Surprise me ?

[bobmac]

If you enter a comp at a course you haven't played before, would you prefer to play it first to find out where NOT to go or would you prefer to play it not knowing where the dangers are and play it unseen? Or does it not matter?

 

[john0]

Boo!

 

[bobmac]

Boo!

Nurse...........!

 

[Slab]

Voted prefer to have a practice round although I don't know if it would always be feasible

Type of comp would also influence as some are quite relaxed/informal so a practice round not so important

Other comps have 'winners' pre-determined (incorrect handicap validation etc) so again no real benefit to forking out for a practice round

 

[sawtooth]

Sometimes I would care enough to go and play a course beforehand but only if the course was really accessible and the competition warranted it.

Most of the time I would just rock up and play it and see what happens. I think there is so much information about a course available online, gps, etc - you can get by.

 

[pokerjoke]

If it was a serious comp I would prefer to have played the course before for definite.
I believe you could save yourself a couple of shots just by knowing the outlay and
especially getting a good look at the greens and getting used to the speed.
I also think understanding what club to use off the tee would benefit.
What do you think yourself Bob?

 

[Birchy]

Deffo a practice round. Most courses have at least 3 or 4 holes where you need to have your bearings on where you need to be. At least you know you are aiming in the right place even though it doesn't always go there

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I'm not overly bothered either way. I guess it would depend on the comp.

 

[Imurg]

It would obviously be advantageous to have prior knowledge of any dodgy areas of a course but practicality means, at least for me, its unlikely that I would do it.

 

[Birchy]

It would obviously be advantageous to have prior knowledge of any dodgy areas of a course but practicality means, at least for me, its unlikely that I would do it.

That's probably spot on for me too. Would be better to have the practice round but unlikely

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It depends. An open comp and I'd want a practice round but something fairly social like H4H I'll take my chances and play it blind like the majority of the field

 

[bobmac]

If it was a serious comp I would prefer to have played the course before for definite.
I believe you could save yourself a couple of shots just by knowing the outlay and
especially getting a good look at the greens and getting used to the speed.
I also think understanding what club to use off the tee would benefit.
What do you think yourself Bob?

Sometimes you think 'I'm glad I didn't know that was there when I hit my driver' but more often than not, I prefer to play the course first.
The 16th at Camberley springs to mind. Luckily I was playing with a Mr Garg who kindly showed me his course planner...or was it his Laser......or it may have even been his GPS.

 

[Break90]

I'd prefer to play it beforehand, just to know what clubs to use on the par 3s, and if there are any blind drives etc

 

[bladeplayer]

Depends on how close it was and how serious the comp was , normally wouldnt bother , rock up . play it to what i can see and by the directions the G6 give me ..

Not too many comps that are THAT important to me to be honest

 

[Maninblack4612]

I often play a hole on a strange course and then think "I wish I could go back & play that again" The main problem I have is the line to take on doglegs. You can hit a shot that looks perfect and find that it either runs out of fairway or you have take too much of a straight line and finished up in the rough. You can hit a shot & see it in your mind's eye, then watch it pitch many yards away from where you thought it would land. A good course planner helps and a rangefinder / GPS makes it a lot easier but there will always be at least one hole where I think I could play better second time around.

 

[Deleted member 15717]

I used to be in the 'play it beforehand' category, but I then realised that I knew where danger was and would play really conservatively, whereas if I don't know the course at all, I will tend to me more aggressive off the tee etc

 

[palindromicbob]

Not viable either time wise or finacially so don't care. Never really thought about it though. In an ideal world then practice would always be nice but then again I know my home course inside out and doesn't help much. Not ideal if you know the shot to play but can't actually execute it consistenly enough to take advantage of it.

 

[AmandaJR]

If it's a serious club comp then play beforehand - likewise County Champs etc. Otherwise, say a 4BBB, then turn up and play and enjoy the challenge on the day.

My main reason for playing beforehand is predominantly so I understand where the safe misses are!

 

[patricks148]

if asked the same question 5 years ago i would have said, yes a practice round. But in hindsight all the opens i played my first year where first time on the course and usually resulted in a cut.

I think sometimes you can have pre conceived idea's and then what do you do if your plan does not work..?

 

[garyinderry]

Its a no brainer really. Worth about 2 or 3 shots.

Those times you hit driver or wack a blind shot and get away with it not knowing about the dangers are few are far between. They do happen from time to time but you are far better off knowing.