There is much more to playing golf than having good technique. Having the ability to hit the ball sweetly with every club in the bag is a gift not many players have but even if you did, you will still need to work on other aspects of your game.
Strategy plays a big role in a round of golf and today we have some strategic tips to help you avoid trouble on the golf course.
When assessing how to play a hole, you must look for the trouble. This may seem a negative approach but if you spot where the major trouble is on the hole, you can plan to avoid hitting it with the ball. It could be obvious, such as water in-front of the green or an out of bounds section running the length of the left side of the fairway.
However, sometimes it is not so obvious and it could be a bunker which is 60 yards from the green or something else which seems insignificant until you play the shot and wonder why your ball has finished in trouble. Just because the trouble is not obvious to begin with, does not mean there isn’t any on the hole.
Avoiding trouble on a hole will mean knowing how far you can hit the ball with each club but that means total carry, not carry and run. How far the ball will run once on the ground will depend on the playing conditions and that will differ because of several factors, including the weather.
If you know how far you can carry the ball with each club from the fairway and the rough, you will have a much better idea of how to play the shot. Knowing your carry yardages, you can plan on were the ball will land and estimate how far it will roll.
Never play a shot expecting the ball to move away to the left or right. You may naturally fade the ball for example but you should never aim straight for trouble and expect the ball to fade away because you know exactly what will happen. You will hit the ball straight and it will land in the hazard.
Finally, always take the time after a round to think about the things you did well and the things which were not so good. On which holes did you drop the most shots? What was common theme on those holes? Perhaps you used the same iron and sent the ball into trouble down the left side each time.
If that’s the case, work on your shots with that iron but also plan a strategy so next time you play you are not having to rely on using that iron as often.
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