Golf Strategy: Play to Your Strengths
Each of us has strengths and weaknesses. Golf is no different. The secret to playing great golf is playing to your strengths and diminish your weaknesses. Luckily the golf course offers plenty of opportunities for those who excel at driving, putting, pitching, and iron shots to let their strengths carry them through the course. Remember there’s more than one way to make par, so you need a personalized golf strategy to shoot lower scores.
Golf Strategy 101: Playing to Your Strengths
Let’s say for example that you’re not a very big guy physically, and you won’t be winning any long drive event anytime soon. But, you are a very accurate driver of the golf ball, splitting the fairway 10 to 12 times per round and you’re a golfer who hits solid approach shots to the green, and when it comes to putting you drain more than your fair share birdies.
Your weakness in distance off the tees is more than made up for by your other strengths, and you will have no problem scoring low unless you try to swing for a 300 yard drive off every tee (and wind up OB or in the rough).
If you’re not long off the tee you’re going to want to place an emphasis on accuracy. This will get you hitting from the short grass, and then you can help look for your playing partners balls in the weeds (despite their extra 20 yard off the tee).
If the opposite were true and you were accurate and strong with your long irons and off the tees, but your short game was lacking you’d want to make sure you hit each green from a full swing shot to avoid those tricky 50 yard pitch shots.
This isn’t rocket science it’s basic golf strategy. If you were good at every shot you would be a pro. Unfortunately most of us struggle with 1 or more areas of our golf game. The basics of golf strategy tell us that we should try to minimize the number of times we take shots we aren’t good at. With a little thought this can usually be done.
Your Strengths Dictate Your Golf Strategy
If you have a solid game plan, knowing how you’re going to play each hole based upon your strengths, you will be able to play golf at a high level.
Most of my regular playing partners are all different shapes and sizes and also varying in ages. So naturally we all play golf a bit differently.
The younger more flexible golfers can blast long towering drives, while others have deadly accurate short games, and some make up for all of that by always putting lights-out.
If you want to improve at this wonderful game of golf you have to learn how to get your ball around the course and score. So, the key to scoring low for any golfer is to play to your strengths and have a defined golf strategy for each round based on what you do well.
Mental Golf Strategy: Visualize Good Shots
If you’re going to be playing a golf course you’re familiar with, try visualizing each hole before you go to sleep the night before. See each shot in good positions off the tee, good solid shots onto the greens, and see a number of putts going in. Research shows that visualizing good shots, good swings and making putts roll into the cup is the same neurologically as if you were physically doing it.
Your golf game, scores and confidence will improve if you focus on your strengths while playing. So be wise, create a solid game plan for each round of golf and stick to it. So, if you’re a solid wedge player get yourself in positions to take advantage of that part of your game.
Remember, knowing your options for the shot at hand is a big part in being successful on the golf course. You can lay up or go for it, just keep the odds in your favor and play to your strengths. You’ll be a much happier golfer.