Golf Course Management - Tips

Golf Course Management - The Toughest Outlook in Golf. 

Lets dissect the words Golf Course Management.

Golf Course - A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick ("pin") and hole ("cup"), all designed for the game of golf.

Management - Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of coordinating the efforts of people to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively.

With the two definitions above you have to take a look at Managing your round at the golf course.  You have to establish goals of your round with objectives to accomplish what you are seeking your outcome to become.

Below are tips on how to better course manage and get your score lower.

Goal/Objectives -

• Final Score
• Plan of attack
• Hole by hole objective
• Execution

1. Determine the Final Score Goal
2. Plan of attack
• Evaluate the Course
• course layout
• yardage
• rough
• elevation differences
• Wind direction and speed
3. Hole by Hole objective
• Plan each shot per hole (work from pin back)
• Is green sloped, flat, undulating
• determine spot you need to hit green with approach shot allowing position needed for optimal chance at 1 putting.
• Determine yardage you desire to hit to spot determined on green
• Distance from Tee area to determined yardage of approach shot (this will determine club you will want to hit from Tee area
4. Execution
• Be Accurate
• Avoid the common mistake of trying to hit the ball as far as you can every time off of the tee on par fours and fives at the expense of accuracy.  The benefit of having a shorter approach shot to a green is more often than not lost one the ball rolls out of bounds or into a hazard because you have tried to hit the ball as far as physically possible  Novices will typically struggle to hit their driver with any degree of accuracy ad until the club is mastered the lower-numbered woods should be used off the tee to keep the ball in the fairway and give the player a realistic shot at hitting the green.
• Have Targets
• Try to have a tangible target for every shot you take on the golf course.  Rather than hitting the ball towards the green and hoping it lands somewhere that gives you a decent chance at an approach, you need to plan for the hole.  Once you have become acquainted with the course and have a good concept of where it is advantageous to be on each of its holes, pick out targets n the background to aim for.  Know where the hazards are, especially the "blind" ones that cannot be seen from the fairway, and have targets chosen that can keep you clear of them  One of the key aspects of golf course management is hitting shots that make your next shot less difficult.  Rather than try to hit at a flagstick on a green, it is sometimes advisable to hit to a spot that gives you an uphill putt at the hold or keeps the ball away from a bunker.  Having a target in mind during a shot can help you to achieve these goals.
• Play Intelligently
• Playing smart and controlling your emotions are a large part of good golf course management.  By not abandoning a game plan and focusing on each shot, you can become a consistent player.  Many golfers make the error of thinking about upcoming shots and lose their concentration on the shot about to be played, causing a poor result  The mistake then gets compounded when he tries to recover with a shot that is well beyond his ability  It is important to realize your limitations, understand which clubs you have a good feel for and which you need to work on, and then use this knowledge on the course.  Realize that you cannot duplicate the shots that you have seen professionals make on television and don't let your ego dictate your next move on the course.

By using the above information you should be able to better understand not only your game and limitations but be able to manage the course to allow you to score better than you ever have.

Until next time,  by learning your limitations, staying within yourself, and checking your ego at the door you will have a lot of fun on the course....

 

Focus - Why it is Important in Golf

Focus.  A five letter word that means a lot in golf.  Especially during your game and practice.  How many of you loose focus while practicing, playing a round, or in a tournament atmosphere?

I know I have lost my share of focus not only when practicing, but during crucial times in tournaments.

Lets look at the definition of Focus.

Focus (cognitive process), selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things.  In golf terms, distractions outside your control such as noise from the click of a camera, sneezing, coughing, talking, etc. while you are trying to hit your shot.  Also, distraction of your mind, because of anxiety, pressure, scenery, etc.

Lets look at the third round of the US Open that just finished.  There was several golfers that missed a 3 foot but and then missed the putt coming back.   Those are generally missed because of loss of focus.  The play of Phil Mickelson today was in focus.  He maintained his concentration, because he stayed within himself on the course with great focus.  If he can keep that same focus tomorrow he should be able to win his first US OPEN.  His loss of focus in previous opens has caused him to have 5 runner-up finishes in the US OPEN.  I for one hope he wins tomorrow, he deserves it.

Now to get this post back on track since I lost focus talking about Phil. 

A lot of golfers think focus is just needed when playing the round on the weekend, or during tournaments.  I think that it is important then, but it is definitely needed during practice.  That is where you learn the golf technique, your repeat swing, and your routine you need on the golf course.  If you work on your focus during practice, then your focus will improve during your golf rounds.

