Practice Round Course Planning

[leezer99]

If you were to hire someone to take your kid through a practice round prior to a big event (AJGA, Worlds, etc.) what would you expect that to look like?

[Abh159]

This is just me, but if I was going to pay someone to do that I would expect them to have insider knowledge on where all of the tees and pins were going to be for each round. Also, they better be an expert on that course (i.e. "hit it on this side of the fairway to get extra rollout", "all the putts on this green break back towards the lake", and etc...).

 

Aside from those there isn't really anything you could get from an outside party that you couldn't easily figure out on your own. 

[kcap]

I would never pay anyone just for a practice round.  I think my son is good enough to figure out which lines to take off the tee and there is plenty of info out there to map out a course and get a sense of which club to hit off the tee and on par 3s. Local knowledge about greens, grains and contours is hard to find that is probably the only information that I would pay for.

 

With that background, we would probably higher local caddies assuming the tournament and the course is prestigious  enough to have qualified local caddies.  That basically, eliminates Worlds and AJGA (All Star and Opens).  If he ever makes it to US Jr AM, Sage Valley or AJGA  invitationals like Jr Players - then a local caddy for the week will be the route I am thinking.

 

 

[darter79]

38 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

This is just me, but if I was going to pay someone to do that I would expect them to have insider knowledge on where all of the tees and pins were going to be for each round. Also, they better be an expert on that course (i.e. "hit it on this side of the fairway to get extra rollout", "all the putts on this green break back towards the lake", and etc...).

 

Aside from those there isn't really anything you could get from an outside party that you couldn't easily figure out on your own. 

 

The biggest value IMO would be greens and green reading having a local knowledge of the greens can be a big help. "Everything breaks towards the cliffs" is an example. 

[leezer99]

29 minutes ago, darter79 said:

 

The biggest value IMO would be greens and green reading having a local knowledge of the greens can be a big help. "Everything breaks towards the cliffs" is an example. 

Interesting. Let’s assume you’re using a good yardage book with heat maps or slope percentages for the greens. What do you think a person could bring to a practice round to help you cut shots of your score. 

[heavy_hitter]

A game plan off the tee to help manage the course.

[BloctonGolf11]

Local knowledge of how the ball typically reacts on fairways and what landing areas can lead to out of bounds or water hazards. You can't pick that up sometimes just looking. One of our courses around here there are several holes where if you do not land it in the right spots the ball can roll way more aggressively than you would think. Also, what areas are more prone to be wet/soggy after rains, things like that. The idea of where to miss would be a key for me if I was paying someone. 

Edited April 26, 2022 by BloctonGolf11

[tiger1873]

2 hours ago, Abh159 said:

This is just me, but if I was going to pay someone to do that I would expect them to have insider knowledge on where all of the tees and pins were going to be for each round. Also, they better be an expert on that course (i.e. "hit it on this side of the fairway to get extra rollout", "all the putts on this green break back towards the lake", and etc...).

 

Aside from those there isn't really anything you could get from an outside party that you couldn't easily figure out on your own. 

 

How would a person get inside knowledge of pin placements. I know you can usually see where they mark them with paint if you do a practice round a day before.

 

I have heard talk that you can get that information  from certain coaches.   How they have that for a given tournament I have no clue  but I think it is just coaches trying to earn an extra buck.

[kcap]

7 minutes ago, tiger1873 said:

 

How would a person get inside knowledge of pin placements. I know you can usually see where they mark them with paint if you do a practice round a day before.

 

I have heard talk that you can get that information  from certain coaches.   How they have that for a given tournament I have no clue  but I think it is just coaches trying to earn an extra buck.

Most prestigious tournaments played on the same course have a given set of pin placements over the the 3-4 rounds.  Any local caddie will have that information.  i.e "the pin on the final round will likely be tucked right"..etc.  

[Abh159]

10 minutes ago, tiger1873 said:

 

How would a person get inside knowledge of pin placements.

 

No idea, but if I were going to pay someone for pre-tournament help at a specific course that is some of the only information I think would be worth spending money on. That is just my opinion though. I'm not in the business of telling other people how to spend their money 😉.

[wildcatden]

1. We make our own yardage books usually using BlueGolf for the pics and then the course website for any hole playing tips (if they have any notes).  Might check other websites and/or post on GolfWRX asking if someone has any knowledge on a particular course.

 

2. Like others, we will usually play a practice round the day or so before the tournament if we have never played there before.  Sometimes we just grip it and rip it.

 

At this point, it is mostly me (daddy caddie) taking notes since my kid was 10YO last year and caddies still allowed.  I try to get him to remember things about the holes and greens during the practice round, but let's just say that is not a strong suit.  My kid has matured a little bit more this year, and I plan to have him make notes this year.

 

That's as far as I am willing to take the junior golf arms race for a sub-14 year old.

[heavy_hitter]

1 hour ago, wildcatden said:

1. We make our own yardage books usually using BlueGolf for the pics and then the course website for any hole playing tips (if they have any notes).  Might check other websites and/or post on GolfWRX asking if someone has any knowledge on a particular course.

 

2. Like others, we will usually play a practice round the day or so before the tournament if we have never played there before.  Sometimes we just grip it and rip it.

 

At this point, it is mostly me (daddy caddie) taking notes since my kid was 10YO last year and caddies still allowed.  I try to get him to remember things about the holes and greens during the practice round, but let's just say that is not a strong suit.  My kid has matured a little bit more this year, and I plan to have him make notes this year.

 

That's as far as I am willing to take the junior golf arms race for a sub-14 year old.

 

I agree with younger kids grip and rip.  As kids get older and you are playing JGS ranked tournaments, Google Earth is not good enough.  Not playing practice round(s) is leaving strokes on the course.  You should Google Earth and play a practice round, or don't play.

