Course Management Golf Tip – Back to Front A number of years ago whilst teaching at a driving range it struck me that too many people learn this game the wrong way round. I’m not talking about a right-hander playing leftie, or vice-versa, I’m talking about how our introduction to golf is normally taken from tee to green. Still not with me? Okay, to clarify, here is an example: A former pupil of mine ventured out on to a golf course for his first-ever 18 holes before we had done any work on the business end of his game. He scored 109 gross and told me he was frustrated with his score as it didn’t reflect how well he had hit the ball. He went on to tell me that on at least 6 par 4′s he had been within 40 yards of the pin in 2 but had take an excessive number of shots to complete the hole from this range. I believe too many people make precisely the same mistake, in that they head out to the golf course armed only with a ‘semi-perfected’ full swing and, more significantly, without knowledge of, or a half-sensible technique for pitching, chipping, bunker play and putting. This brings me to an important golf tip … how pressure works its way back to the tee from the putting surface. Imagine you are confident of making at least 75% of four foot putts. Armed with this confidence, when you have missed a green and are faced with a chip shot you know that as long as your chip finishes within four feet of the flag you will likely make par. This will relieve the tension you feel when playing the chip shot (you would feel more pressure if you had to get that chip shot to finish within two feet of the hole). So, now your approach shot to the green doesn’t seem so daunting. If you take this one step further back, when faced with your tee shot you know that even if you miss the fairway, as long as you can hit your second shot to finish somewhere around the green a chip to within four feet will likely result you making par. If your success rate was only 75% on putts from two feet this would pile the pressure on the rest of your game right back to the tee. It’s common sense. Focusing golf practice on your short game relieves pressure on your long game. So, let’s think back to front. Plot your strategy from green to tee. When playing a golf hole for the first time it is impossible to adopt this strategy but on courses you play more than once, one tip is to try the following. After completing a hole, ask yourself: “Would I play the hole differently in terms of strategy if I was to play it again?” Look towards the tee from every green Fig.1 (main Image). Work out where the best possible spot on the fairway would be for you to play your second shot to the green and see if it differs from the spot you had selected from the tee. It might be that you select the same position as you had whilst looking at the hole from the tee (forward) but the view you get from the green looking backwards often gives a different perspective on how the hole should be handled. It is also worthwhile if you are going to play the course again surveying the surrounds of each green to work out where the easiest chip shot would be if your approach misses the green. This knowledge will help you next time around.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 23:59:32 +0000
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