Ways to learn about course management

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vkurup

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Yesterday played with a friend who plays off scratch. He was taking me around to talk about strategy and course management. We kept scores but they did not matter as I was just watching, talking and learning. Some tips that I learnt..

1) Standing on the P4, he was looking at the position of the flag before choosing his line for the drive
2) Dont use the driver on every hole. He played a 4i on some
3) Look at the wind conditions at the top of the trees. Once the ball was up at that height, the wind does the rest
4) Not all your bad shots are down to you, you might hit a good shot, but the wind might take it elsewhere. So dont beat urself up for the shot, but rather for not taking the situation into account
5) Check for the environment before EVERY shot, not just your tee shot.
etc etc..

It was a good outing. After 16 holes got hit by rain, hail and wind so stopped playing. He was +3 and I was +16 and 5 quid lighter.

I am wondering what is the best way to learn course management? Is it experience based or can you learn it? Good books etc etc..
 
I reckon you are lucky to have a friend to mentor you around the course. I wish I could get some on course tuition, I'm sure it would improve my game. I know I can go to most pros and they will ( for a fee) take me around a course and give good advice, but I'm not too sure how it works if you have a four hour round.

Always great to learn new stuff though
 
What would YOU normally do on the tee?

Good course management comes from experience of a hole, so if you playing a brand new course you have to try and extrapolate as much info as you can from the course planner, yardage, your eyes, tee box graphic, weather etc... then decide on the play.

Normally I would work backwards, check yardage first and work out what gets me to as close to 100 up to 150 yards into the green... check any trouble, bunkers water etc. Check wind direction. Pick club. Hit hit. Go find it.

Another important factor to weigh in is "what is your miss/bad shot?" as you'll want to take this into account and make a solid swing.
 
Sybez said:
What would YOU normally do on the tee?

Good course management comes from experience of a hole, so if you playing a brand new course you have to try and extrapolate as much info as you can from the course planner, yardage, your eyes, tee box graphic, weather etc... then decide on the play.

Normally I would work backwards, check yardage first and work out what gets me to as close to 100 up to 150 yards into the green... check any trouble, bunkers water etc. Check wind direction. Pick club. Hit hit. Go find it.
Click to expand...

I would do the same... put on tee, pick driver, whack. Yesterday I was trying to see how to get to 150y or less with the shortest club.


Sybez said:
Another important factor to weigh in is "what is your miss/bad shot?" as you'll want to take this into account and make a solid swing.
Click to expand...

This was my biggest learning yesterday. If I hit a shot and it resulted in a bad outcome i.e. go left or right rather than intended target then I would just blame myself. He asked me to separate a badly hit shot that resulted in bad outcome and a good shot that resulted in a bad outcome. On the 9th I had 128y to the middle. Pulled out my standard 9i and hit it off the middle, only to see it sail over the green.
Me: *$&%** I am starting to hit longer these days.
He: What did u hit
Me: 9 iron
He: Why
Me: I hit my 9i about 125 and the flag was in the zone.
He: What do you think of the wind. It is a 2 club wind, esp if ur shot is going to hit a high lofted club. BTW, good shot!!! (but wrong choice)
 
Your scratch friend was +3 for 16holes? Did you tell him to look at his course management??!! ;) :)

Good excercise. The real trick is to think clearly on your own when things aren't going as hoped. Seeing the wood for the trees is essential to a decent score then.
 
Robobum said:
Your scratch friend was +3 for 16holes? Did you tell him to look at his course management??!! ;) :)

Good excercise. The real trick is to think clearly on your own when things aren't going as hoped. Seeing the wood for the trees is essential to a decent score then.
Click to expand...

Most of it down to too much muck on the fairway and unreadable greens. He had a few bogies but had a few birdies too.
 
Most good pros plan the way they play the hole from the green back to the tee.

Where do they want to play to on the green? What is the best approach point from the fairway? What is the lowest risk way of getting there?

It helps if you have a better than 50% chance of pulling off the shots needed and can hit a long iron 240 yards.
 
How did you end up losing! He's 3 over handicap with 2 to play, and you were 2 under your handicap ... must have been some blow up holes along the way !
 
BTatHome said:
How did you end up losing! He's 3 over handicap with 2 to play, and you were 2 under your handicap ... must have been some blow up holes along the way !
Click to expand...

Haven't payed him yet. :)

He had given me 8 shots as part of a challenge. I had a 3 doubles and 1 triple. When we were hit by hail, we packed up and did a runner, so did not sign the scores. IMO, 'losing' the 5 quid was worth it.
 
vkurup said:
Haven't payed him yet. :)

He had given me 8 shots as part of a challenge. I had a 3 doubles and 1 triple. When we were hit by hail, we packed up and did a runner, so did not sign the scores. IMO, 'losing' the 5 quid was worth it.
Click to expand...
So he gave you less than half your handicap ... I'd check you still have your watch !
 
If there's a particular hole you struggle with, using Google Earth can help you work out a different way of playing it.
Start from the tee and go back 100-120 yards and see if you have a club that'll get you there from the tee.
Not a foolproof method but it can change the way you look at things.
 
This is the main reason to nail the short game as much as possible, if you have a club you can hit to within 10 feet 80% of the time try to lay up to that distance wherever possible. Also to improve knowing how far you hit your clubs on AVERAGE (not your forum distance). And swing within yourself.

Ive noticed that the best shots I have every struck have been relaxed and confident, my best games have been when I have played to my stregnths and took hazards out of the equation.

Having good course management is no use if you dont know your own game on an AVERAGE day.
 
stevelev said:
Some gems of advice on there, the yhing is its all common sense but we want the shot people will applaud us on instead of the one that gives us more chance of par or better
Click to expand...

Not for me. I prefer seeing people in the bar and have them say "good score last week". Whether that score was from "percentage golf" or hero shots doesn't bother me.
 
stevelev said:
Some gems of advice on there, the yhing is its all common sense but we want the shot people will applaud us on instead of the one that gives us more chance of par or better
Click to expand...

Yep, was going to say pretty much the same thing, base your game on the shots you know you can play not the ones you wish you could play.
 
Course managament = Managing your ego imo.

You need to work out with your golf game in each situation what the likelihood of pulling the shot off is and the risk involved. Just because you have pulled off a miracle 200 yard draw to a pin over a bunker one day doesnt mean you should be trying to recreate that shot eah time your are in that situation.

The other part i would say is the tactical part. If the flag is tucked on left of green then obviously the smart play is to be shooting at that green from the right if possible.
 
Like others have said know your limitations, study the course, where you need to go and play to your handicap. Also if you make a mistake, play the safe shot to avoid making one bad shot 2 or 3.

With regard to playing low handicap players, there is nothing more difficult for a low handicap player to do than beat somebody who has a high handicap and knows how to use it. If you think about it, a stroke index 2 par 5 will give a 20 handicap player 7 shots. That's 1 tee shot, 3 fairway shots and 3 putts. A low handicap player will have to make the green in 3 and sink the ball in 2. Learn to use you handicap properly and it's a very handy weapon.

If you play in role ups some of the best players to go around with are the 50-60+ year old mid handicappers. They can be very difficult to beat because they know their limitations, know where to put the ball and play it safe hitting the ball down the middle every time.

The other thing that can help with course management is a go to club, most of us have one. The one you know you can cream it down the middle with from the fairway or light rough. Mine is a 5 hybrid although it plays much longer. Others use a 4 hybrid, some a 7 wood but get to know the club inside out because if you can hit it consistently 170-185 yds, it makes golf a much easier game.
 
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