Course Management?

[kid2]

Hi all,
As there such a diverse selection of people on the forums of different handicap levels im sure someone may have already asked this question.....
Im currently off 18 started at handicap of 21 but i dont no if im doing wrong or right...
Im getting very tied up with distances and yardages at my club everything is measured in metres so iv to convert to yards to make it easier on myself...... im not a bad 18 handicapper but should i be concentrating more on alignement and swing practices rather than the ins and outs of where i want to be hitting my next shot from my club doesnt do yardage guides so im finding myself pacing the distance from the markers on the fairways
Is this right or wrong
And am i trying to cram in too much info into a mind thats already concentrating on trying to keep my ball straight and out of trouble.....

 

[Paul2009]

As you learn im sure youll get to know the distances out of experience - good or bad ones for that matter!
Otherwise you could invest in a golf GPS which tells you distances - theyre expensive, mind

 

[kid2]

Hi Paul,
My dad keeps telling me that hes playing off 8 and what he keeps telling me is id be better off learning through trail and error because there are som many factors involved eg, wind rain tirdness how hard or soft the course which tees are being used....
Maybe im just looking for too much to happen too soon and am being too impatient..... or i could drop a few hints for christmas

 

[Paul2009]

I agree with your dad, thats how I learnt. Soon enough youll know what general distances each club goes. Just keep playing and that's how youll learn - by experience.
Ive never had a GPS and am not in need of one really, but there are a good few people on the forum who use them- im sure theyll be able to talk about the benefits of it.

 

[RGDave]

Hmm.....I've always been a distance man, ever since I've been able to hit the ball consistently a certain yardage.

Even now (I'm not quite as good as I was) I still play the yardage game. If I stand on a tee (take the 2nd at mine) and it's not a gift hole for driving, I take the best club to leave approx 100 yards. If a hole is very long and has lots of trouble, I might play it as a par 5, hitting safely off the tee, laying up (2nd shot) to leave 100 yards.

I DO know how far I hit my clubs and I always know the yardage. I don't worry to the exact yard and sometimes I take an approximate reading....you know.....something like "I'm about 20 yards past the 150, so that's about 130, slightly up hill, pin at the back, let's go with an 8i"

I'm not that good at golf, but I can knock it round under 80 on a good day. Could I do this guessing yardages? probably not. Do I think yo have to be a certain standard to do the yardage thing? NO.....not once you know 95/100 you are going to hit your iron +/- 5-10 yards.

I turned up to play at *quite a good course* once and they didn't have a yardage booklet/stroke saver. They had 150 markers, sure, but I got into lots of unnecessary trouble that day and wasted at least 5-6 shots as I remember.

I had an argument with the pro after.....his reply was "I can't see why a 10 h'cap needs a yardage booklet, do you think Nick Faldo uses a yardage booklet?"

 

[USER1999]

No, he uses a caddy.

 

[kid2]

Hey Guys....
How did your round with the two drivers go dave did you make a chioce yet... wilson staff or callaway....
iv got so many questions on my mind about the game i hope you all dont think im burning the ears off of ye
My dad plays exactly the way you posted dave... he too has a rough idea how far his clubs go -/+ 5 yards or so if hes just inside the 150 maybe an 8 or if hes just outside it a 7 up or down then for wind and so on and he always drills it into my head to always play for the centre of the green regardless of where the pin is sitting
iv started to go with certain clubs lately off tees and its paying off a little.... he keeps telling me off my handicap{18} i should be aiming to bogey every hole it takes the pressure off me and if i par it its a bonus.... Im layed up at the moment in a cast since the 12th may with a ruptured achilles heel injury picked up from playing soccer... its after retiring me i cant play anymore and im really looking forward to getting back to playing my golf im obsessed with it since i took it up....and iv still got a competitive nature

 

[Paul2009]

ask away lol If your in a cast, now is the time to look at the written stuff and ask the questions

 

[kid2]

Thats one thing i have alot of on my hands paul is time....
thats why my heads full of questions...
im gonna be in this till at leat mid to late july
The joys of playing ball....

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Your dad is right in a way. If you shoot level 5's on each hole its 90 - 18 and a net 72 which must be close to par on most courses you play. What you make up for on the par 3's and shorter par 4's you have in the bank for the par 5's and 400+ par 4's.

