# Play smart to score better



## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

I know a lot of people who just bang away at the ball, with their drivers every time. Even though there is a creek at their average driver distance..and of course, their ball goes into the creek, and they never recover from it.

Instead of finding yourself doing this, know your distances, and your strengths! If you are good at the 200 yard, or the 100 yard mark...then club down off the tee, and lay it up. Put yourself in position to easily clear that creek, and have a good shot at Par.

You don't always have to go for it..Just because you can hit the ball long, doesn't necessaily mean you should. Going for it will do nothing but cost you strokes, and shoot high scores. Aiming for a spot 230 yards away, is much easier than aiming for a spot 300 yards away. Your margin of error is way less at longer distances, especially when it requires you to hit a perfect shot.. Next time you go to the course..try this: On holes that have hazards, narrow fairways, or bends, go down at least 1 club, and play that. What this will do, is eliminate your need for distance, and force you to focus more on your next shot, before you get there. That is key to low scores. Being able to put that first shot in a good position for a nice second shot. If you put yourself in a bad positon every time, because you always play the driver, then what good is anything else? Hard to shoot Par when your stuck behind a tree, OB.

Learn to read how the course designers intended people to play the hole. If you see a hole that you think the smart play is a fade..then try to play the fade, if you can. You know these holes.. a slight bend 200 yards out, low trees, good visibility. All you have to do is put the ball in the right spot. Don't try to follow the bend the whole way, and then try to make your ball stop 20 yards short of the green..that is not smart, that is risky. Instead aim for just past the bend. That gives you room for any small errors you may make. If that means using a 3 iron off the tee, then do that. Reading the holes, is as smart to learn, as anything else. Your next shot will be in a much better place, and you will start seeing your self making more Pars, and a few Birdies. This goes especially for long Par 5s, that have a dogleg. Most of the time, these holes have high trees, and little, to no green visibility..do you really think the smart play is to drive over the trees? I doubt it..whats happens there nearly everytime, is you hit something, and your ball ends up behind a tree, and now your shot at Par is gone. Instead go straight down the fairway, and try to roll your ball past that bend. That gives you a straight shot to the green, and a shot at Eagle. However, this won't always be the case..sometimes the holes are just to long to reach the green in two. If this is the case, then your goal should be to reach the green in one to two more strokes. Possibly putting for Birdie. Be patient, and wait until you actually have a feasible shot at the green. Don't play the blind shots..they always end up bad.


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## cbwheeler (Apr 9, 2007)

Very good. Most golfers would shave 4 points off their handicap if they practiced proper course management for their game.


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