Shave Strokes Off Your Game with Course Strategy

Most golfers think that the only way to improve their golf game is to “work on their swing”. What if I told you that there are many ways Would you be interested in learning more about this technique?

Most recreational golfers could improve simply by plotting a strategy for their round which would include pitting their strengths against the course’s weaknesses. It may sound simple, but it’s difficult to put into practice on the course. So here are a few examples of how you can improve your strategy.

We have a golfer who is a 15 handicap and he plays once a week and feels very confident from tee to green. However his nemesis is the sand trap. Despite a new sand wedge and a couple of hours in the practice bunker he knows that his chances of getting the ball out of the sand and on the green in one shot are remote. Let’s call him “Bunker Barney”.

Barney is 150 yards from the flag and the pin is in the front of the green tucked behind a menacing pot bunker. The 8 iron is Barney’s 150 yard club. What club should Barney choose?

Most golfers would automatically reach for their 8 iron, and “take dead aim”. However if Barney were to play with sound course strategy, he would take his 7 iron and aim for the middle back of the green leaving himself a straight forward two putt for par. Most people would be afraid of going over the green, but Barney knows that his 7 iron goes a maximum of 165 yards. If he hits his best shot he has a 45 foot putt for birdie, and he also knows that if he mishits the 7 iron it will wind up pin high and in almost no circumstance will the dreaded bunker be in play.

On the other hand if he chooses the 8 iron, it will require a near perfect strike to get the ball to the flag. The slightest miss hit results in his ball landing in the sand trap, which brings a big number into play.

We have a golfer who is a 10 handicap, he plays every weekend and practices diligently, but no matter how much energy he expends he always seems to struggle with his driving accuracy. His wild tee shots often make it impossible for him to reach the green in regulation. We will call him “Wild Willie”.

Willie is on a long par 4 that requires two of his better shots to reach the green in regulation. The fairway looks quite wide from the tee but there are some fairway bunkers and long rough that start at 230 yards from the tee and end at 260 yards from the tee. What shot should Willie choose from the tee?

Most golfers will just reach for the driver because it is a long hole and the fairway looks relatively wide. However, in his quest to play golf with sound strategy Willie has learned how far he can hit every club in the air. If he can carry his driver 260 yards 8 out of 10 times Willie’s best play is to take out the driver and to challenge the bunkers so that he will have a short iron approach into this difficult hole. (Unless your drives regularly break the 300 yard barrier it is unlikely that you can carry the ball 260 yards.) On the other hand, if a 300 yard drive is out of range Willie’s best play is to play a 200 yard tee shot well short of the trouble into the wide part of the fairway. He can then play for the green in 3 shots hoping to make par with his putter and wedge.

We have a 20 handicap golfer who plays twice a month and has little time for practice or play. This limited time to work on his swing results in a consistent left to right curve on his ball. His propensity to hit the banana ball has earned him the nickname, “Slicing Steve”.

Steve is on a comfortable length par 5 and is confident that he can reach the green easily in regulation. As he analyzes the situation from the tee Steve notes that there is light rough up the left hand side of the fairway and a lateral water hazard up the right hand side. Where should Steve aim his tee shot?

Most golfers would aim “down the middle” and try and hit the ball straight hoping to keep the water out of play. However Steve knows that his weakness is the slice and that the hole’s strength is the water hazard on the right hand side. He also knows that it is foolish to pit his weakness against the hole’s strength.

So Steve aims his tee shot to land in the rough on the left side of the fairway. In this case his normal slice will result in a second shot from the fairway, while a straight ball will result in a second shot from the rough but he knows that he can still reach the green in regulation from the rough. Since most fairways are at least 40 yards wide, if Steve aims 10 yards to the left of the fairway, it would take a 50 yard slice to get the ball to the water, and a shot with that much curve is rare, even for Steve.

The keys to playing with great strategy are to know your strengths and weaknesses and to pit your strengths against the course’s weaknesses. How can you determine what your strengths and weaknesses are? It’s simple, track your progress.

In order to track your progress I recommend that you try Golf IQ Course Logix. Course Logix is a revolutionary software program that allows you to track all of your critical statistics and compare your skills to your peers and to PGA Tour pros.

Course Logix gives you a true understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. Now you can improve your strategy and your score will go down without any more time on the driving range.