How Healthy Are You?

How to Use Course Management

Course management is a skill and it’s only by gaining experience and actually getting on the golf course that you will develop your ability in this area. We all make mistakes, but you have to learn in order to refrain making the same mistakes in the future and increase your chance to score well.

We all have limitations and its always best to play to the strengths we have.

Positional Play

It may sound logical but always look for the easiest way to the hole. When you are standing on the green, look at the position of the flag. If the flag is on the right edge of the green then coming in from the left side of the fairway will leave the easier shot.

Sometimes the hole can be cut near a bunker or hazard and in this case you would make a shot to the middle of the green. Sometimes the flag is at the top of a slope, in this case you would want to ensure you have the easiest putt and play the ball below the pin.

Try before you start a hole to imagine where you would like your shots to be and play to those positions. We all know it is easier to hit shots from the fairway than the rough.

Hazards

Some holes will present you with hazards that you cannot get over. The sensible play would be to lay up short. Many times, when ‘laying up’ a common error is prefabricated and too much club is used with the result of ending up in the hazard. If you decide to ‘lay up’ then it is best policy to choose a club which will not allow your ball to reach the hazard.

Dog Legs

We all think we can hit further than we actually can and therefore the temptation to cut off ‘as much as possible’ is a real one. In most cases it is better to be wider off the tee than too narrow as this will keep you out of trouble and give a better view.

Recovery Shots

Very often even when we have carefully planned where we would like the ball to be, we find that an ‘escape’ shot of some sort is required. The innocuous option is alway best - it may mean you possibly will drop a shot, but better to drop one than make a triple. Don’t ‘have a go’ unless it doesn’t matter, or you are very confident you can make the shot.

Make sure that when you are in a bunker, you take a club with enough loft to get you out. That is after all the whole point - if by trying to make a long shot you cannot get out of the bunker because you land back in it, then it costs you more shots.

You need to assess your ability and correctly play the course according to make the most of that. Getting that elusive score is what keeps us coming back week after week…………….