How Better Course Management Can Lower Your Golf Score

How Better Course Management Can Lower Your Golf Score

Whether you are just starting to learn golf, or you have been golfing
for many years and you're just looking to refine your game, this will
provide a good direction of focus for this season.

If you want your score to drop by any significant amount, you should
learn to hit your 150 yard club, and learn to hit it very well.

By "hitting your 150 yard club very well," I mean being able to step up
to the ball, and KNOW that you can hit any green that is 150 yards away.
Every time, any condition, with no pressure.

You need to get to the point in your game where you can hit those 8
or 9 irons very consistently and accurately. Anyone can do this. Believe
it or not, 150 yards is not very far away, and most greens these days
are very big targets. The short irons should be the easiest club in your
bag to hit. And if they aren't the easiest clubs to hit, you should work on
them until they are.

Once you master that shot, everything else is a simple adjustment. Your
swing will be on, and you can simply add or take away a little club to
adjust for varying distances.
That's step 1.

Step 2 is designing your game to work around your "guaranteed
150 yard shot."

Let's say you are on the average 400 yard par 4. If you have that 150
yard shot in your bag, then it should be very easy for you to get onto the
green in 3 shots.

Think about this...(I know you wouldn't really do this) but if you have the
150 yard shot, you can hit it off the tee, and again for your second shot,
and end up 100 yards out hitting 3 from the fairway.

Now you've put yourself in a good position, which is what course
management is all about. And better yet, if you have the 150 yard shot
down, your 100 yard shots are likely to be working a lot better as well.

Even if you get yourself into trouble off the tee, just lay up to 150 yards
out, and use your 150 shot to get on the green. This will do a ton of good
for your golf game. You're on in 3, and you can still save par or make
bogey with a 2 putt.

Start small, and master the 150 yard shot. Then build your game
around it. If you do this, you won't have to worry about so many bunker
shots, chip shots, and all the other specialty shots that make this
game so frustrating.

If you can get this shot down, you've taken the first step to breaking
down your game and lowering your scores. Then you work on your
putting, and then you work on your driver.

Now, I realize golf isn't as easy as I've made it out to be above, but it
really can be if you have the 150 yard shot. I can guarantee that you'll
be playing the best golf of your life this season, if you keep focus on
improving that 150 yard shot. It is essential!

That's it for this newsletter. I'll be in touch in the next few weeks with
some putting tips that should really have you stroking the ball.

Until next time,

Bobby Eldridge - Head Professional, PurePoint Golf & Scottsdale Country Club


For more Short Game instruction, check out the Short Game DVD