High handicap game plan - too conservative?

[Ian_S]

After reading Dr Bob (thankyou iBooks), and in particular the story of the Tommy Armour's student who'd never broken 90 previously going round in 79 just down to having Tommy decide his strategy, I decided to put together a game plan for our club championship this weekend. Now, being a 20 handicap, that gives a lot of leeway when it comes to laying up and avoiding greenside hazards.

As a result, I've got a plan that identifies 8 holes for going after nett birdies and the rest for nett pars. Some of those pars almost feel as though I'm being too conservative by laying up with fairly short clubs in order to avoid any trouble and then chipping on and having two putts for par.

Is this just my ego playing tricks with me, thinking I should be going after nearly every hole? Is it even possible for a high handicapper to have 'too conservative' a game plan?

 

[virtuocity]

Make sure you allow yourself plenty of room to duff up chips, 3 putt, put second shots into bunkers etc.

However, it's nice to have a plan. I'm going to make one up for my home course.

 

[Foxholer]

After reading Dr Bob (thankyou iBooks), and in particular the story of the Tommy Armour's student who'd never broken 90 previously going round in 79 just down to having Tommy decide his strategy, I decided to put together a game plan for our club championship this weekend. Now, being a 20 handicap, that gives a lot of leeway when it comes to laying up and avoiding greenside hazards.

As a result, I've got a plan that identifies 8 holes for going after nett birdies and the rest for nett pars. Some of those pars almost feel as though I'm being too conservative by laying up with fairly short clubs in order to avoid any trouble and then chipping on and having two putts for par.

Is this just my ego playing tricks with me, thinking I should be going after nearly every hole? Is it even possible for a high handicapper to have 'too conservative' a game plan?

Just having a Plan is a huge step forward! 2,5,6,9 on the Front?

Don't despair if it doesn't work out quite as planned, but as Dr Bob writes, stay patient!

 

[duncan mackie]

I think you need to read the rest of the book........

Such strategic thinking generally needs to be applied on the go and you need to 'live in the present' and 'take it shot by shot' to quote Bob!

Here you are classically getting into the future, and will end up in a right pickle if things don't follow the plan (and they won't).

Fundamentally a strategy might be to play from each tee with a view to making a bogey on the hole; that's fine because you are in control of the strategy. The minute you decide to 'lay up with short clubs' you are presuming you will have that option from your tee shot!

 

[sev112]

Personally I think your plan idea is great - you have to force yourself to stick to it, especially when you are finding you are playing well - this forum is full of stories of people putting together a great round to then go for one, run up a nine and for it all to fall apart.
Good golf scores are the result of a whole round
So, if you are doing well, and you face one of your net par holes and flush your drive, be wary of changing your plan

Good luck , I am sure you will do well - all the best pros always have a plan for each hole, it's why they go out and play practice rounds

 

[AmandaJR]

Each shot on its merit for me. Dr Bob says "conservative strategy, cocky swing" which is what I try to apply on every shot BUT I can't decide the strategy until I'm ready to play each individual shot. If I'm in position to go for it then I got for it and if not I lay up if that's an option. Only exception is the strategy on a tough Par 3 or tee shot that has a hazard in range. In the main after the tee shot though the next is determined by how the tee shot has gone and where it is...not pre-determined.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

After reading Dr Bob (thankyou iBooks), and in particular the story of the Tommy Armour's student who'd never broken 90 previously going round in 79 just down to having Tommy decide his strategy, I decided to put together a game plan for our club championship this weekend. Now, being a 20 handicap, that gives a lot of leeway when it comes to laying up and avoiding greenside hazards.

As a result, I've got a plan that identifies 8 holes for going after nett birdies and the rest for nett pars. Some of those pars almost feel as though I'm being too conservative by laying up with fairly short clubs in order to avoid any trouble and then chipping on and having two putts for par.

Is this just my ego playing tricks with me, thinking I should be going after nearly every hole? Is it even possible for a high handicapper to have 'too conservative' a game plan?

Forget that and use this...

