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shot-making, strategy, course management

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Tommy Williamsen:
I am unsure how to phrase this question, so bear with me if it is a little obtuse.

We talk a lot about course architecture. I wonder how important understanding the architecture of a hole is for middle to high handicappers. I have a good friend who has been an 18 for the last 40 years. I have played 1000 rounds with him on a hundred different courses. On the tee, he will be able to see the elegance of the hole, what the architect did, and why he did it. But it generally doesn’t make a difference to how he plays the hole. He might aim left but hit it 50 yards right of his target. Then he will try to hit a shot he could never pull off and make a bogey or double.


If you were to put a percentage on shot-making, strategy, and course management, what would it be for yourself?

Ira Fishman:
Tom,


I am your friend at least for the last 20 years. Yesterday, somewhere on the back nine, my caddie told me that the line was just left of some tree. I asked him: “you have seen me play for almost two rounds, what are the odds that you think I can hit the line?” which gave him a barely suppressed chuckle.


But two things to consider: 1) when we beat the odds, it feels really good; for you, it is an expected occurrence and 2) on shorter approach shots particularly on firm, use the ground shots, our odds are better so the architect’s strategy about bunker placements and green complex contours matters and can be fully experienced.


Ira

Tommy Williamsen:
Ira, you must have played with my dear friend. I have heard that exchange many many times.

Matt Schoolfield:
Some concerns here:

First, the difference between bogey and double bogey is huge for an 18 HCP.

Second, good golf architecture has multi-variate strategies built in. The hard par-easy bogey paradigm is built around this. I’m a higher handicapper, and the number of greens I lay up to is nontrivial, but only if the hole location rewards a bump and run from in front of the green.

Third, different high handicaps have different weaknesses. I was about an 18 for decades, I could pretty much always control the side of the fairway I was hitting to, I just didn't have the distance modern players have because I used an unfitted driver from over a decade ago. Most of my weakness was the long irons into the green, leading to a lot of failed up-and-downs. Since upgrading my driver (with the 35 extra yards the fitting gave me), my handicap has been dropping precipitously. There are plenty of bogey players who can play to different strategies, they just aren't playing the same game as everyone else, and often struggle with things like putting, short game, or approaches.

The vast majority of players are around bogey golf or worse. It's important to remember that while there are 3 million Americans who hold a handicap, there were 23 million Americans have been playing golf for over a year. So the "average index" of about 14 is wildly misleading. I think it reasonable to presume that architects are designing courses with these folks in mind.

David_Tepper:
As a life-long double-digit handicap, avoiding double bogies is the key to playing a decent round and posting a respectable score (and also being competitive in matchplay).


In terms of strategy and course management, there is really no need to do more than aim for the center of the fairway and aim for the center of the green.
 

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