Play smarter not harder to take strokes off your game. Don't underestimate course strategy. Here's my approach to driving, fairway shots, putting, and more.
Tips
Course Strategy
May
08
2020
How to take strokes off your game by playing smarter.
The go-to tactic for most golfers trying to improve their game is to put in as many reps as possible and work on drive after drive, chip after chip, putt after putt.
Range work is obviously important, but the actual course strategy is going to have a bigger impact on your scoring than trying to master a certain shot on the driving range.
I want to share a walkthrough we shot a few weeks ago at The Vintage Club in Palm Springs where I take you behind my thought process and approach on driving, fairway shots, and putting.
Driving
- Distance isn’t everything — placing the ball properly is going to do more for your score than blasting a drive that lands in the rough or goes OB.
- Make sure you use the right club for your distances and that you’re taking into account the layout and terrain of the fairway.
- Hit what works for you—Just because your buddy pulls out their new driver and goes for a SMASH doesn’t mean you have to.
- Use the right club for the situation and focus on placement.
- There’s definitely a time and place for letting one rip–Pay attention to how you’re feeling and hit the right shot for the moment.
Approach shot
- As you are assessing your approach shot, you want to visualize how the ball is going to run out, or in softer conditions how it might check up and stop.
- You really want to have your distances dialed in for approach shots.
- Know your distances on each club and use them accordingly.
On the green
- How the ball on your approach shot releases will tell you a lot about the upcoming break of the putt.
- It also reveals how firm or soft your approach shot landed and you can use that info on upcoming holes.
- Feeling the contours of the green with your feet will give you feedback on the up/down or side to side slope you may have on your putt.
- Now that you've gathered all the info for your putt, it’s time to let it roll and see what happens.
Mike Weir is a Canadian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. In just over a decade, Weir has managed to become one of the greatest professional golfers ever to come out of Canada. He became only the second left-handed golfer to win any of the four majors In 2000, he became the first Canadian to play in the President’s Cup, where he led the international team with a 3-2-0 record.
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