Tactical Golf   

Playing Smarter Not Harder

By Rick Johnson PGA

After playing this wonderful and fulfilling game for over 35 years with players from all over the world and of all different abilities and backgrounds I think I have learned a few things about how to maximize performance. One thing I notice consistently wrong even among so called “expert” or “experienced” golfers is the lack of care to properly approach the course from a tactical point of view.

Most golfers walk up to the tee box, plant their tee in the ground any place between the markers and proceed to tee-off. Unless playing a par 3, most don’t even take the time to choose the right club and even fewer take the time to choose where on the tee they should play from or where they specifically want to hit the ball. Golfers need to learn to play holes backwards in there minds and take into consideration many variables. Aside form consideration of the distance, wind, landing areas, trouble, elevation changes, club selection, lie, course obstacles, hazards etc. that you should be evaluating on each shot, golfers should also be checking the layout of each hole. Conditions change on a daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal basis. Never take anything for granted no matter how familiar you are with a given course

Start your evaluation process by observing the pin location of upcoming holes while playing the round and asking yourself some questions. Is the hole in the front, middle or back of the green? Is the pin located on the left side, middle or right side of the green? Is the pin near any abnormal circumstances like hills, mounds, bunkers etc? How much room for error do I have if attacking the pin? Is the reward worth the potential risk? And finally, given an average round what are my chances of success? If your chances are not better than 50/50 you should choose an alternate target i.e. like the middle of the green. Once you have chosen a target, play the hole backwards in your mind from that point.

Then ask yourself, wherever my target is located, from what area of the fairway gives me the best angle into that target? Generally if the target is on the right, playing my approach shot from the left side of the hole gives me more room for error and a better chance to attack the flag. This way of playing allows for wider openings to the target with less time over potential bad spots like rough, water or sand. Sometimes we may find it is better to lay up from the tee on a hole to give us a better shot at a pin placement, a full swing as opposed to lesser half or ¾ swing and/or to avoid trouble spots on the course.

Next after you determine the best position from which to approach the green target, you must then plan your tee-shot. If coming in from the left side of the fairway to the green target is best, then you should hit from the right side of the tee. Using such a process tends to limit the amount you might go right and tends to “open up” the area to the left side of the hole. Generally you play from the same side of the tee as those areas you want to avoid on the course and the opposite side of the tee from the side you want to hit toward. Areas to avoid on the course are: bad lies, uneven lies, rough, trees/bushes, obstacles, sand, water hazards, out of bounds or areas where a ball could be come lost. I tried to rank these obstacles based on severity but each golfer must do his own evaluation. When faced by trouble on both sides, hit away from the one that is more penalizing.

Follow these simple recommendations and you should hit more fairways, greens and fewer trouble spots in you round. This process is your first step to becoming a better shot maker. If you have additional topics you would like to see discussed please, write us and let us know. Happy Golfing

  

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