 

Was supposed to play a Qualifier last weekend and had to withdraw before the round because of injury.  We made a plan on Google Earth that had 4 drivers the entire day.  Got to the course and it ended up being 0 drivers and down clubbing on several holes from what we thought.  We have a rule in our house, no practice round you don't play the tournament.

 

My guess is that not playing a practice round the player is leaving 2+ strokes a round on the course.

Edited April 26, 2022 by heavy_hitter

[leezer99]

7 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

 

I agree with younger kids grip and rip.  As kids get older and you are playing JGS ranked tournaments, Google Earth is not good enough.  Not playing practice round(s) is leaving strokes on the course.  You should Google Earth and play a practice round, or don't play.

 

Was supposed to play a Qualifier last weekend and had to withdraw before the round because of injury.  We made a plan on Google Earth that had 4 drivers the entire day.  Got to the course and it ended up being 0 drivers and down clubbing on several holes from what we thought.  We have a rule in our house, no practice round you don't play the tournament.

 

My guess is that not playing a practice round there the player is leaving 2+ strokes a round on the course.

Oh yeah for sure HeavyHitter. If you’re serious about competing you’ve got to at least have seen the playing field. 

[BloctonGolf11]

37 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

 

I agree with younger kids grip and rip.  As kids get older and you are playing JGS ranked tournaments, Google Earth is not good enough.  Not playing practice round(s) is leaving strokes on the course.  You should Google Earth and play a practice round, or don't play.

 

Was supposed to play a Qualifier last weekend and had to withdraw before the round because of injury.  We made a plan on Google Earth that had 4 drivers the entire day.  Got to the course and it ended up being 0 drivers and down clubbing on several holes from what we thought.  We have a rule in our house, no practice round you don't play the tournament.

 

My guess is that not playing a practice round there the player is leaving 2+ strokes a round on the course.

This, my son did well in his summer tour for one reason above all others: he did a practice round at every tournament and had comfort and a plan for every hole. One tournament kids were pulling driver on a blind Par 4, my son pulled 5 iron. He birdied they double bogeyed. If we can't play a practice rd at the course, I don't care how nice or how special it would be to play it we aren't signing up for it. I think 2 strokes is conservative, I think no practice rd costs you at least 4 if not more. 

Edited April 26, 2022 by BloctonGolf11

[ChipNRun]

Didn't do it for pay, but one summer I got in mid-week rounds as a solo. The head pro sometimes paired me with a parent and child twosome when kid was preparing for a tournament.

 

One thing I always encouraged the kids to do: hit a couple of shots out of the fairway bunkers on the longer holes. The half the bunkers had a slight downhill slope (hard to see detect). On one par 5, kids would always pull out a 3W... even on a solid shot, they would hit the top lip of the bunker and ricochet... wherever! Same with hybrid on one par 4.

 

Kids realized it was best to get approach inside 100 yards on fairway rather than end up a DoubleB hero.

Edited June 10, 2022 by ChipNRun
See edit.

[ChipNRun]

On 4/26/2022 at 11:30 AM, heavy_hitter said:

We have a rule in our house, no practice round you don't play the tournament.

 

My guess is that not playing a practice round the player is leaving 2+ strokes a round on the course.

 

Is this like, from one of the lost books of the Bible? What if the tournament slot appears on short notice at an exotic, classic course? Possible exception for the experience of playing the course?

 

I try to play practice rounds for local Amateur circuit. Problem is not with suddenly appearing slots. Rather, a course or two don't make honest effort to work in practice rounds week prior to event. 

[heavy_hitter]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:15 PM, ChipNRun said:

 

Is this like, from one of the lost books of the Bible? What if the tournament slot appears on short notice at an exotic, classic course? Possible exception for the experience of playing the course?

 

I try to play practice rounds for local Amateur circuit. Problem is not with suddenly appearing slots. Rather, a course or two don't make honest effort to work in practice rounds week prior to event. 

 

No practice round no tournament.  It is that simple.  Most Junior players parents have the same exact rule.  Doesn't matter where it is.  To much on the line within Jr Rankings etc.  A practice rounds is worth up to about 2 strokes per round in my opinion.  

Edited June 13, 2022 by heavy_hitter

[tiger1873]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:15 PM, ChipNRun said:

 

Is this like, from one of the lost books of the Bible? What if the tournament slot appears on short notice at an exotic, classic course? Possible exception for the experience of playing the course?

 

I try to play practice rounds for local Amateur circuit. Problem is not with suddenly appearing slots. Rather, a course or two don't make honest effort to work in practice rounds week prior to event. 

 

Practice rounds are great and you should always do them. However most of us are not playing for money so there has to be a give and take on it.   

 

The best tournaments like AJGA all have 1 practice round already built into the schedule so even last minute notice means you should be able to get in at least 1 round.  You should never miss one in these cases.

 

If you're doing regular weekend tournaments it gets tough to take enough time off do practice rounds before ever tournament.  Only so many days you can take off. if you have the days you can take off then great but that isn't realistic for a lot us.   That means you have to just play some with out a practice round.  Luckily most of the tournaments are played on the same courses every year so that helps out a lot.

Edited June 13, 2022 by tiger1873

[ChipNRun]

16 hours ago, tiger1873 said:

The best tournaments like AJGA all have 1 practice round already built into the schedule

 

This would be great. For local Amateur circuit (HDCP division), only a few of the multi-day tournaments have the round built in. For one-day tournaments, you pay extra for the practice round and it gets worked whenever the club has time. In worst case, it's a four-hour slot on Monday or Thursday AM the week before. If you can't make it then, tough.

 

But I play in HDCP events, and if I played vs. some of the really skilled juniors I might lose! (Remind your kid to be gracious to Seniors on the 18th Green! 😉)