Course Management

THINK YOUR WAY TO BETTER SCORES

By: Bruce Munch

Head Professional White River Golf Club, Rochester, Vt

Did you know that you can lower your score without ever swinging the club? It is called Course Management and everyone can use some of this. Has this ever happened to you? You hit a poor tee shot on a par four and immediately pull out the three wood to make up for the error. Believe it or not, you have already made two mistakes on this hole although you have only taken one swing. By trying to make up for the poor tee shot with a spectacular second shot, you have brought the possibility for a large number on this hole into play. A better choice would be to lay up to your "go to distance". Don’t know what a "go to distance" is?? Every touring pro has, and every golfer should have a club and distance that they favor and hit with great consistency. It should be a sand wedge or a pitching wedge that you feel confident with at a given distance. Whenever possible lay up to that distance. Better to make a safe and sure bogey than to try for the spectacular par and make a 6 or 7. After your next round, if you had a few bad holes, rethink those holes and see if it might have been bad decisions, combined with errant shots that led to the large numbers.

Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your game are critical to good course management. Many players, usually men, fall into the following trap. They hit a good tee shot on a par five and pull out the three wood because once in their life, they actually hit a ball that far. They hit a decent shot and end up 30 yards short of the green. They arrive at the ball and survey the situation only to realize that they have no clue how to hit a 30 yard shot. They have played right into a weakness in their game. A better choice would have been to hit an iron to their "go to distance" and give them a chance for a confident approach shot. Any time this happens to you during a round, make a mental note to learn the shot that you needed today and didn’t have.

Try this exercise: Number the following golf skills from 1 to 14 with 1 being the strongest part of your game and 14 being the weakest part of your game.

PUTTING, SHORT CHIPS, MID LENGTH CHIPS, LONG CHIPS, SHORT PITCH SHOTS, MID PITCH SHOTS, LONG PITCH SHOTS, GREEN SIDE BUNKER SHOTS, FAIRWAY BUNKER SHOTS, SHORT IRONS, MID IRONS, LONG IRONS, FAIRWAY WOODS, DRIVER. Work on the higher number skills and you will lower your scores.