When playing with many friends I am often surprised by the decision they make on the golf course. Maybe part of the reason is that they expect a good outcome on each shot. Bad players tend to plan for best case scenario and good players plan on making mistakes. That may sound opposite but it is normally the case.
Take hitting a tee shot 40 yards right of the tee then trying to hit it through a five foot opening in the trees while attempting to hit the green from 185 yards. More amateurs would try this shot than tour players. A tour player would evaluate the risk reward and more often punch the ball back into the fairway. There is also the shots from the fairway misjudging how far you hit your irons.
How often do you plan to hit an iron from a 150 or 175 yards and come up short. I read somewhere that approximately 85% of approach shots over 100 yards hit by amateurs are short. Normally it is not just short of the target but short of the green.
When you go to the golf course do you plan to have your A game, B game or C game? Most of the good players I have worked with including tour winners hope their B game is productive for the round and maybe they can use their A game. If everything goes well during the round they will get more aggressive and shift towards the A game swing and strategy. Do you have a b or c game?
For me I don’t expect much for the first few holes I play so I start conservative. I aim towards areas that I can hit poor shots that won’t destroy my score. I make sure I take enough club. I also keep my weight more towards my left heel and make a little more compact swing until I understand what my tendencies are for the day.
Many times for me and most players your best scores don’t come when your hitting the ball your best. Often it is when your hitting it fairly well but moving from your A to B game and making good decisions.
Moral to the story is if you don’t have a B game go find one. Go to the range and try to figure out what kind of swing you can make that will keep you from hitting awful shots during a round. This swing should allow you at any point in the round to maybe not max out your distance or hit high risk shot but will give you time to find your game.
Jim Hartnett, PGA
