Course Strategy

The best golfers are not only great players, but they are very intelligent. This allows them to make the best decisions when on the course and translates to lower scores. One must put their ego on the back burner and know their limits on the course. 'Playing within yourself' is always good advice but sometimes easier said than done. Here are some tips for good course management:

Know your typical ball flight and account for it when setting up.

If you hit a draw 80% of the time, then make sure you're setting up aimed slightly to the right (for right handers). This gives you the best chance of hitting the fairway. If you favor a fade, then set up slightly to the left. How much you aim left or right obviously depends on how much you tend to draw or fade the ball. If you hit a wicked slice, you might want to aim a whole fairway over to the left in order to bring it back towards your fairway.

Aim away from trouble at all costs.

If there is a pond on the right side of a par 3 and you play a fade, then aim even further left than you usually would if there were no pond. No matter how far left you end up, it will still be better than ending up to the right (in the drink).

Aim at the fat of the green rather than at the pin.

Unless you are a very low handicap player, your goal on approach shots should be to hit the green and give yourself an opportunity to putt, rather than aiming for a pin on the left or right of the green, which will make missing the green more likely.

Favor taking more club rather than less club.

Golfers have a tendency to remember the best shot they've ever hit with a certain club, then use the mental image of that shot when picking a club for a given distance. For example, if you have 150 to the green, don't think about that time you caught the 8 iron flush with a tailwind and hit it 150, rather, think about what you average with that club when you're at the range. 9 times out of 10 choosing more club will get the ball closer to the pin.

Try to leave the ball under the hole whenever possible on pitches and approach shots.

An uphill putt is always more favorable than a downhill putt. The golfer can be much more aggressive on an uphill putt whereas a downhill putt requires a lot of feel and has a much higher chance of shooting past the hole.

Don't try any shots you're not comfortable with

It's great to try big hooks and slices when on the range, but unless you really feel comfortable hitting them, it's better to take your medicine and punch out to the fairway from the woods rather than trying to get too fancy with a big curve ball.

Always think about your next shot.

Golf is a lot like chess in this way. You should always be thinking one or two shots ahead, and thinking about where you would like to hit the next shot. For example, if you're on the tee box on a par 4 and you know there is a giant bunker on the right side of the green, you should try and leave your drive on the left side of the fairway so that your approach shot doesn't have to clear the trap.

Make sure you are aligning yourself correctly.

Too often I see golfers take one look at their target then simply step up to the ball, take a practice swing, then hit. They would benefit greatly by a different approach to aiming: determining their target line, picking an intermediate target close to their ball, setting up their club head so that it's perpendicular to this line, then setting their body line (foot line) parallel to the target line.

Know your limits.

Don't worry about what other people are doing, just trust what you've got and play your own game. We've all made this mistake; you have the 4 iron in your hand but your buddy hits his driver 300 yards down the middle on his tee shot so you feel compelled to take your driver too. Don't do it. Trust your initial instincts and play the shot you had planned on.

I hope these tips help you make better decisions on the course. Remember that every shot matters and try and make the best decision on every shot.