Here are some tips to help you focus:

• Clear your mind from any mental stresses.  Problems and issues at the office or at home should be set aside for a while.  If possible, adopt a happy and positive disposition during the game.  That would help you attain, maintain and improve concentration
• Aim big.  Aim to always hit the ball at the right speed, at the right angle and toward the right direction.  Direction and goal is the name of the game and you should develop that self discipline of attaining those goals.
• Be silent and concentrate.  Focus on the ball, the hole and how you hold that golf club.  Before swinging, make sure your mind is occupied with nothing else except successfully landing that ball into where it should be, where it belongs, the hole.

By applying the tips above it will help you obtain more focus in your golf practice and game.  With more focus you should be able to lower your score and possibly take the bets during the $2 Nassau on the weekend.

Comments are always welcome on any of my posts.  You can follow my blog by subscribing or following by email.

Until next time, focus on what you are doing and it might just get done.......

Would You Like to Stop the Blow-Up Holes on the Golf Course - Keeping your Score Lower

Would you Like to stop those blow up holes during a 18 hole round of golf?

How often do you think you hit your 3 wood for your second shot during the course of the round?  Most of the golfers would answer about 4.  That is normally done on the par 5's.

Why is it that you use the 3 wood on par fives for your second shot.  Is it because you want to go for the gusto and get on the green in 2 and try for that infamous eagle? 

The percentages of everyday golfers that probably use the 3 wood for second shots on part 5's is about 80%.  The Tour Players are not even close to that percentage. 

So if the Tour Players are not using the 3 wood for second shots why do you think you should be.  I know, you think because the Tour Players hit the ball farther on their drives they have shorter distances into the green.  Well, they are actually playing par 5's from a lot farther back than you - usually 575 yards or so - so things average out.

I think this is an important question to ask since we're always looking for ways to help you get rid of the blow-up hole.  I think and probably know that the one thing holding the average golfer from having a good round is the occasional blow-up hole.

So, how many of you start your rounds off hitting the ball well and you have a good score up to the 7th or 8th hole then you have that blow-up hole. How did that happen?  Your playing well and then you have the infamous 8 or 9 on the par 5 and you end up having the same score you normally post after 9 holes.  Then you do it again on the back nine.  You end up instead of having the good score of 85 you end up with the 95.  Or you are working on getting that 99 to break 100 and end up with a 108.

After the round you are all sitting in the club house having a drink and you talk about if only I didn't have those blow-up holes, I would of had a good round.

Let me ask you a few questions.  How many blow up holes were caused by you hitting a 5 iron or 7 iron.  How many blow-up holes have been caused by your 3 wood?  Has your 3 wood caused more or less Blow Up Holes than your 5 or 7 iron?

I am not saying it is always caused by the 3 wood.  There are some players that would say they had more caused by 5 iron than 3 wood.  That is possible, but I would like to be there and see it to believe it.

Now what causes most blow-up holes?  Is it a bad drive into the trees automatically causing you to get an 8 on a par 5?  No, not at all.

This last weekend, I was playing a round with one of my friends and he hit a nice fade off the tee box down the right side of the fairway only to get a big hop and ran him right into the trees.  He was about 260 yards from center of the green with no shot.  He punched out leaving him 240 yards from the green lying 2.

What would you do from here. 

I think that if you would've gone on to make an 8 or 9 on the hole the bad drive would've had very little to do with the reason you made that score.  I think that pulling out the 3 wood trying to get as close to the green as possible for your 3rd shot - topping the shot because you swung to hard leaving your self still 200 yard out, hitting your 4th shot with a 3 iron only to chunk it leaving your 5th shot 150 yards out hitting your 7 iron into the green side bunker would of been more of the cause for the Blow-Up hole than your drive did.

How many of you have been there and done that!

So what we are truly looking at when we talk about Blow-Up Holes is mismanagement of the course. And, a little bit of ego.

Let's look at this hole again.  Hit your drive into the woods on the right, punch out leaving you 240 yards to the hole for your third shot.  Hit a 5 iron about 180 yards leaving you 80 yard to the pin for your 4th shot.  Hitting your wedge on to the green within 20 feet and making the putt for a par. 

You know what, that makes it look simple.  Even if you didn't make the putt - the potential for a blow-up hole was taken away - you still wind up with a bogey which still won't hurt your score to much.

