How Should I Adjust My Game When Playing Shorter Courses? (Video) - by Pete Styles
How Should I Adjust My Game When Playing Shorter Courses? (Video) - by Pete Styles

How can you adjust your game when you are playing shorter golf courses? This is something that’s becoming quite relevant in terms of the question now because, it’s judged now that a golf course can’t be a championship golf course or can’t be a fantastic golf unless it’s ridiculously long. So the 7-7-1/2 1000 yards long. And that’s just because with the modern equipment and the modern golf ball, balls and drivers are hitting the ball far further. So golfers think a good course has to be over 7000 yards long, which is a real shame because there is a lot of slightly older golf courses, but real gems of golf courses that are quite short. Maybe 6000 yards, some are even five and half thousand yards long, and some people presume that’s not a decent fantastic golf anymore.

But let me tell you it really is, and your game would develop really nicely if you played some of those shorter courses. They make you think a little bit differently. You can adapt your strategy, and adapt your game plan to play those shorter golf courses, plus a little bit more emphasis on your short games as well, rather than just bum and drive at 280 off the tee. It’s helping you focus a little bit more on the course management, the position you’ll play. So you might start using your driver a little bit less. You might start hitting your hybrids a little bit more from the tee. It will help you focus on your course management so rather than just bumming it straight to the green. Do you lay up and play to the side so that gives you a better angle into the flag? So it’s making you think course management and club selection is a little bit more important in your strategy. Then when you’re up and around the green it’s going to be a real focus on your short game. You’ll probably have quite a few little field, let’s say sub-100 yard shorts going into greens for your second shots, rather than being stood back miles away with a 5 iron. If you’re 180 yards away, you probably only got one club that goes that far. But if you’re 60-70 yards away, lots of different clubs are going to hit that shot, whether you toss it high up onto the green with a log wedge, or you chase in low with a running 9 iron or something like that. So around the green on those shorter golf courses, you can have a little bit more fun, because there is lot of more decisions to be made. And it’s a real shame if these slightly older, slightly shorter golf courses are kind of wiped out of people’s memories, “Oh that’s not a good course because it’s too short”. Get out that place in shorter golf courses, challenge yourself. Golf isn’t all about hitting the big ball. Playing the shorter golf courses help improve your course management and your short game. 2014-05-08

How can you adjust your game when you are playing shorter golf courses? This is something that’s becoming quite relevant in terms of the question now because, it’s judged now that a golf course can’t be a championship golf course or can’t be a fantastic golf unless it’s ridiculously long. So the 7-7-1/2 1000 yards long. And that’s just because with the modern equipment and the modern golf ball, balls and drivers are hitting the ball far further. So golfers think a good course has to be over 7000 yards long, which is a real shame because there is a lot of slightly older golf courses, but real gems of golf courses that are quite short. Maybe 6000 yards, some are even five and half thousand yards long, and some people presume that’s not a decent fantastic golf anymore.

But let me tell you it really is, and your game would develop really nicely if you played some of those shorter courses. They make you think a little bit differently. You can adapt your strategy, and adapt your game plan to play those shorter golf courses, plus a little bit more emphasis on your short games as well, rather than just bum and drive at 280 off the tee. It’s helping you focus a little bit more on the course management, the position you’ll play. So you might start using your driver a little bit less. You might start hitting your hybrids a little bit more from the tee. It will help you focus on your course management so rather than just bumming it straight to the green. Do you lay up and play to the side so that gives you a better angle into the flag?

So it’s making you think course management and club selection is a little bit more important in your strategy. Then when you’re up and around the green it’s going to be a real focus on your short game. You’ll probably have quite a few little field, let’s say sub-100 yard shorts going into greens for your second shots, rather than being stood back miles away with a 5 iron. If you’re 180 yards away, you probably only got one club that goes that far. But if you’re 60-70 yards away, lots of different clubs are going to hit that shot, whether you toss it high up onto the green with a log wedge, or you chase in low with a running 9 iron or something like that.

So around the green on those shorter golf courses, you can have a little bit more fun, because there is lot of more decisions to be made. And it’s a real shame if these slightly older, slightly shorter golf courses are kind of wiped out of people’s memories, “Oh that’s not a good course because it’s too short”.

Get out that place in shorter golf courses, challenge yourself. Golf isn’t all about hitting the big ball. Playing the shorter golf courses help improve your course management and your short game.