How to Improve Your Course Management
What is course management? To keep it simple, all it really means is hit it here and don’t hit it there! Course management for all levels is planning your shots to minimize your misses. No one plays perfect golf and the best players learn to avoid trouble and play to their strengths.
Accuracy –
One of the most common mistakes that golfers make is to sacrifice the accuracy of a tee shot for distance. On par four and five holes, many players will typically try to drive the ball as far as they can so that their approach shot to the green is shorter. However, without accounting for whatever hazards may be out on the fairway, they get in trouble when their ball slices out of bounds, rolls into a stream or lands squarely in a sand trap. Rather than attempt to power the golf ball over trouble, it is advisable to hit with a lower club and put the ball where it not only avoids a hazard but also gives you a good shot at the green. Being accurate is far more important than hitting the ball far.
Bail Out Spot –
Know your shot pattern. Always try to move the ball in a direction either left to right or right to left. Pick a “Bail Out Spot”. This is a location away from trouble that is your straight shot. If you have normally draw the ball then your bail out shot would be right of your target. Aim at a target so if you hit the ball straight it won’t be in trouble and then draw the ball back to your target. If a draw is the only shot you have then sometimes this will mean aiming at the flag and drawing the ball away from the flag. Your “Bail Out Spot is actually the flag. For those of you who only fade the ball then the reverse is the case.
Target –
Having a target on every shot is important. Too often a golfer will simply step up to a shot and try to hit it in the general direction of the green. The player who tries to hit each shot to a specific spot does so because he has a plan for the hole. They attempt to minimize their chances of finding the ball unplayable by trying to hit it to an area where there are no hazards. This makes it so that the percentages are with the player and not the golf course. ??Always play to your strength.
Mental Aspects –
The mental aspect of golf figures heavily into managing the course. A player needs to concentrate on the shot they have in front of them rather than be thinking about the next shot after that. Another important mental part of course management is staying calm when a mistake is made and not compounding it by trying to hit a “HERO SHOT” that is beyond the player’s ability. If a bad shot is made, the player needs to focus on not being a HERO and making things worse. Hero shots should only be attempted if you are coming down the stretch trying to win a tournament or a match.
Click on the links below to see all of the “At Home On The Range: Series”
Stack & Tilt DVD Series: Inside Look
How Do You Handle Playing Poorly?
Clear For Take-Off: Setup Routine for Success
48 Ball Drill: (4 shots x 3 clubs x 4 rounds)
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