Course Management Basics

[AMLemus]

For someone who's still dialing in their swing and general accuracy, what are some of the critical thoughts that someone needs to have to tackle a course and help make life and shot selection little easier?

I'm getting back into the game after a couple years off and, while I've still got the fundamentals of my old swing, there's a lot of work to be done still. Managing the course is something that I still need to improve on and would appreciate any thoughts, tips, mantras that would help to shave a few strokes off a round.

 

Thanks!

[vietnameeh]

Look into Scott Fawcett decade system

 

I also like ray Floyd’s the elements of scoring

 

However my biggest weakness is course management lol

[Shipwreck]

Here’s a few that I have always gone by:

- tee up on the side of danger and aim away from it. You never want to hit towards OB/hazard in hopes that your draw or fade will bring it back into play

- When in doubt, take one more club. We as golfers probably have the biggest egos when it comes to our actual distances. Sure you one time hit that 7 iron 180 yards but how many times have you actually hit it 160 yards? I’d rather be past the pin on the green than short of the pin trying to get up and down.

- Whenever possible, use your putter from off the green. There are obvious needs for using a wedge from off the green (going over a bunker, thick rough etc) but how many times have you seen someone a few paces off the green try and nip a little LW only to chunk it or thin it? Your worst putt from off the green will still end up closer than your worst chip (thank you Monte for that mantra).

- Play the tougher par 5s as a 100 yard par 3. This one might be controversial to some. There’s generally 2 schools of thought on how you should play par 5s. Some say you should pretty much always hit the longest club in your bag to get you as close as possible, others like to lay up to a comfortable distance. Which is why I said the tougher par 5s. There’s going to be obvious “green light” par 5s where you should definitely go for it because the risk:reward is there and worth it. But if that green has OB left, water right and certain death beyond it, or if you’re just not hitting that 3w that good that day, lay up to 100 yards and treat it like a par 3.

- Don’t. Be. A. Hero. Unless you’re playing a match play where your score relative to par doesn’t matter, don’t try that punch cut 4 iron under the trees to an elevated green that has a front pin tucked behind a bunker. Take your medicine, advance it back to the fairway and give yourself a chance at par or bogey.

- Find a “go to” shot off the tee. Even if it’s a 230 yard cut 3 wood or a 200 yard stinger hybrid, because sometimes (more often than not for the majority of us) that driver just isn’t working for you and is probably costing you more strokes than you realize.

- Most importantly, have fun. This last one I’m still trying to instill into my game. I love golf with all of its splendor and glory. And I hate the ever living heII out of it sometimes too. But in the end, we aren’t getting paid to play so the only thing we are hurting is our pride and ego by letting it get to us.

[xmanhockey7]

Center of the green. Just hit the center of the green. I’d you’re a little short you’re fine. If you’re a little long you’re fine. Depending on skill level I’d argue this should be done from 40 yards on out.

[AMLemus]

These are some great tips! I’m really trying to play conservatively right now until I feel confident enough to take risks. I like the approach toward tougher par 5s for now.

My playing buddies give me hell for keeping my driver in the bag on most holes. I can pull maybe 250 out of it but only 25% of the time. Why would I run that risk when I get 230 dead straight 90% of the time with a 3Hy?

[Shipwreck]

> @AMLemus said:

> These are some great tips! I’m really trying to play conservatively right now until I feel confident enough to take risks. I like the approach toward tougher par 5s for now.

> My playing buddies give me **** for keeping my driver in the bag on most holes. I can pull maybe 250 out of it but only 25% of the time. Why would I run that risk when I get 230 dead straight 90% of the time with a 3Hy?

 

The only thing that matters at the end of the round is your final score. I can’t even count how many times I’ve played with an elderly golfer that just plods it down the fairway 210 yet shoots a couple over par with this “short and straight” game.

 

But on a side note, if you’re maybe getting 250 out of your driver and 230 out of a 3H, that’s a good poke with a hybrid and says more about a potential flaw in your driver fitting (or your swing). Just food for thought.

[MelloYello]

Establish a predictable shot-shape. You can play a small slice and actually break-80 in the process. I've done it! But you absolutely cannot spray the ball around the course and expect anything good to come of it. I know guys like that and they're lucky to break 100 because they don't know which direction it's going.

