Whats your gameplan?

kid2

kid2

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Just wondering what is everybodys thoughts on the way they approach a round...

Lately iv been trying to leave myself a comfortable distance out from the green to lay up to which usually determines what club i hit off the tee...
This has seen me leave my 3Wood and my driver in the bag on more than a few occasions and it seems to be helping some bit...

I play with a friend the odd time who plays off 4 and things he does have started the rub off....Our other playing partner plays off 12 and just blasts his driver off everything bar the Par 3's and on the shorter par 4's he's only a wedge in...

He has the most unorthodox and uncomfortable looking swipe at the ball that you'll ever see but still manages knock it a good distance...
Mind you he's been off 12 a long time...
Our 4 handicap pal keeps telling me to keep sticking to what im doing that in the long run ill reap the benefits as things will start to fall into place eventually(When )...

So are you a blast it as far as you can guy on the par 4's and 5's hoping it stays in play to get your reward..
Or.....

Do you plot your way around the course to your specific distance confident in the knowledge that you can hit your 7 iron down more accurately.....
Is this the better play?


And i know that weather can play a factor but leave that aside for the moment....
 
I play the shot that is most likely to get me the best result. On our course pin position can make a bog difference to how I play the hole, if you're just blasting drivers off every tee then you're not thinking about it.
 
I used to be a blast and wedge style player but it's getting more common for a 3/5w off the tee and a full shot in from the short stuff. I've also started to stop going for par 5's in two unless I'm close enough for a mid iron approach which is also paying off. Just got to remember that if I'm laying up to a hazard then lay up atleast one club short as I keep playing for the lay up but to long , bugger
 
I used to be a blast and wedge style player but it's getting more common for a 3/5w off the tee and a full shot in from the short stuff. I've also started to stop going for par 5's in two unless I'm close enough for a mid iron approach which is also paying off. Just got to remember that if I'm laying up to a hazard then lay up atleast one club short as I keep playing for the lay up but to long , bugger
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This is where im at Oddsox....
Iv stopped going for our Par 5's in 2 also....I can get there on 2 of them wind helping but thats rare...Its nearly always into me...
Im playing them better going in with my 3rd shot...
My game at the moment is let down by the odd wayward tee shot in every round...Duff's chips fats thins,Im sure most of us can put up with these as we are still in play...But loose one off the tee and its catch up then after that....

I think ill actually stick to playing the course from the green back for the next few months and see what that brings.
 
Having a constant thought of shanking this past year or two I changed down a lot to thinking about distances for second shots. I dont even shank very often but know that half shots are where 99% of them come from for me. I tend to use the 3i a fair bit (5-6 holes per round)
Whether this helps I don't know but my handicap has actually been coming down for the second year in arrow but gave plenty to do before I get back to 6 where I started 5 years ago at this club.
 
I have a pretty good idea where I want to put each shot but I'm prepared to be a bit flexible if I'm not driving well, its into/down wind and where the flag is placed. I try and have a plan on every tee but a lot of time we are going to plans B and C after the drive
 
Depends on how I feel each day I play. Our third is a short par 4 and can get within 40 yards or so if I blast a driver down there, but if I dont feel particularly comfortable with the driver I will hit a 4 iron and leave a fairly longish shot in. On some par 5's I have seen myself hitting a couple of 6 irons from the tee as well but that's a different story :D
 
Get as close as I can, whilst also bearing in mind the risks of being wayward. I'll never lay up to a specific distance just because I prefer it.

For every 20yds away from the hole you are, each 1° (which is very small) error in your line means 1' sideways from the hole even if you get your distance spot on, and that's not taking into account any extra movement from unwanted sidespin at longer distances.
 
I just have to say how much I admire our club champ (the scratch one). He is an absolute model of sense and course management. He uses a 3 iron hybrid off SO many tees and just "deals" with whatever is left, whether it's 50, 100 or 150.
We have a 2 almost-driveable par 4s and everyone apart from him, me (sometimes) and a few others, tries to bosh the ball miles down there. He hits a hybrid to leave 100 ish. I hit a 4 iron to leave about 130-140. He then chooses which quarter of the green to go for. I just go for the green and pray.

I'm looking (right now) at his hole-by-hole scores on masterscoreboard.com. His last 10 rounds are available to see. 2 par 4s x 10 round = 20 holes of golf.

6 birdies, 11 pars, 3 bogeys. Not bad. :)
 
Actually scratch that, just heard that the US open trophy was at our pro shop today (Michael B is his coach) and possibly tomorrow so might give a rub and try to get some inspiration from it and go pin seeking! Haha. Expect a really cheesy photo if it is still there tomorrow.
 
I usually have a look at what hazards are around the 240 yd mark as thats where my drives will be landing. If its clear then the driver will come out , if not then i'll adjust as necessary. I dont have a perfect distance lay up and will hit to the safest spot with whatever club will get it there. ie. if there are bunkers 40 yards short of the green then i'll try and position it well short (just in case I flush it) , or if I know I can clear the hazards then i've no probs knocking it to 20 yds short. Not bothered whether i'm 20 yds short or 100 as long as its on the fairway.
 
Unfortunately with my swing,i have to be prepared to play with the swing i have on the day.No end of times i've been striking the ball well all week,only to turn up sunday with somebody else's swing.If i hit a cut off the first tee,i'll stick with it and aim left,and vice versa if i'm pulling it.
I played the county scratch league finals day a few years ago,i was 5 over after 3 holes and really struggling off the tee.Decided i would leave the driver in the bag and use the 3 wood and 2 iron off the tee.Gameplan then was to leave myself a 7 iron in on the par 4's,lay up on the par 5's,and aim for the middle of the green on the par 3's.
I ended up shooting -3 for the remaining holes and winning best net on the day.Had i continued with the driver,it could have been a 3 figure score.
 
I try to leave myself a 7-9 iron into each hole. If it's not possible then I always play to the safe part of the green so if I miss I have a chance to get it close with my lob wedge. If I stray from this strategy then my score usually suffers.
 
I try and go with a conservative but aggressive strategy if I can play a shot 7 out of 10 I go for it as a general rule.
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Is this not a contradiction?
Click to expand...

I get it. Pick a safe (conservative) route to the hole but commit 100% to the club & shot (aggressive).

You can have a gameplan in yuour head but you do need to be very flexible.
I prefer to have a certain idea or two of how to play every hole then adopt one of them allowing for conditions and the quality of my play at the time.
 
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