{"id":777,"date":"2013-04-22T15:13:06","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T15:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/?p=777"},"modified":"2023-12-01T01:28:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T01:28:07","slug":"shave-strokes-instantly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/shave-strokes-instantly\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget the Range – Shave Strokes Instantly with Better Course Management"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tiger
Courtesy: ABC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019re all looking for easy ways to shave strokes off our score, and while most golfers are quick to offer you a swing tip or a hot new driver that will add 20 yards off the tee, the easiest and most immediate way to become a better player is through effective course management.<\/p>\n

To put it quite simply, course management is another term for your decision making process throughout the course of an 18 hole round. Should I lay up? Which side of the tee should I hit off of? What club should I hit? What position do I want to leave myself in?<\/p>\n

Golf is a game of calculated misses in which the majority of factors that will affect your shot must be taken into account before you even hit the ball. Work on some of the things listed below and watch as your scores go down without setting foot on the practice range (NOTE: You should still go to the range if you want to get better. This is just an article outlining some of the mental decisions you can make that will make you a better player.)<\/p>\n

Learn the Rule Book<\/strong> \u2013 You wouldn\u2019t play a game of basketball without knowing what you can and can\u2019t do with the ball. Golf should be no different. Learning the rules is without a doubt the most important thing you can do on your way to becoming a better player.<\/p>\n

You rarely, if ever, will meet a golfer that consistently plays well without knowing the rules. Most golfers think the rule book is a list of consequences for penalties but it\u2019s really there to give you options, even if you haven\u2019t incurred a penalty. Don\u2019t just take your playing partner\u2019s word for it. LEARN THE RULES!<\/p>\n

Aim Correctly off the Tee<\/strong> \u2013 If you\u2019re like most golfers, picking a particular side of the tee box to tee up on doesn\u2019t cross your mind, but it should. Teeing up on the wrong side can mean the difference between a ball in the fairway and a ball out of bounds.<\/p>\n

A good rule of thumb is to always tee up ON the side of trouble. If there\u2019s OB on the right, go to the right side of the tee, aim away from the trouble and hit. Your ball may not end up in the fairway but you can be sure you won\u2019t be hitting another one off the tee.<\/p>\n

Manage your Approach Shots<\/strong> \u2013 One of the most difficult shots to hit in golf is the high, soft landing flop shot and if you have trouble doing it (everyone does), don\u2019t put yourself in a position when it\u2019s your only option. You can do this by managing your approach shots.<\/p>\n

If the pin is tucked away on the back left side of the green, you don\u2019t want to leave your shot to the left because you\u2019ll have nothing to work with. Think about where you want the ball to be in the event that you do mishit the shot. Take the hardest shots out of play and those big numbers will disappear.<\/p>\n

Play your Ball Flight<\/strong> \u2013 Jack Nicklaus was a huge advocate for playing whatever ball flight you have on that particular day. If you notice that you\u2019re hitting a little fade off the tee on the first two holes, then play it. Don\u2019t try to fix your swing on the course; you\u2019ll only cause additional problems. Wait until after your round to iron out your issues.<\/p>\n

Take your Medicine<\/strong> \u2013 Sometimes you just get unlucky; your ball bounces off three trees, someone\u2019s golf cart and ends up in the water. Deal with it. Perfection is unattainable in golf.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re going to make bogeys. Don\u2019t compound mistakes by trying to hit miraculous shots. Sometimes the best option is to simply take your medicine and move on to the next hole.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re all looking for easy ways to shave strokes off our score, and while most golfers are quick to offer you a swing tip or a hot new driver that will add 20 yards off the tee, the easiest and most immediate way to become a better player is through effective course management. To put…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,483],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf-tips","category-tips","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1132,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777\/revisions\/1132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}