Course Management ?

[Jack991]

Hi guys,

Played in yesterday's stableford and managed to secure 2nd place in my division which i was very happy with !

However what i was most happy with was that i only actually hit my driver 3 times (on 3 of the par 5s), instead on all the par 4s where i would normally go straight for my driver i picked out my 3 or 5 wood to put a premium on accuracy. As a result i hit 12/14 fairways and made as a result managed to make 11 GIR and finished with a gross 78 (par 72) which is pretty good for me !

Just wondering if anyone else has made any similar decisions regarding their course management which have benefited or hindered your scores ?

 

[fundy]

Good stuff Jack, well played. I tend to never hit much more than 4 or 5 drivers in a round, but when I went to South Beds the other day I didnt even take it with me took the 3 iron instead which has become a bit of a go to club off the tee again of late

 

[PIng]

Started using the driver only on the widest of our fairways and have just broken 100 a couple of times. I'm now disappointed with scores that I would have been pleased with a couple of months ago. The 3 wood is much easier to keep on the fairway and goes almost as far if I catch it right. I've also started laying up more if there's danger in front of the green.

 

[Region3]

Whatever works Jack. Well done on the score.

I'm actually jealous of everyone that plays irons or fairways/hybrids off the tee for accuracy. For me, those clubs aren't any more likely to find the fairway than my driver is, so when I use something else it's based solely on how far I want the ball to go.

As an example, there is a 350yd par 4 at my place with a pond and tall trees on the right at about 260. I hit anything from 4 wood to 4 iron there depending on where the wind is. Not because I'm worried about ended up wet, but if I do go right I want to be far enough back to be able to get over the trees.

The course management that's helped my scores is not going for high risk shots. Not the Seve type miracles because I've never really been one for that (mostly ) but just missing in the right place. If for example I have a 4 iron from the rough left to the green that is guarded by bunkers I'll usually take a 5 or 6 and play to get somewhere near the front of the green. It eliminates double and it's surprising how often you can still walk off with a par.

Even with so few shots to play with, it's not bogeys that ruin a round, it's doubles or worse.

 

[thecraw]

My course wmanagement was that far up my backside yesterday that I deliberately smashed my driver OB at 8 because I was so pissed off and frustrated.

That's how good my course management and attitude is at present!

 

[bigslice]

My course wmanagement was that far up my backside yesterday that I deliberately smashed my driver OB at 8 because I was so pissed off and frustrated.

That's how good my course management and attitude is at present!

mmm i suggest you better get it sorted for saturday

 

[ScienceBoy]

Course management is not another term for "Not hitting a driver off the tee". It is so much more than that, I am glad it worked for you but if you fully explore it then you might score even better!


As I see it there are two approaches to golf:

1) Get a distance, pick a club, pick a target, hit the shot.

2) Have an attitued like: Starting at the green pick a shot where you want to approach it from. Work backwards choosing an area to hit at then proceed to play the hole to a plan.

Course management is the action of having a game plan, assessing the risk of shot choices with ALL the clubs in your bag. Picking the shot that fits your game plan for the hole/round and if the situation changes either getting back to the plan without taking too much or a risk (but probably costing a shot) or taking on the risk/reward shot.

My one bit of advice to those who often have a "blow up" hole would be to look at the option of laying up instead of going for a green in regulation (on any par hole) then pitch on and putt out. This came up recently where someone said the whole point of par 3s is you should get on the green in one shot. I think if your chance of par is better by laying up and chipping on then THAT is course management!

When I changed to this approach my scoring dramatically improved. BUT I did know the course inside out, without a course planner at a new course doing the above is pretty tough.

 

[thecraw]

mmm i suggest you better get it sorted for saturday

Chill cowboy, you concentrate on your game I'll bring mine. Saturday is another day and is not matchplay!

 

[bigslice]

Chill cowboy, you concentrate on your game I'll bring mine. Saturday is another day and is not matchplay!

i know its a team event lol, been thinking what kind of course management to try on saturday. i reckon there are a few holes that between the 4 of us we will each play differently. should we just play our own game then decide which drive to take?

 

[Shiny]

Course management is not another term for "Not hitting a driver off the tee". It is so much more than that, I am glad it worked for you but if you fully explore it then you might score even better!


As I see it there are two approaches to golf:

1) Get a distance, pick a club, pick a target, hit the shot.

2) Have an attitued like: Starting at the green pick a shot where you want to approach it from. Work backwards choosing an area to hit at then proceed to play the hole to a plan.

Course management is the action of having a game plan, assessing the risk of shot choices with ALL the clubs in your bag. Picking the shot that fits your game plan for the hole/round and if the situation changes either getting back to the plan without taking too much or a risk (but probably costing a shot) or taking on the risk/reward shot.

My one bit of advice to those who often have a "blow up" hole would be to look at the option of laying up instead of going for a green in regulation (on any par hole) then pitch on and putt out. This came up recently where someone said the whole point of par 3s is you should get on the green in one shot. I think if your chance of par is better by laying up and chipping on then THAT is course management!

When I changed to this approach my scoring dramatically improved. BUT I did know the course inside out, without a course planner at a new course doing the above is pretty tough.

I have started doing the 2nd option and scores have dropped accordingly especially on holes I normally cannot reach in 2. This saves me trying to leather a 3 wood, a 7 iron followed by a P/W onto the green helped me to get nothing more than a couple of sixes on the card and a handicap cut. My advice though is to go with a plan and stick to it for tee shots.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I can understand not using the driver if you are swinging like a plonker and it is getting you in trouble. However the majority of the holes on my home course requires a good drive to give you any chance of making the green and on some holes short is definitely not an option.

Course management involves more than just using an iron or three wood off the tee. I couldn't hit any club in the bag yesterday irrespective of the length of hole. I did try playing hybrid or 3 wood but it was the swing that was at fault and not my club selection.

 

[RGDave]

Just wondering if anyone else has made any similar decisions regarding their course management which have benefited or hindered your scores ?

Me? Never....

Ahem.

I have the game/swing of a 26 h'cap. That's how I don't play off 26


They don't call me "Dave, 3 x 7-irons to the 450 yard 6th", or "Dave, 2 x wedges to the 190 yard par 3 17th" for nothing....