Time to become your own caddie

Engaging in some simple course management is the single most valuable skill you can adopt to improve your scoring.

How many of you can honestly admit to "working a shot" from the moment you step up to it? Not many.

I’m not referring to "working the ball" by shaping your shots – this is way too challenging for most club golfers. I mean simple steps and questions you can ask yourself to increase the likelihood of pulling off an appropriate shot which will lead to improved and more consistent low scoring.

The key to basic course management is knowing how far you hit the ball. Sounds simple, but how many times have you been in the 19th hole and heard golfers say: "I hit my seven-iron 175 yards" or "I hit my three wood about 260". Now guys, I can honestly count on one hand the amount of people I know that can hit a seven-iron over 170 yards let alone hit a three wood anywhere near 260!

Use the technology

Visit your local PGA Professional and book in for a distance-gauging session. There is some great new equipment available which enables the golfer to know exactly how far they hit each club.

The Trackman is the most common and literally tracks each shot you hit through the air using radar technology. The software calculates your average distance per club and importantly gives you your carry – critical when calculating landing over hazards or trying to get to the front or the back of a large green.

Once you have your average (realistic) hitting distances you can start on simple course management. Identify all the major features of the hole – the length, the stroke index (do you receive a shot or not), the distance to the first lot of trouble from the tee and the distance to carry it. Once you have determined these then run some scenarios: what if you lay up short of the trouble? Which club do you need to hit and what distance does it leave you to the green? What do you need to you carry the trouble?

Weigh up the chances of making the shot. Is the fairway wider short of the trouble or beyond it? Do not take a club that will land near a hazard – how many times have you hit a great shot only to see it roll into a deep trap that you had no idea you could reach?

The right club

Another common mistake is always choosing a club to get to the middle of the green. Something I learnt off a very good friend of mine on the European Tour is to always identify the dead spots around every green – areas from which you are not likely to get up and down.

These areas are usually at the front or back of a green. My advice is: if you are shooting at a green with a couple of deep pot bunkers at the front with the pin cut close to them, then play for the back of the green by using one more club.

The average golfer will mishit shots so it is better to be long than come up short and taking four to escape a tough bunker. Pros steer clear of "dead spots" and play the percentages. If it works for them – it’s got to work for you.