Blow-up holes don't happen because of bad tee shots.  They happen because you are not playing to your strengths.  They happen because you are playing to your weaknesses and not thinking of course management. 

Players play to their strengths so they don't have to play to their weaknesses.

When was the last time you were a Player.

Until next time, plan out your 18 hole game before you start, keep your cool, and play to your strengths.....

Understanding What You Need to Practice

I was talking to a fellow golfer the other day and he asked the question what he should practice the most on his driver or another part of the game.  I asked him why he thought it was important to practice with his driver.  He stated, so he could have more accuracy and keep the ball in the fairway to give him a chance to get to the green better.

I asked him how many drives do you hit in a round.  He thought about it and stated 18.  I explained to him that in reality you only hit 14 drives.  He asked, what happened to the other 4 drives.  I stated that those are par threes.  Most par threes for average golfers are only 150 yards or shorter, therefore, you wouldn't hit a driver.   He stated he never thought of that.

Then I got into percentages.  I stated that the higher percentage of practice should be based the higher percentage of shots that will be taken in the course of a round of golf. 

If par is 72 and you only hit 14 drives that is only 19% of your score.  Even if you hit 18 drives that is still only 25% of your score.  Putting is the highest percentage of your score in golf.  In 18 holes of golf the par for putting is 36, which is 50% of your score.   The remainder of your score after the tee shot is 25-31% depending on the number of drives you consider as 14 or 18.  So what is your area you want to practice most, drives or putts. 

With the information in previous paragraph, you want to spend most of your time on putting, then chipping and pitching and working on 150 yards in which will be at least 75% of your scoring.  Then the remainder of the practice you want to work on is your swing technique, tempo and yardage control.  The least amount of time should be spent on your driver. 

In the mathematical scheme of things, Drives are the only constant in the game.  You see, there only 14-18 holes to which you would probably hit your driver.  So you will not hit less than 14 and no more than 14 shots with your driver (not including par threes).  That is the only constant in the game.  You cannot go up or down it stays 14.  The rest of the game is what truly determines your score.  If you had a 400 yard hole and you hit a 1 iron 200 yards that gives you 200 yards left and you hit the 1 iron again.  You will either be on the green or close to the green depending on your accuracy.  So you have to either chip close and one putt or two putt for a par.  Any additional strokes is what makes your score add above par. 

With all this being stated above it comes down to the game of golf is a mathematical percentage that determines how close your score will be to par.  Mathematics determines what you need to work on and how you need to play the game.  The old saying of 10% skill and 90% mental is truly not an understatement.

I know that is a lot of math, but, I just wanted to get the point across that golfers should spend most of their time putting, chipping, and working on 150 yards and less into the green. 

The other practice should be on swing technique, tempo, and balance. Not smacking the driver over and over on the practice range. 

Until next time, go to the range and practice area with a purpose and your score on the course will get better........

Rainy Days Cont'd - Things To Do Indoors 2. Putting

The Second area of interest you can do indoor I want to cover is putting.

Putting you can do just about anywhere.  Putting is 50% of a par 72 score.  Think about it, if you consider two putts a hole per round a par for the greens, then you have a total of 36 strokes which is half of the par of 72.  Therefore, 50% of your game is putting.

With that being stated you want to practice putting as often as possible.  There are many drills out there that you can work on so I will just cover a couple that you can do in your living room.  I recommend that you use carpet that isn't shaggy, a rug that is relatively smooth, a smooth linoleum floor, or a putting pad when practicing indoors.

Drill one working on tempo and speed control:

•  Place a marker (size of quarter) on the floor of your living room carpet, rug (if smooth enough to simulate a putting green), or putting pad.
• Place another marker 1 foot behind first marker
• Place ball at least 6-8 feet away from the marker.
• Stroke ball attempting to roll over first marker while not letting it roll past second marker.

Drill two consistent short putts:

• Place marker on carpet.
• Place ball 2-3 feet away from marker.
• Stroke ball to just go over marker with firm stroke stopping just past marker.

This drill will build confidence on short putts with a firm, consistent stroke so when playing in that $2 Nassau you won't miss the much needed putt.

These drills are good to practice on putting green at any range or golf course.   Both will help in building confidence with your putting game.

There is no time limit to practicing putting either indoors or outdoors.  Since it is 50% of your score you want to spend as much time practicing as possible no matter how good you think you get.

Next we will work on the third thing you can do indoors - Practicing swing tempo and technique.

Until then keep your head down and listen for the putt to drop in the hole instead of looking for it......