Do you have a Plan B?

[kozmos]

My planB' means damage limitation, which is normally ends up with me playing a three quarter punchy shot... (which of late has become plan A) needs must n all that

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

My planB' means damage limitation, which is normally ends up with me playing a three quarter punchy shot... (which of late has become plan A) needs must n all that

Yesterday 3 holes into my second round after starting par, par and having hit a cracking 3i tee shot (risk mitigation) into middle of fairway on Par 4, I was left with a 7i to green. Completely out of nowhere (as my FCs observed - though I knew better) I hit three shanks in a row. Ended up with a 6. On next tee par 3 - shank - but found ball - and got a 5.

So having dropped 4 shots in two holes and dreading and expecting more shanks I hunkered down to KISS. My Plan Z (straight to last resort as soon as the s****s appear) came into in action. A completely conservative approach - no 'trying' anything. Just hit the shot and don't worry about not getting a very good outcome. I went round remaining 14 holes dropping 7 and finishing 1-over hcap - which was a huge result for me all things considered.

But I had to completely forget about playing for a good score - I just had to try and not post an awful one.

ps. With CSS likely to be +2 I'll probably get cut.

 

[richart]

the only time i would us a "plan B" would be if for instance i was not hitting driver well, i would us my 3 wood or 18 deg hybrid off the tee instead.

That's my Plan B which sometimes becomes Plan A

What I have noticed with some low handicap golfers is that they just have one shot. Full swing aim straight at the pin. Sometimes you need to be able to play knock down shots into the wind, or play a chip and run rather than a high pitch shot. Perhaps to go to plan B you need to be able to play a variety of shot ?

 

[JCW]

No use being a good ball striker if you hitting slicers or hooks , as for plan B, C, D or whatever , You need to manage your game even if you hitting it poor and a good shot game always helps , in strong winds you need not only the shots but a mind set that if you cant get to a par 4 in two due to strong winds into then lay up in the right position to give yourself the best chance to up and down it and take your chances down wind , when the weather is against you and par or near is a good score then thats your target .

 

[brysoni23]

So I think their problems were largely of a bit too much macho around how well and how far they can hit the ball - they just didn't want to 'step back' and play a bit more conservatively.

I'm in my mid 20's and learnt on Friday morn that I don't have to smash the ball as hard as I can. An injury made sure that i hit the ball with less umph!!! and I shot my best score to date for 9 holes. Didn't hit a driver or 3 wood either

 

[NorfolkShaun]

I think most have an idea of a plan B, the only trouble with this can be that is plan A is not working you can very quickly be looking at a 0.1.

If you end up trying to chase a score with a failing plan A and switch to plan B this can sometimes only make things worse. Maybe sometimes the best thing to do is accept it is not your day and enjoy yourself.

Where this gets most annoying for me is when on a good card especially in medal format then having a shocker, I need to clear my head quicker and remember what I was doing well for the good card I am on.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Odd business this Plan B malarky. Can't say I really have one as the only thought I have is to hit whatever I'm confident in and feel is right at the time. That is of course influenced by how well I'm playing on the day. Could be any of the clubs in the bag at (almost) anytime - might be best for me to hit a hybrid off a par 5 tee, choke down a 4 iron into a par 3 or welly a driver on a short par 4. Same applies to around the greens where anything from a 6 iron down is regularly employed - some days are better than others and the score is usually determined about how successful the brain/hands interface is...

It's good to have a plan for how you might play a hole ideally, according to your ability, but think you must ultimately only grab the club you believe can work for you. Some days it's nearly all dross though and they're best just forgotten. When it's all working though...

 

[FairwayDodger]

Odd business this Plan B malarky. Can't say I really have one as the only thought I have is to hit whatever I'm confident in and feel is right at the time. That is of course influenced by how well I'm playing on the day. Could be any of the clubs in the bag at (almost) anytime - might be best for me to hit a hybrid off a par 5 tee, choke down a 4 iron into a par 3 or welly a driver on a short par 4. Same applies to around the greens where anything from a 6 iron down is regularly employed - some days are better than others and the score is usually determined about how successful the brain/hands interface is...

