Few people know, I am a video golf fanatic. That being said, I have spent
countless hours playing dozens of different courses on dozens of games.
I have developed strategies that I will document here. Use what you will to
improve your own score. Most of these tips work on any PGA Golf game, and many
others can use the strategies.
I. TIPS & TRICKS
A. Snap-hook drives - The key to scoring 40 under par or better in a tourney.
Aim your ball way right of where you actually want it to land. Then, when you
are looking to stop on the accuracy point, intentionally stop the meter way short
of the accuracy point. This should bring your ball back onto the course. You may
be asking,"What did I gain by doing this?". Well, if you check out your shot
distance you will find that your average tee shot will increase by 50-75 yards.
I have actually driven a ball better than 380 yards using this method.
B. Selecting Clubs - Alot of people will accept the default clubs. I guess they
are ok, but we are looking to get that little extra. So I will suggest some
alternatives. First, get rid of the 4 wood. Pick up the 2 wood in its place.
The 2 wood will give you that little bit of extra distance on the second shot
of a par 5 hole. Then, swap your 2 iron for a 1 iron. About the only thing
a 2 iron is good for is coming out of the rough on a long hole. The 1 iron will
do this better. A 1 iron has about the same distance as a 4 wood, but you
can use it out of the rough, and it will stop on the green alot faster.
C. Putting - All good scores are created by good putting. It is the essence of
golf. An eagle putt can easily create a bogey hole if you don't know what you
are doing. First, I will give you a basic strategy. If you feel confident about
a putt, go ahead and give it a good hit. Make sure you get it to the hole. If
you don't know, maybe hit it a bit easier than you normally would. This is called
lagging the putt. You may miss the putt, but you should stop short enough that you
will make the return putt. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people 3 or
even 4 putt a hole because they refused to lag a putt.
I try to use a counting method to determine effect of the slope on my putt. I will
count the number of line breaks and figure my putts as follows:
On an uphill putt, move your ball half of the break in the other direction. If you
have an odd number of broken lines, drop the odd break. For example, I have a 15
footer with 12 breaks to the right. I will move my pointer 6 breaks to the left.
If there were 13 breaks, I would have still moved 12.
On a downhill putt, I will move an equal number as the breaks. This is because you
have to hit the ball easier, causing the ball to be more effected by the hill. The
ball tends to roll more with the green than the way you hit it.
That reminds me, be sure to stroke those uphill putts! The greens are alot more
forgiving when the ball is hit too hard. What that means is the ball will still go
in if you hit it a little too hard. Hit it too easy and you will be putting again.
The same is not true for a downhill putt. If you hit over the suggested power, you
will probably have a putt just as long for a second putt.Lag it a bit on a downhill
putt. The hill should make up for the lack of power. You want to avoid a 3 putt.
The best golfers are consistent putters, not gamblers.
II. TROUBLE SHOTS
A. Help! I'm shooting from a forest!
The best thing to do here, obviously, is to get the ball out of the trees. Do not
try to just hit the ball hard and hope for luck. You won't get it. Here's what
you should do:
First, lower your club. If you have a pitching wedge, try changing to a lower iron.
keep an eye on your target line. If it turns yellow as you move down, try to move 2
or 3 clubs further down. Then hit your shot. Your suggested power will be really
short, so be ready to stop it quick! Your ball will most likely roll off the green
if you hit it, but your out of the woods.
If you can't move your target around to get out of the woods pointing towards the
green, don't be afraid to hit it sideways or even backwards to get a clear path.
You won't feel as bad than when you go for the green and end up with the same shot
after you hit another tree. Since you hit in the woods, you should really be
looking to control damage to your score.
B. Great! But now I'm in the sand!
The only bad thing about sand on this game is fear of it. It won't effect your
ball as much as you might imagine. If you have a long shot from the sand, go
ahead and hit it like you normally would. Just be sure to use an iron (This is
one of the situations where that 1 iron may save you). If your ball is buried,
you will have to use a higher club, at least a 4 iron.
If it is a short chip to the green, just hit it like you were chipping from the
rough. Just remember 2 things. If you are buried, you will have to hit it a
little harder. The ball won't have any spin when it hits the green, meaning that
it will roll more than a normal shot. Make sure you hit it where it won't roll
off the green.
III. Legal Stuff
This FAQ is mine. I don't care how you use it, or if you take sections of it for
your own use, just give me credit. You don't have to bother with the e-mail; yes
just give me credit.
Thanks to Keith W. for helping to develop the strategies listed here.
This document is Copyright 2000 by Curtis Beckman.
