Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
Sounds like you may need to approach your game with a little more intent on course management. Play the hole backward in your head. Know where your strengths are and play off the tee to hit those strengths. Don't always blast driver and rely on making the touch shot. Many times you're better off hitting less club off the tee and leaving yourself a full shot into a green. If you carry a laser range finder, use it on every shot. Know where the trouble is, how much you have to carry certain hazards and be concerned about making one shot at a time. Think about how to achieve success. Know when it's time to try and score and when it is time to grind (it's always best to grind).
One of the things I've started doing was to stop pin seeking unless the angle is perfect. When I do go pin seeking I shoot the hazards rather than the pin. Better to know the minimum yardage I need to have than the exact to the pin. It has led to a lot more opportunities to score. If I am not 90% comfortable with the shot I'm looking at going after a pin I'll instead play middle of the green and try to make the longer putt. Better to grind out the par than leave yourself bunker and staring at a bigger number. That's the plan anyways. There are some days none of that works and you just have a bad round, but you need to have a game plan, learn to stick with it, and grind away.
One other thing I would recommend, learn to hit a 3 wood and a long iron (2-4 iron) really well off the tee. If you can hit these straight there aren't many scenarios where you're going to be hurt off the tee unless you make a mental mistake.
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I actually think that course management is my biggest downfall. I played a round a few weeks ago and had never been there before. A guy was helping me out though and just saying "hit a 200 yard club here" or that kind of thing. I had a great round, overall. It dawned on me that I really need a caddy!
I'm not too sure how to best address the course management though. I've resisted the kind of "hit to a spot" sort of strategy and basically just gone to get it as near to the green as possible in regulation. Maybe that would be a way for me to improve things though? I guess my feeling was always that I'd rather be closer to limit the dispersion from being as much of a factor.