Golf Course Management vs. Golf Strategy

Golf course management and golf strategy are terms that are often used interchangeably. However, when you break down the specifics of golf course management and golf strategy, they are two very different things.

All golfers will, at some point, learn how to strike the ball with relative consistency. However, the players that learn how to play and manage a golf course are the ones that will succeed long term.

Let’s look at golf course management vs. golf strategy, the pros and cons, the differences, and some ways you can improve your game.

What Is Golf Course Management

Golf course management is a series of decisions that you will make on the golf course that determine your strategy and the way you will manage a golf course. Golf course management may deal with club selection, shot placement, and analyzing your ability to pull off certain types of golf shots.

To better understand golf course management, it can help to look at an example.

Let’s say you have a par four golf hole in front of you with water down the left side and a pin in the left corner of the green. As you stand on the tee box, you know that you want to keep your drive down the right to avoid the water.

That decision is golf course management.

After hitting your drive, you notice that with the pin being on the left side of the green and you being a golfer that tends to hit a draw, it makes sense to aim to the right corner of the green and have the ball draw towards the target. In addition, you choose a club that gives you a little extra distance because of the sand trap blocking the front of the green.

This thought process is golf course management.

Players that are good at golf course management tend to have fewer holes that are considered “blow-up” holes. If you are smart about your course management, you may end up with a bogey, but the chance of shooting an 8 should be considerably lower. It can take time and experience on the golf course to develop good golf course management skills.

Pros

• It can help to eliminate higher numbers on the course
• Makes players more aware of their game
• Increases attention to detail
• Helps golfers become a more well-rounded player
• The next step in shooting lower and more consistent scores

Cons

• It will take some time to develop good golf course management
• Must overcome your ego and play the smart shots when possible

What Proper Golf Course Management Looks Like

When you are getting good at golf course management, there are a few key signs that you will notice. These things let players know that they are starting to manage the golf course with appropriate attention to detail and precision.

Choosing The Right Golf Club

With proper golf course management, you have to consider the club that you are hitting and whether or not it is the correct selection. Think about purchasing some type of golf rangefinder that gives you very accurate yardages.

The rangefinder can give yardages to the pin as well as yardages to hazards. Planning what club to hit needs to be a precise process, and the rangefinder significantly increases accuracy. With the right golf club in your hand for the desired distance, you can also swing at the shot with much more confidence.

Analyzing Trouble On A Golf Hole

Where is the trouble? It’s worth it to avoid the trouble, whether you are hitting your tee shot or your approach to the green. Many amateur players will try so hard to avoid trouble that they put themselves in more danger.

Essentially if there is water down the right side of the fairway, make sure to aim down the left, but don’t give the fairway away. If you hit a perfect shot, you still want to end up in the fairway.

Choose Realistic Outcomes

We all make mistakes on the golf course, and we all have limitations. Golfers with proper golf course management will end up missing the green a few yards short or having a pitch or a chip on; they won’t be taking penalty shots because of an aggressive approach and poor decision.

If you have 199 yards to carry a water hazard and you take your 200 yard club, what are the chances of clearing that every time? Some holes should be played for birdie, others par. Not every hole will be a great hole, but choosing realistic outcomes and expectations can make this process considerably easier.

Why Use Golf Course Management (What Are The Benefits)

There are several really strong benefits to using golf course management, but almost all of them deal with lower scoring. The goal is to shoot lower scores, and with good golf course management, that is considerably easier to do.

Lower Scoring

It’s easier to shoot a lower score when you are in a great position on the golf course. Lower scoring is the ultimate goal of all players, and until you start analyzing a hole and making intelligent decisions, lower scoring can be difficult.

Fewer Saves Necessary

You know those putts that you must make to save double bogey. Those should never happen. Of course, there are times when an errant shot goes into a hazard or puts us out of bounds, but with proper golf course management, you can recover and still shoot the scores you want.

More Pleasant Round of Golf

Proper golf course management helps you have more pleasant rounds of golf. Hitting golf balls into trouble all day long is difficult and exhausting. Instead, golf course management can get you back on track and see the golf course in an entirely new way.

The Next Step In Becoming A Great Player

Golf course management deepens your understanding of the game of golf and very likely takes your game to the next level. If you want to naturally move your handicap down without doing much to your golf swing, golf course management is a great option to consider.

