Find The Landing Area, Land Birdie

Most course management errors arise from the tee box.  The instigator of these errors seems a lot friendlier than many would suspect – the driver.  A lot of people seem to think that driver is always the best club selection off the tee (except of course when a creek or pond runs across the fairway), but the driver is also one of the hardest clubs in the golf bag to control.  Most golf courses are designed so that the best possible landing area from the tee is not in the 250-280 range but in the 200-240 area, making the safest and easiest club to hit off the tee a 3 wood or an iron.

An example helps illustrate this point a bit more clearly.  An average par 4 can be anywhere from 320 to 400, depending on what tees you are playing.  Let’s take the 400-yard par 4.  Sand bunkers line either side of this hole beginning at the 150 marker.  A well-hit drive could put you at the 150 maker or farther down the fairway, but an errant shot either left or right could be trouble.  Obviously, the driver tempts you, but a smart player will see the large landing area short of the 150.  A 3-wood even if hit a little left or right is much safer than the driver.

The toughest part about course management is that it is different for everyone.  A player who always hits his driver straight should, in reality, hit his driver a lot more than a player who doesn’t hit it as straight.  The point of course management is to see all of the possible options a shot offers and then to act on the one that is best tailored to your game.

For more help on Course Management take a Private Lesson on the course with Brad.