Course Management
Course management is basically how you manage your game around a golf course from your opening tee shot to your final putt. Every golfer is different in their approach to playing golf course. A lot of the way we play will depend on our confidence in our ability to play a shot and in the design of each individual golf hole.
Before you hit every shot, take a few seconds to analyse the shot for example, wind direction, distance to the green, position of the flag on the green, any potential trouble on the hole, bunkers, water, drains etc…The following are just a few of the tactics to consider on the course:
- If the green is very undulating, you want to try and hit your ball to an area on the green that will give you a straight uphill putt. Doing this allows you to make a more aggressive putt towards the hole.
- If there is a bunker in front of the green and the flagstick is on the front portion, you are better taking an extra club and being at the back of the green than being short and in the bunker leaving a near impossible bunker shot.
- If you are on a long par 4 or short par 5, are you better laying up to one of your pitching zones (see short game components section) or taking the risk and going for the green. The design of the hole will pretty much make your mind up for you.
- If the flag is at the back of the green, you definitely do not want to hit your approach over the back of the green as this would leave a very tricky chip and putt.
- If there are run off areas (areas around the green lower than the putting surface) around the green, you definitely do not want to hit your approach shot to one of these areas as again it leaves a very tricky “up and down”
- Many courses are designed to catch your tee shots when you hit driver. Hazards such as drains, ponds and bunkers are placed at the “landing areas”. The correct approach would be to hit a fairway wood and this way you can take the hazards out of play.