What Is Golf Strategy

A golf strategy is a plan you develop for your round of golf. Golf strategy will never be the same from one round to the next as there are things like wind, rain, and even the way you're swinging that day that will impact your golf strategy.

Golfers that have great golf strategies develop a plan for a golf course and then consider all of the other outside influences that will impact that plan. Things like . . .

• How fast the greens are rolling
• What direction the wind is coming from
• Is it humid?
• What part of your golf game is the strength that day
• Where to leave approach shots to guarantee a one or two putt

Proper golf course management is a huge part of golf strategy, but it is not all of it. A golf strategy is more of a plan to achieve your goal on the golf course. With golf strategy, you typically start with a goal (the score you want to shoot) and then work backward to devise your plan for that golf course.

Many golfers take some time to develop an excellent golf strategy, and this is something that will be ever-changing based on your playing style, the courses you play, your swing, the equipment, and even the weather.

Pros

• Can help to lower golf scores
• Makes players think more clearly about the entire game
• Will encourage reaching goals
• It makes it easier to roadmap the way to a lower handicap

Cons

• The number of factors involved in golf strategy can feel overwhelming
• It will take months to form a really great golf strategy
• You can feel pressure if you think too much about your score

Why Use Golf Strategy And How To Form One

The main reason to use a golf strategy is that you are trying to become a better golfer. All golf professionals have a golf strategy, and it is unique to their game. Each of these players developed this strategy to try and win tournaments.

Although you may not be playing on the PGA Tour, you still have a goal for the golf course that day. The goal may be to break 100 or to shoot 75; regardless of what the goal is, you will need a golf strategy.

Here are some steps to use to form a golf strategy for your game.

Start With A Goal

To develop a proper golf course strategy, you must start with a goal. The goal should be realistic; for instance, if you have never shot lower than 92, shooting a 90 would be a good goal and something worth building a strategy for.

By starting with a goal, you can build out a golf strategy that makes sense and that is attainable. Remember that your golf game must also be to a level that supports the goal and the strategy.

I know that my golf strategy has evolved through the years and become more complicated over time; this is directly related to the way my game has changed and improved.

Be Aware Of The Things You Can’t Control

Unfortunately, there are quite a few things on the golf course that are out of our control. These things make it difficult for players that are very strict about their golf strategy. If you can’t control something, plan for it.

For instance, the wind has a significant impact on golf strategy. If you are hitting a shot into the wind, it will certainly impact the distance. Learning to plan for this and adjusting your club selection will make you better at golf.

Smart Golf Course Management

Proper golf course management must be in place to have a great golf strategy. Make sure you are aware of any hazards on a hole and where to hit your shots to avoid any trouble and the best possible outcome. Smart golf course management requires attention to detail and a good idea of how far you hit each club.

Put Time In On The Range

The one thing that helps make the golf course strategy even more compelling is having a general idea as to where the ball is going to go when you hit it. If you are a great player, your shots will be more consistent and predictable, and this helps build out a strong golf course strategy.

Spending time on the range also helps golfers understand what their misses are. Many players have a consistent slice that pops up, or they draw the ball. Knowing your typical miss will help form the best golf strategy.

Golf Course Management vs. Golf Course Strategy

Golf course management and golf course strategy are very similar, yet they are not the same. The golf course strategy is the entire picture, all things that must be considered and worked on, and planned for in order to shoot the lowest possible scores. Golf course management deals mostly with decision-making and shot placement.

To have a great golf course strategy, you will need golf course management. If you were making a golf course strategy checklist, golf course management would be one of the most important boxes to check.

Do Professional Golfers Use Golf Course Strategy?

Professional golfers use golf course strategy, and it is very involved. If you have seen the yardage books and the notes that these players take, you can get a better idea as to just how strategic the professional golfer is.

This level of thinking on the golf course takes time to develop, and it is not for all players. However, if you want to play consistently and shoot lower scores, it is without a doubt necessary to have a golf course strategy.

A recreational golfer doesn't need to be too analytical, but a healthy dose of golf strategy can definitely help improve your score. For certain golfers with slightly higher handicaps even up to 10 strokes per round.

Conclusion

I hope you now feel more confident in your understanding of golf course management vs. golf course strategy. At some point in a golfer's career, the mental game becomes just as, if not more important than the physical game. When that starts to happen, you will need both golf course strategy and golf course management.