Course Management: Part 2

“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.” - Arnold Palmer

Having played the game competitively since freshman year of high school, it has been really cool to see the learning curves play out in phases. During my time at LFHS, I felt like it was all very simple. I didn’t have too many swing thoughts over the ball, I was playing with my friends, sleeping in the same bed every night, I realized that playing badly wasn’t the end of the world. 

As I move into college competition, there seems to be a continuous battle to make the game more complicated than it should be. Now I sometimes find myself looking at numbers like low point and spin rate on Trackman, all while studying for a midterm exam while just finishing 36 holes of golf in New Jersey. In the end, we can all make the game as complicated as we want, there is plenty of room for that. Yet, when I am playing at my best, simplicity is at its centerpiece.  

Deep breaths and one shot at a time. 

In preparation for a tournament, I dissect most holes and ask a simple question: “On this hole, what is the easiest way to make par?” I like to do this from looking at the hole backwards. 

First, seeing where to miss around the greens that lead to an easy up and down. Next, what part of the fairway (or which side to miss the fairway) that leads to an easier iron shot, and then a specific target off the tee to set up the angle. 

A lot of time making par is just the sum of a bunch of average shots and one decent shot. Let’s take a straight par 4, for example, with bunkers on one side and trees on the other. I aim down the middle and just flare my driver a little bit into the trees. From those trees I hit a punch shot to about 5 yards short of the green in the rough. I then hit that chip to about eight feet and hole the putt. Nothing about that sequence of events is impressive or impossible. 

The key to making par is to keep the ball in front of you. Having a consistent flight with the driver and most importantly a solid putter, will keep you in the game. 

When I feel like I am in control of my game, I have a simple formula.

Step 1: Hit the fairway

Step 2: Attack flag if it suits you and how you are feeling

Step 3: Make a good stroke and hopefully it’s an easy birdie. 

Now, of course, this plan can change, and rarely goes just this way. Yet, the plan and visualization should be this three step process.
If I hit it in the fairway and the second shot doesn’t necessarily suit my eye, I will aim my target more towards the middle of the green.
If I am in the rough or in trouble, I want to make sure I give myself a solid look at par. This comes in the form of playing to the front edge of the green, which is usually the easiest place to chip from. This formula eliminates silly doubles and makes pars easier to come by.