W GOLF
L
ON COURSE STRATEGY
BY TOM ATKINSON, PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL
So we have looked at some speciality areas within your game, from
putting to bunkers, pitching to rules but how about working on the
most important of all - playing golf.
Course management is one of the most important skills to learn. I
learned my coaching skills from Alan Thompson (Tommy Fleetwood’s
coach) whilst working for him for 15 years, one of the first things he
said to me was “the pro’s do the simple things well”.
He wasn’t wrong. Course management is all about efficiency, after all
how many times have you been told that there’s no pictures on the
scorecard!
It all starts with a good routine, the best players all have a routine,
not all of them are the same but whatever it maybe it’s consistent
throughout. Personally I like to play the shot in my head, have one or
two practice swings and then set up and hit it pretty quickly, it works
for me and I am 100% committed to each and every shot.
I played in a pro am recently and after 6 holes I noticed a trend
amongst the amateurs in my team. No matter where the flag was on
the green, they were going for it. The best in the world don’t do this so
you shouldn’t either, the pin just tells you where the hole is I told them,
that doesn’t mean you need to attack every one. Francesco Molinari
gave us a masterclass in this on his way to winning the Open last year.
Put as simply as I can, good golf is a game of fairways and greens
Here’s my monthly tip that I want you to go and try:
There are two types of putt - a lag putt that you are happy to get close
to the hole, and a hole-able putt. So how do you know which one you
are hitting?
The answer is you probably don’t. Try my theory. When you can see
the plastic part of the hole, the cup, from your address position, you
are close enough to hole it, now I don’t expect to make every putt
outside of 3 feet but my objective when I can see the cup is to make
sure the ball goes past by around 2 feet. If I can’t see the cup from my
address my objective changes and anything within 3 feet is a great
outcome. This simple thought process has bettered my putting ten
fold and I have no doubt that it will do the same for yours, after all
100% off putts that are short of the hole don’t go in!
Go ahead and try it and let me know if it helps your game.
You can contact Tom at Heswall Golf Club on 0151 342 7431,
www.heswallgolfshop.co.uk or @heswallgolfshop.
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