Does Having The Correct Golf Swing Mechanics In Place Make It Easier For Strategizing On The Golf Course?

Have you ever played on a golf course that you knew nothing about? I’m sure you have during one golf round or another. That happened to me yesterday. We were playing on a very difficult tightly laid out golf course. It commanded several different shot variations.  It had elevated greens,  many combinations of sidehill and downhill lies.  All kinds of obstacles to carry or shoot over. You can tell by my descriptions,  I didn’t have a very good day playing.  I shot at least 10 strokes higher then I should have.  Most of my troubles wasn’t knowing the golf course, and yanking my driver out of the golf bag on every hole. (Dumb!)

My focus or golf mindset was to get the ball out there on the fairway far enough to eliminate the pressure on my second shot. This is the wrong way to strategize when trying to play within yourself.  You do need  a game plan to know when to attack or be conservative when approaching each hole.  Golf course management is gained through knowledge of each hole and what to expect.  Not knowing the golf course.  What I should have done was visualize in a pre-shot routine before addressing the golf ball,  the intended target of where to place the golf ball on the fairway. This can be done by standing behind the golf ball and looking for the safest places to hit to. By looking at your scorecard, the layout of the golf course is usually pictured there, or at the  hole sign next to the tee block.

Your aiming  for the fairway,  because landing a golf ball there eliminates the chances of a bad lie, and it gives you the best angle to approach the green. When you reach your drive you need to study your lie for a minute, and analysis what you want to do with your next shot.  If you don’t think that you can reach the green with your next shot, it’s often a safer play to lay up. This means playing a controlled shot that’s deliberately aimed short of the green, rather than hitting the golf ball as hard as you can and hoping for the best.

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