THE PRE-GAME PLANNING
It’s important to have a plan before the round. If this is the first time you are playing the course, take a few minutes to look at the score card and figure out how you want to play the course. Normally, I look at the score card; do some math with the distances to each hole based on the handicap of them. Since we know that a perfect game is a tale, it’s clear that you WILL NOT birdie every hole in the course so; it’s a good practice to pay attention to the handicap of each hole.
The reason I say this is because by looking at the handicap of each hole, you can have an idea of how much to push your game and be aggressive. For instance let’s say that hole #8 par 4 360 yards is a handicap 2 in the score card. It’s not a long par 4 and if you are a player who can hit the ball a long way of tee perhaps you can go ahead and do it but, odds are that if the handicap of this particular hole is so low, a long drive of the tee is probably not a very good idea. In this particular case, it probably would be the best if you lay up the ball for a nice and save second shot to the green, especially if there is a challenging hazard in the range of 200 yards of the tee block. First the player should be conscious of the distance he can hit with each one of the clubs in his bag and then choose the ones that will give him the best opportunity to walk away with par. Play for par, not for birdies in the low handicap holes. The reason for this is that in my opinion, doesn’t make much sense take the risk if you don’t have to, and why have a possibility of double bogey if you can have par. Par is good! Double bogey is bad!!
In other words, if the handicap of the hole is 9 or below, I would suggest you on your planning to work the game in a more conservative way rather than aggressive, leave the trials for birdies more to the par 3’s and par 5’s or the high handicap holes. It’s all a matter of the way you see the game, good professionals would shot perhaps between 8 or 6 under par in a good day, then why try to have birdies in difficult holes if even pros don’t make them most of the time in more than 9 holes? At the beginning of this book I mentioned that most of the 18 holes golf courses would probably have 4 par 3’s and 4 par 5’s holes and if you can birdie them, there’s your 6 or 8 under par. All the other par 4’s if you play conservative you may be able to par them all. I believe that’s more realistic than thinking that you may birdie them all. I want you to understand though, that I’m not trying to be negative or to inhibit your skills but in the end what counts is the score you write down, right?! After all, if you are doing well on the par 4’s, there is a very good chance that you will birdie some of them and then the game becomes even easier when it comes to par 3’s and 5’s because you don’t feel the need to be so aggressive and you DEFINITELY will start playing a smart game. So, the principles for the pre-game are:
a. Be aware of the distance you can hit with each club
b. Consider the handicap of each hole before you start the round
c. Design a quick (but effective) plan that doesn’t require too much effort from you to execute.
d. Choose playing conservative over aggressive on the low handicap holes
e. Stick to the plan!
Perhaps, principle e (stick to the plan), is probably the most difficult to execute but, I would suggest that you educate yourself to follow it the best you can to have a good final result. One thing to remember when putting your plan together is: DO NOT lie to yourself, know where you abilities allow you to be, in other words, don’t consider what your friends will be thinking about your skills when using this or that particular club. If Zach can hit 150 yards with his 8 iron and you have to use iron 3, my suggestion is: use iron 3! Get the job done within the skills you know you have and not the ones you think you have. This is a crucial part of the planning; don’t throw the chance to be honest to yourself away, start a good relationship with you BEFORE the game starts. This minimizes the possibility of being frustrated with your skills because you are using what you actually have and doing the best with them.
This is a golfer and not just a guy who plays golf!
The reason I say this is because by looking at the handicap of each hole, you can have an idea of how much to push your game and be aggressive. For instance let’s say that hole #8 par 4 360 yards is a handicap 2 in the score card. It’s not a long par 4 and if you are a player who can hit the ball a long way of tee perhaps you can go ahead and do it but, odds are that if the handicap of this particular hole is so low, a long drive of the tee is probably not a very good idea. In this particular case, it probably would be the best if you lay up the ball for a nice and save second shot to the green, especially if there is a challenging hazard in the range of 200 yards of the tee block. First the player should be conscious of the distance he can hit with each one of the clubs in his bag and then choose the ones that will give him the best opportunity to walk away with par. Play for par, not for birdies in the low handicap holes. The reason for this is that in my opinion, doesn’t make much sense take the risk if you don’t have to, and why have a possibility of double bogey if you can have par. Par is good! Double bogey is bad!!
In other words, if the handicap of the hole is 9 or below, I would suggest you on your planning to work the game in a more conservative way rather than aggressive, leave the trials for birdies more to the par 3’s and par 5’s or the high handicap holes. It’s all a matter of the way you see the game, good professionals would shot perhaps between 8 or 6 under par in a good day, then why try to have birdies in difficult holes if even pros don’t make them most of the time in more than 9 holes? At the beginning of this book I mentioned that most of the 18 holes golf courses would probably have 4 par 3’s and 4 par 5’s holes and if you can birdie them, there’s your 6 or 8 under par. All the other par 4’s if you play conservative you may be able to par them all. I believe that’s more realistic than thinking that you may birdie them all. I want you to understand though, that I’m not trying to be negative or to inhibit your skills but in the end what counts is the score you write down, right?! After all, if you are doing well on the par 4’s, there is a very good chance that you will birdie some of them and then the game becomes even easier when it comes to par 3’s and 5’s because you don’t feel the need to be so aggressive and you DEFINITELY will start playing a smart game. So, the principles for the pre-game are:
a. Be aware of the distance you can hit with each club
b. Consider the handicap of each hole before you start the round
c. Design a quick (but effective) plan that doesn’t require too much effort from you to execute.
d. Choose playing conservative over aggressive on the low handicap holes
e. Stick to the plan!
Perhaps, principle e (stick to the plan), is probably the most difficult to execute but, I would suggest that you educate yourself to follow it the best you can to have a good final result. One thing to remember when putting your plan together is: DO NOT lie to yourself, know where you abilities allow you to be, in other words, don’t consider what your friends will be thinking about your skills when using this or that particular club. If Zach can hit 150 yards with his 8 iron and you have to use iron 3, my suggestion is: use iron 3! Get the job done within the skills you know you have and not the ones you think you have. This is a crucial part of the planning; don’t throw the chance to be honest to yourself away, start a good relationship with you BEFORE the game starts. This minimizes the possibility of being frustrated with your skills because you are using what you actually have and doing the best with them.
This is a golfer and not just a guy who plays golf!