Course management.

[User20204]

Were the 5 balls in the water due to poor shots or poor judgement of distance, there is a considerable difference.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

To be honest Homer, I never really felt any pressure. He was the best there but one guy was off 18 and another off 15. I really enjoyed the day bar not playing well. But just wanna come away from today having learned something.

Thing is, me and tricky Trev have said recently if we feel a PP is playing the wrong shot we have to say " Lucy's carrot cake". To make us think.

Only you can really decide what the right shot is at the time. It depends on how your playing and how you see the shot. Sometimes you can pick a shot and simply not execute. Thats golf. What exactly do you think you're missing in course management as you don't seem to make the same mistakes you did today in most posts you put here

 

[Tashyboy]

Were the 5 balls in the water due to poor shots or poor judgement of distance, there is a considerable difference.

A couple or three were well hit shots, but Wrong club choice. Second in dyke was poor drop choice resulting in poor shot.
A couple were poor shots. Which i can kind of accept. But again when I thought after, why was i trying to smash a nine iron when i could if had more-control with an 8 iron especially when playing into the wind.
Thats what i am kinda trying to say. Wrong club. Trying to force it = lost ball.

 

[Tashyboy]

Only you can really decide what the right shot is at the time. It depends on how your playing and how you see the shot. Sometimes you can pick a shot and simply not execute. Thats golf. What exactly do you think you're missing in course management as you don't seem to make the same mistakes you did today in most posts you put here

You know what Homer. I really dont have a clue. Think i 1 pointed on about 10 holes.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Quote ... Have you or can you Par every hole on your course

A slight aside from the main point of the thread. I’m a 24 handicapper and I have parred every hole on my course in the two years that I have been a member there ... but rarely more than two or three of them on the same round. At the risk of creating a sub-thread, surely any (say) sub-28 handicapper is capable of parring any hole on the course if it is played regularly enough ... it’s the lack of consistency that dictates the high handicap.

On the main point of the thread, a good player once said to me “don’t simply use the club that will get to closest to the green, unless of course it can get you all the way there comfortably ... instead, use the club that can comfortably get you to the distance from which you can use your go-to club”. However, I’m as guilty as anyone of automatically reaching for the longest club in the bag, rather than perhaps a shorter one that will leave me a easier next shot. Course management is certainly a useful skill.

Taking one line out of a whole post doesn’t really help. Did I not say above that line what you said below it?

The point being! Inconsistencey and recognising your ability and not getting ahead of yourself.

 

[User20204]

A couple or three were well hit shots, but Wrong club choice. Second in dyke was poor drop choice resulting in poor shot.
A couple were poor shots. Which i can kind of accept. But again when I thought after, why was i trying to smash a nine iron when i could if had more-control with an 8 iron especially when playing into the wind.
Thats what i am kinda trying to say. Wrong club. Trying to force it = lost ball.

To be honest, hitting a 9 instead of an 8 into the wind may not have been the best move but you did what you thought was correct at the time. I'd say had you been hitting a 3 wood over a 200 yard carry rather than hitting a 5 iron lay up, then that is very bad course management and as you say, bad shots are bad shots, they are going to happen, that has nothing to do with bad course management.

The fact is, no matter how long you or anyone has played the game, it's unlikely we've ever played a round and thought we played every shot just corretly, we would all play at least one shot differently.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

To be honest Homer, I never really felt any pressure. He was the best there but one guy was off 18 and another off 15. I really enjoyed the day bar not playing well. But just wanna come away from today having learned something.

Thing is, me and tricky Trev have said recently if we feel a PP is playing the wrong shot we have to say " Lucy's carrot cake". To make us think.

I'm loving the fact that you have a 'safe word' for golf 😁

 

[Curls]

I thought my course management was pretty good - until I had a caddy at the Old Course last summer. The way he saw things was a whole level or 6 above mine. Now I find myself looking at slopes in the landing zones, trying to make sure I don’t end up above the hole, just noticing a lot more about my lie etc. I think if a caddy went round with me every comp at my home course I’d shoot much better scores. But that’s not the game for us, so all I can suggest is that you try to become your own caddy.

Funnily enough the way I figured out how to do this was by taking a new player round a course. He was a natural athlete and well able to hit a ball, but no idea about strategy at all and would regularly miss greens by miles, lose balls and 4 putt. Talking him through the thought process for all of his shots and mine I realised that just explaining what it was I was doing meant I included all the factors and chose the right shot.

Yep. I’m telling you to talk to yourself. Do it in a practice round on your own and out loud. See if you don’t catch yourself saying hang on, that could land me in trouble, maybe I’ll do this. You’ll become better at doing it quietly / silently when you play with company. Worth a whirl?

