Course Management: Part 3

Selecting the right club off the tee. Course Management 101, right? The choice a player makes off the tee is definitely important, but I don’t believe it is as important as some people make it out to be. The game today is turning more into a bomb driver and go find it kind of sport rather than the old, fairways and greens game of old. Sure, fairways are still super important and I pride myself and trying to play conservative to hit a lot of them, but if a player had 80 yards in the the rough versus 150 yards in the fairways, stats would say we should hit it in the rough every time with that big of a yardage gain. 

Speaking of stats, let’s jump into it. In the 2021 PGA Tour season, the average fairway hit percentage was 61%. With that being said, you had guys like Jordan Speith only hitting about half of the fairways, showing it is not always a correlation with low scores, however being in the short grass definitely makes the game a little less stressful.
During our practice rounds on every par 4 and par 5, we spend a couple minutes coming up with a game plan for the desired play off of each tee. We look at the hole backwards, seeing where we want to play into the green, and then from there, hitting a shot off the tee that will put us there. 

Analytical:

Scott Fawcett, the man behind the DECADE system I discussed in the last blog, urges players to always hit driver if there is 60 yards in between hazards/OB stakes. Breaking this down further, if there is a par 4 with water on the left and OB on the right, you would stand on the edge of the water and use your rangefinder and shoot on the OB stakes. If it is more than 60 yards, hit driver. This goes off of the idea that you will only hit your driver so far offline, and that the distance is arguably just as important as the accuracy. 

Emotional:

Let’s say this is a hole that you just despise, or a really short par 4 that if you hit it too close to the green, it leaves you with a really hard angle or less of a chance to hit the green. Here is where I disagree with the DECADE system and urge a player to hit the club that will put them in play. If it is a windy day and your driver isn’t feeling your best, hit an iron or wood out there and go find it. Hitting 2 from 175 yds is a heck of a lot better than hitting 3 from the tee box. 

In summation, make sure you feel comfortable with your play off the tee and visualizer he shot you are trying to execute. Play the one shot shape you know you have so you can eliminate one side of the course. If it is a fairly open tee shot, swing hard! 80 yards in the rough versus 150 yards in the fairway is almost always better. And when in doubt, go to the old trusty shot and put it in play. Choosing something off the tee isn’t rocket science, play the hole backwards. There are a bunch of ways to make birdie!