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Playing the Game

Playing the game is a different animal than simply practicing shots on the driving range or putting on the practice green.  When you step onto the first tee of any course, you need to be in tune with the courtesies of the game.  Know the etiquette and basic rules, and leave the course in better shape than you find it.  This means behaving yourself on the course, picking up trash and putting it in garbage bins, raking bunkers completely, and replacing your divots and fixing ball marks (your own and one or two others you see on the green).

Have the right equipment in your hands when you tee up that first ball, and learn to manage your game. This means knowing your limitations and playing within your skill level. So if you have a shot from the woods after an errant drive, choose a place to pitch the ball back into play instead of trying a miracle shot through a two-foot gap in the trees.  Be smart about your choice of shots.  If you are a poor chipper and are 10 feet off the green in dry conditions, take your putter and roll the ball up to the hole.  Arnold Palmer wrote a book called Situation Golf in 1970, which is really good at demonstrating, with diagrams of holes, how golfers of various skill levels should go about trying to play holes offering distinct challenges.  One route is for low handicappers, one for middle, and one for high handicappers.  I found it extremely beneficial to my game when I read it as a teenager.  To illustrate my point, I was not accurate with my driver and sometimes my long irons would desert me.  A couple holes that called for accurate tee shots with out of bounds on both sides plagued me.  Instead of hitting driver or 2-iron on a short 480-500 yard par 5, I went with 6-iron off the tee, then would hit another 6-iron, leaving me a short iron third shot.  More times than not I'd make par and gone were my disaster 8's and 9's on those holes.  Remember the old cliché, "It's not how, but how many." 

Maintain a positive attitude about your game.  But what do you when you have "lost" your game, and can't hit a decent shot to save your life?  I encourage you to do as old Harry Vardon used to preach, and "keep hitting the ball" and don't give up.  Everybody has bad spells and slumps when the game deserts them.  That's golf.  Turning in all your scores is the only way to have a valid handicap and know what your true ability is.  (The USGA issues official handicaps, but if you do not belong to a club, use an inventive system developed by Golf Digest magazine. Online handicap calculators are also available).  If your game goes sour, hit your pet club, whatever that is, the one you seem to always hit well.  So if you have to hit three 7-irons to get by the green in three, when you chip up and make a 10 footer for bogey, that won't be too bad.  Don't think you are being "soft" for doing so, do whatever it takes to get the ball in the hole.  Slow play can also throw you off your game. When you encounter it, and I guarantee you will almost every day, be patient and keep loose.  The rules allow you to practice chipping and your putting stroke on the next tee, so hit a few chips on the tee box to pass the time and make use of the wait before teeing off.  Talk to your playing partners about anything but golf - there's no need to analyze your game in mid-round.  To see how Tom Watson deals with slow play, click here

Track the progress of your game.  When you get home write down how many fairways and greens you hit, how many up and downs you made and how many putts you took.  The Golf Channel.com has a real neat feature for statistically breaking down your performance and you should take advantage of it, since the basic feature is free. By looking at your numbers, you can easily tell what areas you need to work on.  For example, if you shoot 90 but take 40 putts, you can see that by holing a few more 3-6 footers you can easily shave 5 or 6 shots off your game.  Conversely, if you shoot 90 with 30 putts but only hit one green in regulation, your long shots need some work.  You also have to be realistic and take into consideration how much time you have in your life to practice and play the game.  How much do you play?  If only once a month you can't expect to lower your average scores considerably, so keep your expectations realistic.  Most of all, try to have some fun.  When playing with friends, mix things up sometimes and play games like Bingo, Bango, Bongo and other amusing variations on the game. Even when you aren't doing great, you can still "win" part of a competition with these games.

When the course is quiet (which it may never be), usually just before darkness sets in or on days when its raining and dreary, you might try to go out and practice without keeping score.  Hit a couple balls of the tee, hit shots out of the woods, out of bunkers (replace divots and smooth your footprints, though), try some goofy shots you might never try if you were playing for a score.  That way the next time you find yourself up against a tree and the only shot you have is a left handed turned over sand wedge, at least you have practiced the shot.  

After the round, if you have time, work on the things that gave you difficulty that day, whatever it may be.  But keep your session to no more than an hour, and always leave on a positive note, whether it's striping a drive on the range or making a 25 foot putt on the practice green.  But whether you do lousy or great, remember the next time it's a whole new ball game, and anything can happen.  There will be ups and downs.  Even the best in the world know golf is a tough sport.  Jack Nicklaus thought when he turned pro as a 22-year old and could devote his life to golf, he would fine tune his game to perfection.  But years later he said that even as much as he played and practiced, one day he'd have it, and the next day he couldn't hit his hat.  Remember that, and don't be too hard on yourselves.

Practicing in an organized way will pay big dividends.  Set up a schedule to work on various areas of the game, and try to stick with it.  Golf Digest had an excellent piece a couple years ago which outlines this very thing, and it makes sense to me. Plan for breaking 100, 90, 80.

Good luck, and hit them long and straight.

Some facts about golf:

Average score for 18 holes: 98 men; 108 women

Percentage by score (men):  Under 80 (5%); 80-89 (27.2%); 100-119 (32.8%); over 120 (15.3%)

Minorities in golf (2003): 1.3 million African-Americans; 1.1 million Asian-Americans; 965,000 Hispanic-Americans

Golfers spend over $20 billion each year in equipment and greens and membership fees

For more information, see the National Golf Foundation