 

[patricks148]

keep the ball in play, that's the only course management theory you need

 

[Jacko_G]

Play within yourself.

18th today, par 5. Myself and my mate we're almost identical off the tee, 240 yards to the pin with a burn in front of the green that winds it's way round the side. A full out Sunday best and I could possibly get home. Opted for a 5 iron left 70 yard pitch. My mate went for it and splashed.

Both made par right enough so sod course management!

😂😂😂🙈

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Course management is all about working out where the trouble is and then playing away from it.

 

[pokerjoke]

Course management is all about working out where the trouble is and then playing away from it.

Not necessarily

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Not necessarily

Do you play towards trouble?

 

[fundy]

Go out and play 9+ holes with someone better than you who understands your game its strengths/weaknesses and who gets it (the 1 capper be ideal!)

On each hole before you tee off explain how you see the hole and get them to do the same (for your game). Then reassess after each shot. Every time there is a large difference in view get them to explain why and use it to challenge your usual thinking


I was reading some notes from an old lesson I had with Alistair Davies on the back 9 at F of A earlier and this reminds me a bit of that. I expected him to comment on how well I was striking it after all the practise Id put in from previous lessons. The notes I received were about how quickly I hit it when I didnt fancy it, how I always tried to hit a flat out approach rather than knock down shots, that I didnt have a specific enough target for most shots and that he wished my mental approach for my long game was the same as it was with the putter! Arguably the most valuable lesson I ever had (albeit I still make several of the mistakes!)

 

[User20204]

I thought my course management was pretty good - until I had a caddy at the Old Course last summer. The way he saw things was a whole level or 6 above mine. Now I find myself looking at slopes in the landing zones, trying to make sure I don’t end up above the hole, just noticing a lot more about my lie etc. I think if a caddy went round with me every comp at my home course I’d shoot much better scores. But that’s not the game for us, so all I can suggest is that you try to become your own caddy.

Funnily enough the way I figured out how to do this was by taking a new player round a course. He was a natural athlete and well able to hit a ball, but no idea about strategy at all and would regularly miss greens by miles, lose balls and 4 putt. Talking him through the thought process for all of his shots and mine I realised that just explaining what it was I was doing meant I included all the factors and chose the right shot.

Yep. I’m telling you to talk to yourself. Do it in a practice round on your own and out loud. See if you don’t catch yourself saying hang on, that could land me in trouble, maybe I’ll do this. You’ll become better at doing it quietly / silently when you play with company. Worth a whirl?

I think that's a great post but, who actually does that ? I'd like to think I have my course strategy down to a tee but still hit shots I shouldn't because I still believe I can make par from wherever I am but if I was on someone's bag I'd be telling them otherwise. I have a PP who has the worst course management I've ever seen, I've played with him for 30 years and plays off of 14, how he's not single figures is purely down to how he racks up 6/7/8s on holes with stupid errors of judgement. If I was on his bag I think I could take 4 shots a round off him.

 

[pokerjoke]

Do you play towards trouble?

Of course,most people do.
I do see what your saying about playing away from trouble but sometimes that’s not possible.
Sometimes you have to play towards trouble but not reach it.
Just one example could be water where you have to play towards it but not go in it,so basically getting close to it but not go in it.
Another example would be Blackmoors 1st hole where only the longer hitters will risk taking the ditch on.
All others can’t play away from it so need to play at it but stay short.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Course management is all about working out where the trouble is and then playing away from it.

I'd say its more about working out where the trouble is and then avoiding it

 

[garyinderry]

I'd say its more about working out where the trouble is and then avoiding it

You can accept a poor result if select the right option - P.Hurst

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Of course,most people do.
I do see what your saying about playing away from trouble but sometimes that’s not possible.
Sometimes you have to play towards trouble but not reach it.
Just one example could be water where you have to play towards it but not go in it,so basically getting close to it but not go in it.
Another example would be Blackmoors 1st hole where only the longer hitters will risk taking the ditch on.
All others can’t play away from it so need to play at it but stay short.

Obviously there are times when you have to play TOWARDS trouble but you are being pedantic. Water at 200 yards? Hit a club that goes 170 max. Water in front of the green but no trouble long....take a club that a duff will clear the water and a well struck shot will reach the centre/back or even go just over the green.

I'd say its more about working out where the trouble is and then avoiding it

Thanks Homer, that is probably a better wording than I used

 

[Shooter McPowick]

All I can say is I suffer from a very similar thing. I’ve been keeping a diary after each round keeping track of each shot and making notes where I made a bad decision. It’s pointing me in the direction of playing very safe, fairly boring golf.

As Bob Rotella says, play the shot you can pull off 80% of the time.