 

Distance helps but keeping it in play is priority #1. Would you rather be 30-yds short or nuke one O.B.? Going with what you trust may increase the risk of bogey but it'll decrease the risk of a blow-up and that's the biggest thing to avoid when trying to find your game.

 

Be careful about getting cute with shorter clubs off the tee. Often times a player is no more accurate or consistent with 3w or 2i off the tee than with driver. It's an illusion. Just figure out how to hit a decent drive with 80% effort and you'll be fine on nearly every hole.

 

Don't be overly aggressive on Par-5 holes. Par is **always** a good score so don't forget that! Be reasonable off the tee, keep it in play and leave yourself a decent wedge to the green. Get as close as you can but don't leave yourself short-sided or stuck with some awkward 40-yd wedge over a bunker. That's not a good position to end up in after a lay-up.

 

When you face a longer hole and sense par is really in doubt, just try to put a reasonable shot in play and then get your approach somewhere up there within 10- or 20-yds of the green. If you hit the green, fantastic, but having a chance to get up and down from short of the green is usually a good option. If you make bogey from in front of the green after a lackluster chip you're doing okay and you didn't have to stress much.

 

As was said above, take the easy shots and play away from stress. You will play best when you're casual and relaxed so don't compound mistakes with gambles and just let good shots happen as they may.

 

 

[andrue]

Rules for a high handicapper:

Rule #1: Never attempt a shot that you aren't completely comfortable with.

Rule #2: Before picking your first club ask yourself where you intend to be standing for your approach shot. Then pick the club(s) that will get you to that spot, adhering to rule #1.

Rule #3: Keep the ball on or close to the ground as much as possible. Prefer putting to chipping. Prefer chipping to pitching. Learn how to bump and run with all your clubs (driver optional). There's no shame in running a ball 150 yards onto the green. It beats the wotsit out of hooking the ball OOB or shanking it into a pond.

[Wesquire]

I'm having a hard time deciding how often to use driver vs driving iron off the tee on par 4s. I hit less than 50% of fairways with driver and I can hit about 80% with driving iron. Driver goes 300+ on a good hit, driving iron goes ~250. What I've been doing is just hitting driving iron on any par 4 under 400 yards because I'd rather not have less than a full swing into the green. Overall, I'd make fewer birdies but probably score better if I just never used driver.

 

How do you guys decide?

[Shipwreck]

> @Wesquire said:

> I'm having a hard time deciding how often to use driver vs driving iron off the tee on par 4s. I hit less than 50% of fairways with driver and I can hit about 80% with driving iron. Driver goes 300+ on a good hit, driving iron goes ~250. What I've been doing is just hitting driving iron on any par 4 under 400 yards because I'd rather not have less than a full swing into the green. Overall, I'd make fewer birdies but probably score better if I just never used driver.

>

> How do you guys decide?

 

Having a short iron into the green is what most golfers dream of. I’d say keep on this path if the scores reflect a positive.

[juststeve]

Until you can consistently hit target with the ball you should pick targets that allow the most room for error.

 

Steve

[andrue]

I work my way back from the hole. If I'm trying to be sensible I don't want to be trying to approach the green from any further out than 140 yards. So bearing in mind the vagaries of my swing (I'm a high handicapper) that means aiming to hit the previous club to within 130 yards of the green. So I just subtract 130 from the length of the hole then pick whatever club(s) will get me there. As it happens there's currently not a lot to choose between any of my non-wedge clubs for accuracy (they are all a bit meh) so I can pick whatever combination takes my fancy.

 

Currently for any par 4 up to 350 yards a driver will do me just fine. Longer than that and I'll just halve the distance to the approach shot and see what that gives me. If I can I'll try and reduce that approach distance down toward 100 yards. So a 400yd would probably be a 7i (~150) then see what could get me closer to 100 yards for my approach (7/8/9/PW depending how things go).

 

But hazards are also a factor. The first at my club is a slight uphill par 4, 295 yards, but guarded by four bunkers (three of which are basically fairway so up and down is difficult). Also as the first swing of the day things can go wrong so best to be sensible. So I take a 5h off the standard tees or 4h of the comp tees in order to get the ball close to the green but short of the bunkers.

