As you might imagine, professional golfers have a long list of course management ideas in mind as they head around the course. There is no substitute for experience, and the experience that top players have on the links is what makes them so capable of shooting great scores. While we can’t simply give you all of the knowledge that is held by a pro golfer, we do want to pass along a few more tips before wrapping up this article.
Trust your instincts. You don’t always have to go ‘by the book’ when it comes to course management. Sure, you should make the smart play most of the time, but there is room for individual feeling and style in golf. Sometimes, you are just going to believe in a particular shot, even though it might not make sense objectively. You need to believe in the shots you play, so value your instincts when you aren’t sure that the typical play will be the right one for you.
Establish a go-to club from the tee. That means you should have a club – other than your driver – which you trust to put the ball in the fairway when necessary. This might be a three wood, a hybrid, or even a long iron. When you find yourself on the tee of a par four that requires accuracy rather than distance, you should immediately know which club you can trust. Developing this kind of relationship with one of your long clubs can go a long way toward helping you hit as many fairways as possible.
Play smart when nervous. Feeling pressure is an inevitable part of playing golf. When you get nervous, it is important to have a plan in place for how you will deal with those nerves. One of the best things you can do is to play it safe with your course management decisions. You usually won’t make your best swings while nervous, so you don’t want to force yourself to hit incredible shots. Pick easy targets with plenty of margin for error and stay about from trouble wherever possible. It takes patience and discipline to play it safe when you are feeling nervous on the course, but this is the best way to go in the end. Attempting to pull off difficult shots while already nervous is only asking for trouble.
Course management is an extremely important part of the game of golf. No matter what sport you are playing, you need a game plan to be successful. Basketball teams use set plays, football teams have extensive playbooks, and on and on. The story is the same in golf. Create a course management strategy that works for your game, and tweak it as necessary as you gain experience. We hope this discussion on course management in professional golf will help you make smarter choices during your next trip out onto the links. Good luck!
