11/30/2015
My thoughts on managing and achieving a low score:
Start by having reasonable expectations. To play great golf, you must be relaxed. Minimize your swing thoughts and strive to play automatic or thought-less golf, this will reduce both stress and tension which are “swing killers”. Hit balls at the range to learn your ball flight for the day, if it has a fade in it, play it. Do not spend the day trying to fix it on the course, “dance with the player you showed up with”.
For example; you are hitting a fade at the range, for the rest of the day, you should not be aiming at right handed pin placements. Your error shot will leave you short-sided with a difficult chip. Aiming at the middle of the green allows an error shot to only improve your placement. On the other hand, aiming at left handed flags allows perfect shots to be perfect and error shots to land in the middle of the green, still leaving par in hand.
Spend some time on the putting green so as not to be surprised on the first green as to how fast or slow they are. Multiple lag putts for speed control and round the world for a feel of the break or grain of the green. Three footers are the most important because the PGA Tour is 99.9% accurate from 3 feet, and only 60% from 6 feet. Reasonable expectations, once again.
Use enough club. At the beginning of your round, shots will not be as long as your “middle of the round” shots and the “end of the round” shots once again can be reduced due to energy levels. Drink and eat snacks to reduce the discrepancies. If we could view the first green a couple of hours into the day, we would see thousands of footsteps in the front of the green and very few in the back. The masses under club, period. Think in terms of what club will not fly the green, so a 95% hit ball and a 92% hit ball may still land on the green vs. relying on hitting a 100% shot every time which again is unreasonable expectations.
Lastly, make par in two of the first three holes. Most rounds are lost in these few holes. Remember to play with your head and not your ego. From the woods play to a favorite club like the hundred yard marker and forget about “going for it”. Accept the bogie but never allow a double. You have to be twice as good to come back from a double. On the other hand hitting out of trouble, to a spot considered your favorite club or shot leaves you in tremendous control over your game vs. the course controlling it. Once again in control of your game offers the chance of hitting it close and one putting, therefore saving par from a difficult position.