The art of course management is all about assessing your situation and playing the right shot. Regarding distances, my advice would be to buy a course planner if your course has one. My current club has one and I've used my GPS to add in extra reference points etc in case I don't have the GPS when I'm playing. Alternatively write down reference points in a small notebook and then pace out yardages. I did that at my first course. I walked round a few times and picked a few reference points such as paths, bunkers and trees or bushes and then started pacing these off to the front and middle of each green as I played. Over a few weeks I'd got my own guide. I went out one evening and paced the length and width of each green too.

What you'll need to do then is go to a practice area somewhere and find out how far (pace it or borrow a GPS device) you hit each club and make a note of these too.

 

[USER1999]

I have an issue with playing to use all your shots. It leads to consistent play, but it will always be the same. I like to go for it, as then, yes, it will be erratic, but the good will be very good, the bad will be bad, but it will be exciting.

Percentages = dull.

If I shot 18 over every time I went out, I think I would give up.

 

[kid2]

Hi Homerjsimpson,
I had thought of doing the pacing thing but wasnt sure as regards my club distances i have these roughly i think there about average..
SW : 80 - 100 yards
PW : 120 - 130
9I : 130 - 140
8I : 140 - 150
7I : 150 - 160
6I : 160 - 170
5I : 170 - 185
4I : Im not gelling with this at the moment for whatever reason im thinking of getting a 4 and a 3 hybrid
As i said these are rough yardages but there not bad give or take 5 yards.....i hope these are fairly ok as i know everyone is different.....

 

[kid2]

Hi murphthemog,
I just have one slight criticism..
i think im right here but if im wrong someone will correct im sure
im off 18 and if i go around the course ang bogey all the holes i would come off with 36 points stableford...
Now that cant be bad scoring for a high handicapper thats only playing the game a short while... Why on earth would you want to pack the game then.
dont get me wrong here i have my share of pars ant the odd tweety and scratches but all im saying is the pressure would be off such a player knowing that if there on the green of a par 4 in two shots then even 3 putting will net them 2 points.....

 

[HomerJSimpson]

kid2

Its not about whether these distances are right or wrong its all about how far YOU hit each club on average. If they are fairly accurate figures and you're ahppy with them then thats what you need to relate to when assessing the distances on the course

 

[kid2]

So my best bet so is to get a reference point that wont be moved on the course the next time im out and just jot these down with the club iv played.....

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Basically if your club has yardage books, buy one and use that to start with. If there are other fixed reference points on holes (dead tree, ditch, etc) that won't move over time try adding them in so you get as accurate a picture as possible for each hole.

If your club doesn't have a book, get a small notebook and write down distances. You could pace distance from the tee to bunkers etc so you know how far you have to play with. Rather than pace out say 225 yards to your reference point and then subtract that from the yardage on the card to give the reference point distance to the pin I found it more accurate to pace it out myself so I had a better feeling that my yardage matched (i.e. my paces were the same as those used to work out my club yardages).

Maybe I was being an anorak even at that age but as the club didn't have a yaradge book it really did help me especially when I was between clubs or in windy conditions etc

 

[kid2]

Hey HomerJ,
ill definately have to go your route alright i think.
My club doesnt have course guides...
it'll be a bit of fun anyway knowing exactly how far away from greens certain parts of the course are.

 

[RGDave]

I have an issue with playing to use all your shots. It leads to consistent play, but it will always be the same. I like to go for it, as then, yes, it will be erratic, but the good will be very good, the bad will be bad, but it will be exciting.

Hmm, I'm ignoring the comment about Faldo's caddy.
But, I'm agreeing with you on this.

I've never fully understood the "use your shots" idea. Firstly, how exactly does this work on par 3s unless they are really long. And why "try" for a five on a par 4.

What I do (and I'd assumed everyone does) is play the hole to make a par (or better), until such time as this is an unlikely outcome. For example, If I hit a fair drive, but am blocked out by an overhanging tree or something, I'll be looking for the safe option. I'll take a 5 when I have to, but I don't take any notice of the S.I. - I just play it the best way. I don't try and pull off miracle stuff, even if in the back of my mind, I know I've got no shot on the hole.

There are two holes at mine I play as par 5s, not because I'm being safe and dull, but because the drives are too risky for some reason.

 

[viscount17]

If you have time on your hands and your course doesn't have a yardage book now's the time to make your own.

you can use Google Earth/Google Maps to find your course then use the measurement facility to get approximate yardages to/from recognisable points.

your score card can help give you some confidence in the measurements.

 

[kid2]

Hi viscount ,
will that work it will..