Course management. I have been thinking about that 3-wood on the par 5 that bounced into the gorse next to the green. You “saw” the shot and hit it pretty much perfectly, yet got no reward. For me, the experience of that shot tells us that on that hole, from that side of the fairway, a lay-up is the favoured shot. That is course management; ie logging an experience and making use of it next time. However, I think that from the other side it would be worth considering a long, low 2 or 3-iron to chase up that sloping approach and green. When you are in a match you have to simply rely on your instinct as you approach the shot.
The trick is to allow all the factors to swim around in your subconscious and just allow the shot to appear to you. Beware any “shoulds” that appear in your conscious thoughts: every shot you ever play is unique; playing a shot a certain way because convention says you “should” is a sure way of turning off your subconscious. Then you commit to the vision fully. You do NOT get attached to the outcome – good or bad – because, as on the shot discussed above, if the conception and execution of the shot were as desired then the outcome is just the outcome: log it, learn from it, dust yourself down and move on.
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[7. The 1967 Bell South Classic]
The point I was making was that there is such a thing as “course management” – it encapsulates the thoughts and calculations that make up a decision to play a shot a certain way to try to achieve a certain outcome -, but there is no such thing as “course management” when it is defined as the way a shot should be played. I am labouring this point because it is a good example of the sorts of things that can cloud a player’s thinking as they approach their next shot.
As I explained at the time, when you approach a shot you need to be using every shred of experience you have ever garnered (course management). To do this your subconscious needs to be a clear and empty space so that anything that needs to pop in there has the freedom to do so. A conscious thought such as “Oh, I should be using ‘course management skills'” is the sort of conscious thought that blocks the sub-conscious.
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Course management – You’ve arrived at the competition in good “form” but too late to have a warm-up. Conditions are very windy. You arrive at the 2nd tee having rescued a par at the 1st. The tee shot off the 2nd is challenging at the best of times and has a 200 yard carry to the fairway. Having taken a 3-iron off the 1st tee (and miscued it), the tee shot off the 2nd is your first “drive” of the day. What club did you take?
This is a fascinatingly crucial shot, and it comes very early in the round. Hit the fairway and there is a good chance that you will get a five and 2 points. Anything other than hitting the fairway and there is a good chance that you will not score. But hitting the fairway is not easy. What are your thoughts?
The need to score on this hole is made more critical by the tee shot up the 3rd, which is another 200 yard carry. It is vital that you take pressure off the tee shot up the 3rd by arriving at the tee with some points in the bag.
I think that in blustery conditions it is worth . . .
