One of the keys to shooting lower scores is pre round preparation. That process first starts long before the round takes place. In order to play your best and shoot lower scores there are several bits of information you need to know about your game. First is knowing the average distance you hit every club in your bag. When charting out a your plan to attack the course this is a must. How far does your average drive go off the tee? What is the average carry distance and average total distance? Carry distance is crucial to knowing if you can clear hazards like sand ,water or waste areas. Total distance depends on course conditions and weather. Weather can effect total distance through temperatures , wind and humidity and firmness of fairways and greens. Firm conditions will cause the ball to run out more which will greatly impact overall distance. Soft conditions like soft greens allow you to be more aggressive and go pin hunting. But soft fairways reduce total distance off the tee so the course can play much longer the the yardage on the score card. These aspects are only part of playing your best and shooting lower scores.
So really to shoot your lowest scores you need to be able to control your distance of every club in your bag within a few yards to give yourself the best opportunity during your round. Once you know this information and can execute it the next spent is to plot out your strategy and shot selection to play to your strengths.
Next step is to use a yardage book or create one of your own for the course your going to play. If it is your home course they probably have yardage books available. If there is no yardage book available for you course you can create one using a blank booklet like this one in the photo below.
Blank Yardage Book
There is also the company Putt View that produce yardage books for hundreds of courses around the world there a good chance that the course your p,aging will have these available on their website. These generally run around $49.00
Both of these can be found on Amazon and work great to lay out your own yardages and markers on the course.
Now you will have a better idea of where trouble is and how to avoid it. Also break on the green to help improve your green reading.
Take notes and plan out where your optimal landing areas are for each hole off the tee. Take into consideration your normal shot pattern and where your normal missed shots would be. Use this information to minimize your chances of getting into trouble.
If possible walk the course before your event or during a practice round and take notes on the green complexes and look for false fronts and forced carriers on each hole. This information is extremely valuable to improve your chances of going low. Know when you can be aggressive and when you should be conservative on certain holes. Also get familiar with the depth of sand in the bunkers. Are they firm or fluffy? This is just one more piece of information that will help you minimize mistakes and increase your chances of success.
Take notes on green speeds and also pace off the depth and width of each green. If you have a yardage book that has this information confirm it by pacing it off yourself. This will increase your confidence and knowing you’re making the correct choice for the shot you’re about to hit. Remember increased confidence ups your chances of success.
Last but not least know the pin placements for you upcoming event. This will let you know when you can play aggressively and fire at pins or conservatively and aim at the center of the green.
Now your ready to play your practice round and test out your strategy and game plan before the event.
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