Do you have a game plan?

Ben1977

So as the title suggests, do you have a game plan during your round?

The pros would have a plan set in stone from the night before. The caddy in there to reinforce it when choosing tee shots and holes to attach. They even have a plan B if the wind or conditions change or how they are swinging.

I find myself that I don't think about it too much, so that is costing me shots. I find myself too involved in trying to hit it straight and long, not paying attention to the danger in front of me. I fail to think about the best side of the fairway i should be aiming at and sometimes fail to even see anything but the flag on the green.

I would love to develop the skills to say "right the wind is with me, take an iron and be short of the trouble". No what I automatically do it pull the driver and swing away.
Funny enough I actually think very clearly and have a game plan when playing foursomes. I guess I'm trying my hardest for my partner.

So do you go out in your comps with a game plan?

newport2

I do to an extent, but it's subject to change!

For example, I won't hit driver on our 5th, but if it's into the wind then I will.

It's difficult for me to plan beyond my tee shots really, because a) there's such a variety of places I could be playing my second shot from and b) I don't know the pin positions in advance and c) the weather.

I'll be interested to hear other people's ways of approaching this.

PARlance

Very interesting topic.

I think there are a lot of exceptions but my general thinking is that you should have enough time from walking from green to tee, and a few seconds on the tee itself, to take everything into account and decide the best shot that suits how you have been playing on the day, the hole, conditions etc.

Thinking about a game plan for an entire round in advance is only looking for trouble, maybe low handicappers can do this, but for myself, it is rarely going to go to plan and from my experience, it really throws me when I've tried to do the sensible/smart thing and it doesn't work out.
It's far more off putting than hitting a "stupid" driver and getting into trouble from that.

A game plan is good, but there's no point sticking to it if you've made a mess of a few safe shots on the previous holes.
Change it up and if you've been hitting one club better than another on the day, then take that club out and go with it even if it isn't the most sensible shot.

I've planned in advance before, and it generally leads to me over-thinking the round. Over thinking for me adds pressure and tension and I just prefer to avoid that now and turn up on the day. If it's a new course I'll have a quick look at a course guide if available, but I won't be setting out my 18 club selections.

Personally, I could do with taking my own advice a bit more, I'm one that will over use a driver (have had my own reasons for doing this this year in fairness) and I plan to try to get a bit more sensible in this area and start doing a bit of thinking on the tee.

blue note

On people's home course I don't see how they couldn't really. Everyone has a preferred way to play each hole - a spot to aim for when driving or a spot to avoid. You'd even find if you thought about it that you have consistent contingency plans for weather, pin position, being out of position from you last shot.

PARlance

blue note wrote: »

On people's home course I don't see how they couldn't really. Everyone has a preferred way to play each hole - a spot to aim for when driving or a spot to avoid. You'd even find if you thought about it that you have consistent contingency plans for weather, pin position, being out of position from you last shot.

Agreed, I was talking about away courses really and should have made that clearer.

hades

I'm all about the game plan.

If i know the course, i'll go thru the 18 holes in my head before the round and pick out what i would like to play off the tee. (I don't do this for the par 3's). My aim is to let myself the kind of shot i want to hit into the greens. Like hitting a 3 wood on a shortish par 4 so i have a full wedge in. Or instead of going for a par 5 in two and leaving myself a poxy 30 or 40m shot that i'm more than likely going to make a pigs willy of, i'll poke a 5i down to get to around 100m out, a shot i'm more comfortable with.

On a course i don't know, i always consult my GPS. Looking for the trouble off the tee, "can i carry it or will i lay up". And again around the green, "where is the trouble, am i better off being long, rather than short".

This of course can be somewhat of a hindrance for me at times, when i second guess myself instead of going with instinct. The perfect example for this is the 14th at my local course. OOB is all the way down the right, its a long par 4, so to keep things in play i go with my 3 wood. But on one day where it was all working right for me up until there, my gut told me go with the driver but my head said stick with the 3w. So i'm up on the tee second guessing myself unhappy with the 3w. End result was OOB and my round went to crap.

blue note

ajcurry123 wrote: »

Agreed, I was talking about away courses really and should have made that clearer.

Away courses? My plan is basically aim for the fairway, aim for the green. On a links course I generally aim for the fairway bunkers, as they're usually a good indication of where you should be hitting it. When I land in them it's a mixture of pride for being so accurate and annoyance at the :mad: at the injustice of being punished for hitting a good shot!