 

My biggest problem with course strategy is implementation. I know what I want to do but actually doing it can be a problem.

[ProphetLogic]

Shot 83 the other day and played the par 5s in +8. Double, triple, double, and a bogey. Ouch. I'm furiously scribbling course management notes.

[Shipwreck]

> @ProphetLogic said:

> Shot 83 the other day and played the par 5s in +8. Double, triple, double, and a bogey. Ouch. I'm furiously scribbling course management notes.

 

Was there a reoccurring theme in those par 5s that lead to those scores? Something that can tell you “I need to practice XYZ so that doesn’t happen again”?

 

 

[ProphetLogic]

> @Shipwreck said:

> > @ProphetLogic said:

> > Shot 83 the other day and played the par 5s in +8. Double, triple, double, and a bogey. Ouch. I'm furiously scribbling course management notes.

>

> Was there a reoccurring theme in those par 5s that lead to those scores? Something that can tell you “I need to practice XYZ so that doesn’t happen again”?

>

>

 

It was a combination of bad luck, poor decision making, and not knowing the course. Mostly bad decisions. On a hard dogleg right I had a drive run through the fairway by about 5 yards and ended up directly behind a tree. Chipped out and tried to hit a hybrid to an island green. Oopsy. On another a wedge came up a little short and the ball plugged in a bunker, very very plugged. Chunked it out over the back of the green and then didn't get up and down. The bogey was a three putt that I didn't take my time on. The triple I knocked another hybrid into a pond and then proceeded to go all jordan spieth with a wedge after I'd dropped.

[ferrispgm]

Unless driver brings OB in to play as a real possibility, or the fairway dead ends at a bunker/desert, I'd rather hit driver down there and have a short iron or wedge into the green than driving iron. On a hole that's 420 yards I would have 170-150 in with a driving iron vs 100-120 in with driver. A mishit driver still leaves 150 or less in and a mishit DI leaves 180-190.

[Myherobobhope]

> @Wesquire said:

> I'm having a hard time deciding how often to use driver vs driving iron off the tee on par 4s. I hit less than 50% of fairways with driver and I can hit about 80% with driving iron. Driver goes 300+ on a good hit, driving iron goes ~250. What I've been doing is just hitting driving iron on any par 4 under 400 yards because I'd rather not have less than a full swing into the green. Overall, I'd make fewer birdies but probably score better if I just never used driver.

>

> How do you guys decide?

 

Learn to take a 3/4 swing with your driver and hit it 280 and in control... makes life so much better.

 

[AMLemus]

> @xmanhockey7 said:

> Center of the green. Just hit the center of the green. I’d you’re a little short you’re fine. If you’re a little long you’re fine. Depending on skill level I’d argue this should be done from 40 yards on out.

 

Haha yeah, I'm just trying to treat the entire green as my target area. Makes the shots way less daunting!

[AMLemus]

> @ProphetLogic said:

> Shot 83 the other day and played the par 5s in +8. Double, triple, double, and a bogey. Ouch. I'm furiously scribbling course management notes.

 

Right with ya man. I've been trying to just divide par 5s into manageable individual shots and leaving nothing longer than a 7i to get to the green at the end. Lately its been two solid shots with my 3hy that I can reliably hit 230 off the deck followed by usually an 8i or shorter to the green to get a GIR.

[AMLemus]

> @juststeve said:

> Until you can consistently hit target with the ball you should pick targets that allow the most room for error.

>

> Steve

 

This. Unless you hit like a hero, don't try to be one. Thanks, Steve!

[SNIPERBBB]

> @Wesquire said:

> I'm having a hard time deciding how often to use driver vs driving iron off the tee on par 4s. I hit less than 50% of fairways with driver and I can hit about 80% with driving iron. Driver goes 300+ on a good hit, driving iron goes ~250. What I've been doing is just hitting driving iron on any par 4 under 400 yards because I'd rather not have less than a full swing into the green. Overall, I'd make fewer birdies but probably score better if I just never used driver.

>

> How do you guys decide?

