basically this format a few times, and the movement has always been based on net scores.  I think Colin is right, if you're playing gross, almost everyone will be on the forward tees for most of the round.

[allenc]

My suggestion, if this isn't already what you are doing, is to play it net.  It will be a much more interesting game if you have a reasonable chance to move forward AND backward.

[Dave2512]

If par means you don't have to move back I take the bogey bogey and play reds knowing par going forward is easier. I will do better than two strokes moving up. 

[DaveP043]

5 minutes ago, Dave2512 said:

If par means you don't have to move back I take the bogey bogey and play reds knowing par going forward is easier. I will do better than two strokes moving up. 

So do you avoid making birdies, to avoid having to move back?

[Dave2512]

9 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

So do you avoid making birdies, to avoid having to move back?

Not making birdie is easy. 

[David in FL]

Sounds like a recipe for really slow play with a high potential for everyone playing from a different set of tees.  

 

[newtogolf]

8 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Sounds like a recipe for really slow play with a high potential for everyone playing from a different set of tees.  

 

That was my thought as well, better pack a lunch it's going to be a long day. 

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, Big C said:

Two thoughts.

1. Would you ever trade a full stroke on a hole just to move up one set of tee boxes? Sounds like a pretty bad trade to me. Missing that 1 footer for par costs you a full stroke. Getting to move forward might gain you a quarter stroke. Just try to do your best on every hole. I would avoid trying to overthink it.

2. If the players in this game are your average mid-handicappers, everyone will be playing from the red tees by about hole 5, and several will stay there for the duration of the round. I might tweak the format a bit to say that you can't play more than 3 consecutive holes from the front tees. Interesting format, though.

Had to give you a reputation point for this, because it's so hilariously true.

 

 

3 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

I am playing in a new game format.  Everyone starts on the White tees.  Bogey and you move up a tee.  Par one stays put. Birdie you move back a tee.  Two birds in a row and you move back again.  Make two early bogies and get on the Red tees and try to par in???

Any other ideas?

 

I think this is a little too hard. Maybe 2 par in a row is enough to move you back? If you get a par and a birdie move back 2 sets?

[Grumpter]

4 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

I am playing in a new game format.  Everyone starts on the White tees.  Bogey and you move up a tee.  Par one stays put. Birdie you move back a tee.  Two birds in a row and you move back again.  Make two early bogies and get on the Red tees and try to par in???

Any other ideas?

 

I am going under the assumption that this is a format you have signed up to play rather than one you are trying to design/tweak the format. That is how your original post reads. Given the parameters I would say - yes, make bogies early to get to the front tees and then rather than try to make birdie putts just try to get them to tap in range. If you accidently make a birdie it is fairly easy to remedy that by making a bogey on the next hole which keeps you right at par (for those 2 holes).

Depending on the last few holes you might start trying to actually make birdies as you get near the end of the course.

If it is a net game rather than gross then I would rethink it.

[Lihu]

4 minutes ago, Grumpter said:

I am going under the assumption that this is a format you have signed up to play rather than one you are trying to design/tweak the format. That is how your original post reads. Given the parameters I would say - yes, make bogies early to get to the front tees and then rather than try to make birdie putts just try to get them to tap in range. If you accidently make a birdie it is fairly easy to remedy that by making a bogey on the next hole which keeps you right at par (for those 2 holes).

Depending on the last few holes you might start trying to actually make birdies as you get near the end of the course.

If it is a net game rather than gross then I would rethink it.

Ah, this makes more sense given the title.

Agree.

[acerimusdux]

5 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Make two early bogies and get on the Red tees and try to par in???

Any other ideas?

I'm not sure it's really even necessary to get to the Red tees early. Unless doing do is going to save you from double and triple bogies.

Since this strategy calls for you to never make better than par, you can't really hurt yourself by trying to make par from the beginning. If you happen to par the first two holes, you can always bogey the next two. And even making birdie doesn't necessarily hurt. Bogeying the next hole just gets you back to where you started.

I think the best strategy here might have to involve being aware of which are really the most difficult holes, where you are liable to do worse than bogey. A short hitter who struggles more on par 5 holes, for example, might be best off not making a birdie on a par 3 ahead of a long par 5. Are there holes where moving back a box is liable to cost you more than one stroke on that hole?

 

[Big C]

22 minutes ago, acerimusdux said:

I'm not sure it's really even necessary to get to the Red tees early. Unless doing do is going to save you from double and triple bogies.

Since this strategy calls for you to never make better than par, you can't really hurt yourself by trying to make par from the beginning. If you happen to par the first two holes, you can always bogey the next two. And even making birdie doesn't necessarily hurt. Bogeying the next hole just gets you back to where you started.

I think the best strategy here might have to involve being aware of which are really the most difficult holes, where you are liable to do worse than bogey. A short hitter who struggles more on par 5 holes, for example, might be best off not making a birdie on a par 3 ahead of a long par 5. Are there holes where moving back a box is liable to cost you more than one stroke on that hole?

 

Exactly right. The idea to bogey early makes absolutely no sense if you really think about it. Whether you bogey early or bogey later in the round, eventually you will find your way to the front tee boxes when you are +2 or worse. Why is it preferable to get there early and inflate your score in the process? Especially when bogeying from the red tees is still in play for just about any recreational golfer? This strategy maximizes your downside but eliminates the small chance that you will have a great day and never even get to two over par (I am assuming it's on a net basis). 

As @acerimusdux correctly points out, the only time any strategy might be involved is when the back tee box on a specific hole is so challenging that the expected score rises by a full stroke or more simply by playing back. I can't think of any hole I have ever played where that might be the case. I suppose a short hitter who is looking at a 200+ yard forced carry might be better served to "punt" on the hole before it. But those circumstances are extremely rare. 99% of the time, you are better off playing for your best score on every hole.

 

[DaveP043]

I'm with @Big C, I say make the best score you can on every hole, without worrying about where you get to play from n the next hole.

[Lihu]

6 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

I am playing in a new game format.  Everyone starts on the White tees.  Bogey and you move up a tee.  Par one stays put. Birdie you move back a tee.  Two birds in a row and you move back again.  Make two early bogies and get on the Red tees and try to par in???

Any other ideas?

What's the point system? Do you get Stableford points or something else?

[bkuehn1952]

It was net.  I opted to just play each hole as well as I could.  Winner was a net 68 (20 players from 5 to 28 handicap).  I finished at 80 gross and 72 net.  Tied with 4-5 others in 4th or 5th.  I thought it was okay. I never got to the forward tees or the tips.

Slow but cart path only because of lots of recent rain.  Played very long and lots of shots from what would be casual water under normal conditions.

 

Thanks for the comments and suggestions