(1) Hit the tee shot
(2) Forget about the last shot
(3) Forget about the score
(4) Assess the next shot and hit it
(5) Repeat steps 2 to 5

When assessing your shots, exclude any shot that you couldn't confidently pull off. If you're in trouble, take the easiest and safest way to get out of it, even if that means going sideways or backwards.

Don't chase a particular score on any hole. Play sensibly, play within your abilities and have fun.

If you set a plan such as yours, and you start failing to reach your target on a particular hole, the danger is you'll start trying to make up for it. Every shot on it's own merits is the best way to score low

 

[G1BB0]

funnily eough I was doing the same last night during a practice 9 before the club champs tomoz. Example, par 5 9th 488yds. I hit driver 250 so 230 left, usually I will try my 4 hybrid or 3w and go for it but decided to play 9i to 100 and then gw... result a 2 putt par. simples. a 330yd par 4 I played 3w off the tee instead of driver as I can hit a nice fade and right is best, normally I would smash driver lol. easy 9i again which actually went a little long (narrow green) and ended with a chip and putt for par. I now have a plan for tomorrow, start on the 6th which I get 2 shots on, have parred it many a time but have decided to go with 3w off the tee for position. off to the range shortly with a score card to practice some tee shots/2nd shots.

I can play well below my 22 in friendly games but seem to blow up in comps and I still feel a lot of the time its course management (and the odd duff of course )

As stated above you will have to adapt it on a hole by hole/shot by shot basis as not every shot will go exactly where intended, hence the 20 h/c but at least it gives you (and me) a better chance

 

[sev112]

No, the danger is that you deviate from the plan when you decide to assess each shot at the point in time when your brain is in the least best condition to make that decision, I.e. when something has gone wrong and you are under pressure. Many (most? All?) management techniques say that when under pressure stick to a pre-ordained plan.
So you hit your drive and your plan on this hole is to lay up. You then duff your lap up 10 feet in front of you. You don't reassess at that point because your unprepared brain might give you the wrong decision and tell you to attack to get your shot back. Your plan however says lay up, because that was the plan. So you do, which probably will lead to a lost shot, or you might even sink your putt and the shot is saved.
Golf isn't a one shot game. It is 18 holes worth. If you assess every shot every time you are mentally taxing your brain a lot. Ok sometimes it is necessary. But you can save a lot of mental tiredness by having a plan and sticking to it. Statistically you will have more better scores over a period.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

No, the danger is that you deviate from the plan when you decide to assess each shot at the point in time when your brain is in the least best condition to make that decision, I.e. when something has gone wrong and you are under pressure. Many (most? All?) management techniques say that when under pressure stick to a pre-ordained plan.
So you hit your drive and your plan on this hole is to lay up. You then duff your lap up 10 feet in front of you. You don't reassess at that point because your unprepared brain might give you the wrong decision and tell you to attack to get your shot back. Your plan however says lay up, because that was the plan. So you do, which probably will lead to a lost shot, or you might even sink your putt and the shot is saved.
Golf isn't a one shot game. It is 18 holes worth. If you assess every shot every time you are mentally taxing your brain a lot. Ok sometimes it is necessary. But you can save a lot of mental tiredness by having a plan and sticking to it. Statistically you will have more better scores over a period.

I don't agree I'm afraid. You can't have a plan for a whole round of golf before you've even hit a shot, what if you're not hitting it that well? Sometimes you have to play with the swing you bring. Golf is 18 holes of individual shots. All you can do is hit every shot within your ability, on it's own merits and giving it your undivided attention.

 

[AmandaJR]

I don't agree I'm afraid. You can't have a plan for a whole round of golf before you've even hit a shot, what if you're not hitting it that well? Sometimes you have to play with the swing you bring. Golf is 18 holes of individual shots. All you can do is hit every shot within your ability, on it's own merits and giving it your undivided attention.

I agree and have always been told to stay in the moment and one shot at a time etc etc

 

[ger147]

You can't have a plan for what scores you want to make. Things you can do plan wise is decide what tees your going to play conservatively from e.g.hybrid rather than driver, and you can also decide not to play any 3 wood 2nd shots to try and reach Par 5's in 2. After all 2 decent 7 irons can cover 300 yards so 3w 7i 7i might be the way to go on a 500 yard Par 5 rather than driver off the tee.