 

As mentioned, my choice to hit driver largely depends on the likelihood of going into a hazard or OB. If, except for a complete mishits, driver makes it a certainty that the ball will end up in a PA or OB, I am banging driver 100%. I've worked enough on my short irons and half wedges that I'd rather have the half wedges more times than not.

 

If your not comfortable with those short wedges, then I'd advocate for playing to what your comfortable for for your approach shot.

 

If your rough is fairly penal, think worse than US Open, I might go for the fairway finders. But for your length average rough length really isn't a problem for players of your length.

[SNIPERBBB]

I would also add that if you're laying up, think conservation targets with an aggressive swing. Most people that have issues when laying up is they make lackadaisical swings because they are laying up and end up dead right for righties and we'll short of where they wanted to be. If they even had an idea of where they wanted to be...

[ferrispgm]

> @SNIPERBBB said:

> I would also add that if you're laying up, think conservation targets with an aggressive swing. Most people that have issues when laying up is they make lackadaisical swings because they are laying up and end up dead right for righties and we'll short of where they wanted to be. If they even had an idea of where they wanted to be...

 

Excellent point on this....I have fallen into the lazy layup swing from time to time and it has cost me each and every time. Even if you are using a PW to lay up, make an aggressive swing. This lazy swing literally took me from an easy birdie hole to a double on a par 5 over the weekend. Lazy swing, ball goes left into desert and lands in a pile of rocks, no shot.

[Pepperturbo]

IMO - the following are the most challenging. It's important to not let your emotions get out of check, even when facing a challenging or intimidating shot or crucial shot in a game. Next look for the spot the designer had in mind to hit to then if possible, hit to it even if it means iron or 3/5wd as opposed to the driver. Ignore what others chose to do. Know your weaknesses and strengths but continuously play to your strengths. And constantly maintain your focus on what needs to happen when executing a shot. B)

[andrue]

Agreed on the layup thing. I call it a layup when preparing for it and discussing it afterwards but once my club is in my hand it's a shot to a target like any other. I remember at one course last year there was a 180 yd par 3 across a pond (practically an island green) and a layup area off to the right. My mate and I both knew we couldn't make the green from the tee, so chose the layup area.

I got there. For me it was easy. Get the distance from GPS, pick the club and just go, same as I would when approaching a green.

He fluffed it and had lost a ball in the water. He admitted that it was because he thought of it as laying up and went with a weaker swing 'just knock it over there' was his swing thought.

Make a plan and commit to your plan. And - barring a bad shot - what's between you and your ball's landing point is irrelevant unless it's a very tall tree :)

[OakLawnGolfPro]

Biggest thing is decide on what you're scoring goal is and then look at a logical approach to get it. Most people struggle with having an emotional approach to golf where they think "what they should be able to do" and they don't look at the facts of what their skill level should do and they also grossly mis judge what professionals do.

 

When I tee it up with friends, it's nothing but driver off the tee ALL DAY from them. When I tee it up in a tournament with other high level players, the number of irons and hybrids off tees on Par 5's, short par 4's, narrow holes is unbelievably different and something people should watch.

[elthrill]

awwwww.... the old "better to be long and crooked than short and straight"...because the PGA tour research says so. thats just not cleanly applicable to the average 18 handicap golfer. Please keep in mind some facts:

1.) the average weekend golfer is playing courses around 6500 yds, not the 7200 yards of the PGA tour.

2.) the PGA tour has galleries and spotters to find balls that go offline. YOUR course does not. So when you get wild off the tee, you lose a lot of balls. those come with real penalties, basically 1-2 shots per, if you are playing by the correct rules. Not to mention the absolute train wreck to pace of play and overall enjoyment.

3.)most amateurs that struggle getting their driver in play have a BIG miss with the driver. We're talking 50+ yards and its going to cost them 3-4 OBs a round. Thats damn tough to overcome.

4.) the common amateur miss is a slice or hook that doesnt travel that far. We're talking a 200 yard slice, vs a 180 yard 5 wood. This isnt Brooks or DJ trading a 340 yd power fade against a 275 yd 3 wood or 2 iron. again the reward doesnt warrant the risk.

5.) the average amateur is going to give up MAJOR strokes each time they play out of the trees or rough. Brooks and DJ can hit about any shot they want out of thick rough, YOU CAN'T.