Ben1977

ajcurry123 wrote: »

Very interesting topic.

I think there are a lot of exceptions but my general thinking is that you should have enough time from walking from green to tee, and a few seconds on the tee itself, to take everything into account and decide the best shot that suits how you have been playing on the day, the hole, conditions etc.

Thinking about a game plan for an entire round in advance is only looking for trouble, maybe low handicappers can do this, but for myself, it is rarely going to go to plan and from my experience, it really throws me when I've tried to do the sensible/smart thing and it doesn't work out.
It's far more off putting than hitting a "stupid" driver and getting into trouble from that.

A game plan is good, but there's no point sticking to it if you've made a mess of a few safe shots on the previous holes.
Change it up and if you've been hitting one club better than another on the day, then take that club out and go with it even if it isn't the most sensible shot.

I've planned in advance before, and it generally leads to me over-thinking the round. Over thinking for me adds pressure and tension and I just prefer to avoid that now and turn up on the day. If it's a new course I'll have a quick look at a course guide if available, but I won't be setting out my 18 club selections.

Personally, I could do with taking my own advice a bit more, I'm one that will over use a driver (have had my own reasons for doing this this year in fairness) and I plan to try to get a bit more sensible in this area and start doing a bit of thinking on the tee.

That in itself is a game plan.

Yes we are not going to hit the ball as good as the pros and going throught the whole round in your head is worthless. Things will change from weather to how you are hitting it on the day.

My thoughts of a plan would be to have a good idea of what i'm hitting off the tees in certain conditions. If i'm in a bad position then not to go for the pin or green in some cases. If I miss a green, to miss it in the right place. I also thing a good plan will involve a plan B, e.g. if driver is not working go to the steady wood.

mike12

On a new course i will generally play to what i can see. I only take a shorter club off the tee if Driver will put me inside 90 yards. I would much rather take on trouble off the tee than trouble around the green as i am a better driver than chipper.
If there is a teir in the green then is long an ok miss for my second if its on the back or is short ok if it's on the front.
I would never plan a full round in advance on different days you could hit the exact same drive and be 40/50 yards away depending on wind and ground conditions.

Mike

billy3sheets

Par 3, aim for centre of green or a safe side if ther are bunkers around it
Par 4, use minimum club to get inside 150 yds so I have 8 or 9 approach
Par 5, only use driver if I have some hope of making it in 2, otherwise take 3 or 5 wood.

Rikand

Shoot level par.

Standing on the first tee, that's my target every single time - but I take every single shot one at a time, never try to think ahead of myself. I usually mess up if I do that

DuckSlice

I think you have to have a game plan. I plan to go around to my handicap every time on my home course. The 5 holes I don't have shots on I need to pAr those holes to put together a score and don't double bogey anything. If I don't then I'm struggling especially in stableford, doesn't matter so much in stroke where you don't have shots in my opinion.

Also I plan on enjoying the round and this is the most important thing.

GreeBo

Rickylovesuall wrote: »

Shoot level par.

Standing on the first tee, that's my target every single time - but I take every single shot one at a time, never try to think ahead of myself. I usually mess up if I do that

Thats not a plan, thats a goal!
Your plan helps you achieve your goal.


I have multiple plans for each hole on my own course.
The tee shot change based on weather etc, the subsequent shots are dependent on the weather and also the result of the first shot.
At this stage I pretty much have every possibility covered.

Senna

I'll have a few plans, but relatively simple; Dont allow as much break on putts, take hybrid at certain shot tee shots, leave the lob wedge in the bag today etc etc.

I'll regularly say, before I start the round, that I'm going to hit 5i for my second shot on all par 5's, far too often i'm tempted to "go for it" when really I don't have a hope, so I take all doubt away and hit 5i even after a great drive, with a great lie, with a head wind etc etc. Has worked well for me lately.

Most other shots are just based on what I see in-front of me.

Mr. Larson

Senna wrote: »

I'll regularly say, before I start the round, that I'm going to hit 5i for my second shot on all par 5's, far too often i'm tempted to "go for it" when really I don't have a hope, so I take all doubt away and hit 5i even after a great drive, with a great lie, with a head wind etc etc. Has worked well for me lately.

I'm a sucker for going for a Par 5 myself. Its so rare I give myself the opportunity its hard to pass up. 230 is my limit for shot #2 though. I draw the line there Usually what happens is I knock it down into the perfect layup distance. At least then I don't look like a pussy. I just look like a rubbish golfer