But DON'T target scores on given holes as it will only make things harder when you start to miss those targets.

 

[Foxholer]

Forget that and use this...

(1) Hit the tee shot
(2) Forget about the last shot
(3) Forget about the score
(4) Assess the next shot and hit it
(5) Repeat steps 2 to 5

When assessing your shots, exclude any shot that you couldn't confidently pull off. If you're in trouble, take the easiest and safest way to get out of it, even if that means going sideways or backwards.

Don't chase a particular score on any hole. Play sensibly, play within your abilities and have fun.

If you set a plan such as yours, and you start failing to reach your target on a particular hole, the danger is you'll start trying to make up for it. Every shot on it's own merits is the best way to score low

Almost agree.

In Strokeplay, the object isn't to hit each shot as well as possible. It's to make the best score on each hole - within the limitations of the particular golfer. So it's not just about the next shot. I agree with the conservative approach and 'taking the punichment' though!

The Plan is still valid, even if things don't quite go according to it - and I expect some 'variation'. After all, if they did got exactly according to the plan, 8 under Net would be the result. Half that would be more thn adequate imo!

 

[duncan mackie]

No, the danger is that you deviate from the plan when you decide to assess each shot at the point in time when your brain is in the least best condition to make that decision, I.e. when something has gone wrong and you are under pressure. Many (most? All?) management techniques say that when under pressure stick to a pre-ordained plan.
.........

probably why management techniques and golf have never really got on!

if you plan to lay up @ 160, short of some water with your second on a par 5, but end up 200 short due to shorter drives and second shot, should you stick to the plan of playing your 3rd to the green or stick to your strategy (which created the plan) of not taking on shots of more than 170 yds over water........

by all means agree with yourself before you head out that -
1. you aren't going to use a driver (just leave it out!)
2. that you aren't going to use anything longer than a 5 iron for fairway shots
3. nothing more than a 7 iron from the semi rough
etc

but you have to apply the actual shot decision on a dynamic basis, and no hole is ever a birdie opportunity until you are standing over the putt!

 

[Ian_S]

The Plan is still valid, even if things don't quite go according to it - and I expect some 'variation'. After all, if they did got exactly according to the plan, 8 under Net would be the result. Half that would be more thn adequate imo!

Exactly. Pro's know which hole they are going to try to birdie and they won't make them all. Similarly, there will be those they are playing to par and they happen to knock in the long putt for birdie.

I take the point about not chasing a bad hole though and I will try not to and I think standing on the next tee with a plan in hand is the best way to get past a bad hole.

Also the point on 'what if I hit a bad tee shot' I accept too - but again if my plan was to hit two irons to just short of the green side hazards then chip on, then I know that all I have to do is get myself in reasonable range of the green with my second. I won't have the short chip, but I'll know knocking it to 75-100 yards out is good enough. I just have to play a slightly better third than I was intending to make my nett par.

 

[sev112]

Staying in the moment , and one shot at a time is fine
That doesn't mean you don't have a plan !?
And yes golf is dynamic, again a good reason to have plan
But each to your own
Be interested in what the pros think

I work in and with project and programme managers every day
Everything is planned to the nth degree, yet it is still dynamic and subject to change. The plan helps us deal with change

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have a game plan for each hole tomorrow's club championship and the way I want to play each hole. Having played off the plates last weekend I have a good idea of yardages and clubs. However I also have contingency to be able to deal with whatever I throw into the mix. As an example I played the back 9 on Wednesday night but didn't hit it great and just focused on making no worse than bogey if I got into trouble. Made a couple of pars and only had one double when I lost position. The direction may have been challenged but I found I was still calm and able to see the bigger picture

 

[Farneyman]

No problems with planning and adjusting accordingly when required...100% agree a plan of some sort is a good this rather than just hacking it about with no real thought to what you are doing.

 

[duncan mackie]

tomorrow's match is away, and meet for breakfast - my only plan is to have a pint of guiness with breakfast.......

 

[sev112]

tomorrow's match is away, and meet for breakfast - my only plan is to have a pint of guiness with breakfast.......

Surprisingly good plan - reduces tension and mental stress
Bet you do well