 

I know the strokes gained research says, get it down there as far as you can. It just depends on how wild you are with the driver. I think you need to hit or very nearly hit about 50% of fairways to use that strategy. If you can't do that, you need to club down and narrow your miss and keep the ball in play.

 

[TheMarvelousOne]

I agree with the first comment. Look into Scott Fawcett's Decade program, lots of free youtube videos. If you have a "home course" you play a lot, buy a yardage book if they have one, Google Earth or even look at the scorecard to find the widest part of the fairway and play to that. I catch myself hitting 3iron/4iron or sometimes even 5iron on some holes simply because the widest part of the fairway is ~200-230yds. Especially when the holes are short par 4's that are unreachable unless I'm piping a drive 330yds, which probably isn't going to happen!

[SNIPERBBB]

> @elthrill said:

> awwwww.... the old "better to be long and crooked than short and straight"...because the PGA tour research says so. thats just not cleanly applicable to the average 18 handicap golfer. Please keep in mind some facts:

> 1.) the average weekend golfer is playing courses around 6500 yds, not the 7200 yards of the PGA tour.

> 2.) the PGA tour has galleries and spotters to find balls that go offline. YOUR course does not. So when you get wild off the tee, you lose a lot of balls. those come with real penalties, basically 1-2 shots per, if you are playing by the correct rules. Not to mention the absolute train wreck to pace of play and overall enjoyment.

> 3.)most amateurs that struggle getting their driver in play have a BIG miss with the driver. We're talking 50+ yards and its going to cost them 3-4 OBs a round. Thats **** tough to overcome.

> 4.) the common amateur miss is a slice or hook that doesnt travel that far. We're talking a 200 yard slice, vs a 180 yard 5 wood. This isnt Brooks or DJ trading a 340 yd power fade against a 275 yd 3 wood or 2 iron. again the reward doesnt warrant the risk.

> 5.) the average amateur is going to give up MAJOR strokes each time they play out of the trees or rough. Brooks and DJ can hit about any shot they want out of thick rough, YOU CAN'T.

>

> I know the strokes gained research says, get it down there as far as you can. It just depends on how wild you are with the driver. I think you need to hit or very nearly hit about 50% of fairways to use that strategy. If you can't do that, you need to club down and narrow your miss and keep the ball in play.

>

 

Most courses are even shorter. Tips around here max out around 6600. Back tees around 6200 and regular tees sub 6000. Also, most courses unless they are private if they have any brains are going to have the rough that is closer to ANGC than to bethpage. So lost balls aren't much of a problem unless your in the no-mow.

[Dan Drake]

I know I often sound like a broken record, but the first thing to do, if you are serious about this, is to start tracking your stats. How good you want to be should determine how in depth you go with your stats.

 

That said, almost all of the above is very good advice. If I were to try to sum it up, I would give you this:

 

"Make COMMITTED swings to INTELLIGENT targets on ALL shots"

 

On long putts, this probably means playing more break, less speed, and just trying to get down in 2 putts.

On short game (say <50 yards) shots, this often means playing slightly away from the hole on the more difficult shots to mitigate the danger of taking more than 3 to get down.

On approach (say >50 yards) shots, this almost always means playing for the ball to land as near the center of the green as possible, while mitigating the possibility of penalty stokes. This often means playing back of green or back of green minus about 5 yards

On tee shots, this means hitting the ball as far as possible while again aiming away from (or avoiding by club distance selection, ie. staying short of) the worst hazard on a given hole. For handicap golfers that hierarchy looks like this: OB > penalty area > fairway bunker > trees > rough > first cut > fairway. In other words, if a hole has water on one side and a bunker on the other, try to hit your ball just inside of the bunker as it is the least penal of the two hazards. On the next hole, you may encounter a bunker on one side and trees on the other. One this hole, try to hit your ball just inside the trees, as they are less penal (for handicap golfers, although not by much) than fairway bunkers.

 

That's the nuts and bolts of it. But the hardest part is the COMMITTED part. You have to commit that your target isn't the center of the fairway or the flag, and then keep that commitment throughout the swing. That's the tough part!