Wednesday 19th May 2010

On course management

Do you always go after the pin when playing a round of golf?

Having good golf course management is such an important reason a golfer can consistantly scores well. This is one of the key reasons professional golfers are able to make a living on the pro tours. They are able to make the correct decisions in the pressure situations to enable them to score best when its required.

Good on course management is something you can achieve with a little bit of focus and understanding of your surroundings.

Try this for the next couple of rounds you play and see which strategy works out best for you.

On your first round out, go for absolutely everything. What ever the shot requires, like a 3 iron into the green or just a wedge, shoot for the pin on every green no matter if there is a hazard lurking close by.

On the next round of golf play absolutely everything safe. Hit every shot to the safe part of the green away from the pins and the hazards.

Now that you have completed this a number of times take a look at your scoring and see which type of round yeilded the best scores.

By in large it will be the rounds that are more conservative that will turn out to be the best. Taking risks is all well and good if they pay off but when they don’t this is when the golf course will punish your scoring most. Learning when to play safe and when to play for the pins is very important to building a good score.

Always assess factors like:-

* If your ball is lieing in the rough

* Wind direction and strength

* Where the hazards are and what the impact of a missed pin shot could be

* Where the best angle is to approach the green (maybe some treees are guarding the green from one side)

* Look at the entire hole before you tee off. If the fairway is wide up to 230 yards but begins to narrow after that and your a long hitter, it maybe more advisable to tee off with a club which offers you a better chance of landing on the wider section of fairway.

* Golf courses are designed to trick and cause confussion for the golfer. Its like a puzzle that needs to be solved. It’s up to you to manage your game correctly to unlock the puzzle.

Best of luck and I hope this gives you some ideas to help manage your game.