Keep it Simple
I’ve come across many Guides for Beginner Golfers. The majority will include ways to begin lowering your score. They will go into detail about how to develop a one way miss, play to your skills, and spend a lot of time working on your putting. I agree with all of these but they don’t address the real requirements necessary to lowering your score. There are three keys to lowering your score that will work for every Beginner Golfer.
Hazard Avoidance
This seems quite obvious right! Well think about how many times on the course that you have found yourself in hazards. How many times have you failed to clear a pond, found yourself in a sand trap, or had to hit a difficult pitch out of the woods? Some of you are going to blame these situations on poor strikes. That’s a poor excuse. I recently played a course with a friend of mine. On the way there he mentioned how difficult the sand traps were at this course. I told him that ssnd traps wouldn’t be a problem for me. He had a puzzled look on his face, and asked why? I told him that I rarely land in sand traps. Most Rounds I don’t land in a single one. He asked how is that possible? My answer was straight and to the point, I avoid them. My game out of the sand is weak. I know that if I land in a bunker it’s going to cost me a stroke. It could take me two strokes to get out of the bunker, or even if I get out with my first swing, it’s going to take another stroke to get back into position. The smart play for me is to hit away from the bunker, or short of it. In order to do this effectively you need to know your average distance with each club, and even more importantly the maximum distance with each club. This is a statistic that you should be aware of that none of the “experts” talk about. As an “expert” they never need to worry about hitting their clubs exceptionally long. For example my average distance with my 7 Iron is 138 yards. I have on occasion caught it a little thin and hit it close to 150 yards. Both of these numbers come into play during a Round. If I’m attacking a Green that’s 134 yards away with a Bunker on the left. I will choose 7 Iron and aim for the right side of the Green. In case you were wondering where the Pin is placed. Well it doesn’t matter. I would prefer to attempt a long putt than having to potentially hit out of a bunker. Now lets add one additional feature to that same situation. Along with the left side bunker there’s also thick woods and fescue at the back. The distance to the back of the green is 146 yards. Now the maximum distance also comes into play. If I catch my 7 Iron too thin I could skip out the back and into the woods where losing the ball is definitely a possibility. In this case I would club down to my 8 Iron. On average I hit my 8 Iron around 125 yards. I have hit it as long as 135 yards at times though. This would give me a slim chance to get my shot as far as the pin, and a decent chance to find the front fringe. It totally takes both hazards out of play though. Once again I would prefer a long putt, or short chip than end up in a hazard. I probably save 5 strokes a Round by playing this way.
Just because it’s a Par 4 doesn’t mean you have to play it like one!
Something I realized after a full Season of playing courses, is that some Par 4s are specifically designed to challenge low handicappers. As a Beginner these holes can totally obliterate what could have been a great Round of Golf. The reason for this is how we are mentally conditioned to play a long Par 4. Hit it as long as possible off the Tee, and then use whichever club is necessary to reach the Green. Recently I played a 448 yard Par 4 dogleg right. I chose Driver off the Tee. Recently I’ve been hitting my Driver with great consistency. You should choose whichever club you can hit long and find the Fairway consistently, after taking Hazard Avoidance into consideration first. I was left with 210 yards to the Pin. Now I could potentially get there with my 3 Wood. In my first couple of Seasons playing golf, that’s exactly what I would have tried. Now what I chose to do instead was treat this long Par 4 like a Par 5. I chose 5 Hybrid which totally took any of the Hazards around the Green out of play. It left me only 50 yards to the Pin which is a very easy distance for me. Choosing to play long Par 4s this way makes Birdie almost impossible, Par difficult, and Bogey very easy. This may sound counterproductive to lowering your scores but in actuality it isn’t. My Par 5 average score has gone from almost 8 to 6 strokes. If the course I’m playing has 4 Par 5s that’s 8 strokes saved on average! The reason for the dramatic change in scoring is because the longer you hit a club, the greater the possibility for error if you hit it poorly. A sliced 3 Wood could put me in brutal trouble. A sliced 5 Hybrid isn’t anywhere close to as bad. Even if I hit the 3 Wood well in the aforementioned situation. I could end up in a greenside bunker, or roll through the back into fescue. A well struck 5 Hybrid can only end up in the Fairway. So I can’t get a birdie. Well so what! As a Beginner Golfer I only aversge 1 birdie per Round anyways.
Play to the Front of Par 3s
I’m guessing that nobody has ever suggested this before. Whenever you are in doubt of how to play a Par 3, just aim for the front of the Green. The only time that I would suggest against this is if you have to clear a hazard. In that case I would suggest aiming for the back. Aiming for the front is all about being logical. Many Beginners know their average total distance, but aren’t aware of their carry distances. Balls that land on the Green will usually roll out further than usual because of the firmness of the surface. But what about Spin, you ask? You are a Beginner (news flash) you don’t really have any. As a result your total average distance is actually increased. Another reason to aim for the front is that you aren’t punished for hitting it thin. You might actually end up on the Green, or roll through the back. At least you won’t be so far out the back that getting back onto the Green will be easy. Last but not least, you generally take hazards on the left, right, or back mostly out of play.
If you take these three tips into consideration the next time you play. I promise you that your final score will be lower than if you didn’t. Good luck, and keep working to improve your game. I’ll see you on the course.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018 Mr. Corbert de Ronde