It's good to have a plan for how you might play a hole ideally, according to your ability, but think you must ultimately only grab the club you believe can work for you. Some days it's nearly all dross though and they're best just forgotten. When it's all working though...

I tend to agree with this - Plan B is really the same as Plan A. i.e. don't attempt to pull off shots that are beyond your ability. On a bad day that probably means not trying things that I would attempt when playing well.

 

[AmandaJR]

Plan B for me is to dig in and make the most of a "back row of the bus day"! That means trying to slow things down as the worse I get the quicker I get. I don't change my shot selection too much as usually it means my swings gone a bit twonky (technical term) and every club will be out of sorts. Get it done without hitting a cricket score and go home and sulk

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I tend to agree with this - Plan B is really the same as Plan A. i.e. don't attempt to pull off shots that are beyond your ability. On a bad day that probably means not trying things that I would attempt when playing well.

Not just ability though. My Plan B will include different shots and clubs according to what I want to achieve for a hole on any specific day. A simple example is where you have a par 4 that has bad trouble left and right and encroaching fairway bunkers. In a comp or match you might accept a 5 as what you aim for - so don't use your driver off the tee. Instead hit a 3i - generally straight and short of fairway bunkers. Leaves you a 220yd shot to green rather than 130yd. But that's a risk reduction Plan B to a Plan A. Nothing really to do with ability - other than consistency of course.

 

[JustOne]

I play flat out... either try to win.... or shoot 105.

2nd means nothing to me.

Who wants to play a 'moderate round' if you're going up by 0.1 anyway. Try and birdie everything!!!!

I'm lousy when my driver is playing up, and not so great when it's working

 

[CMAC]

I play flat out... either try to win.... or shoot 105.

2nd means nothing to me.

Who wants to play a 'moderate round' if you're going up by 0.1 anyway. Try and birdie everything!!!!

I'm lousy when my driver is playing up, and not so great when it's working

way to go Tiger!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

If my swing is off my swing is off, it doesn't matter how many plans you have if you can't put a decent swing on it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It sounds like the OP's are too wrapped up in machismo and trying to hit long irons miles. Clearly issues if they are spraying long irons OB. That has nothing to do with a plan A or B. Ultimately though it's a case of doing whatever I can to score as well as I can

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

It sounds like the OP's are too wrapped up in machismo and trying to hit long irons miles. Clearly issues if they are spraying long irons OB. That has nothing to do with a plan A or B. Ultimately though it's a case of doing whatever I can to score as well as I can

But they could have changed club or eased back - but no - they both persisted. I honestly lost count of the number of balls one lad must have lost.

 

[Oddsocks]

I have plan b1 and plan b2.... Which on bad days can normally get me to buffer pretty easy and I'm lucky enough to know when to bail out and fall back on each respectively. Buy the end of our 3rd hole I know which game I need to play. If I miss buffer it normally by 1 or two shots at most,

 

[Dellboy]

If I'm having a bad round, which to be fair is most rounds lately, I go to plan B ( I call it the Tiger ) I shout, swear and fake a bad back then head off to the 19th and drink cider until it flows out of my ears.

 

[Smiffy]

Plan "A" for me is to go out and win 5&4.
If that looks like it's failing, plan "B" comes into play and I lose 7&6.
It's always worked for me.

 

[Stuey01]

Plan A: hit it hard
Plan B: hit it harder, with added anger

:thup:

 

[gdc]

If my swing is off my swing is off, it doesn't matter how many plans you have if you can't put a decent swing on it.

You will know your swing is off after 2 holes. Plan B is to attempt to fix your swing - little tweaks here and there can vastly improve your strike or give you a swing which is workable.
No point in just carrying on regardless with the same broken swing.