If you want to lower your golf scores then this video is for you. I explain course management strategies using Decade Golf, create by Scott Fawcett, to help you plan your shots to give yourself the best opportunity to shoot lower scores. In this video I focus on the approach shots, which are important to help get you as close to the flag as possible and reduce the number of putts you need.
By using your shot patterns, as we went through in the previous video in the series, you can plan your approach to the green. This does not always mean aiming at the flag and often means aiming away. This is done to reduce your risk of landing in a hazard or the rough, which increases the number of shots you will need overall.
Watch the video as I explain the method and demonstrate strategies for different types of approach shots depending on the length, hazard locations and pin positions.
If you want to used the Shot Pattern app we used in the video to plan your next game or use on the course you can get 20% a yearly subscription by using the code SAMVICKERSGOLF or through this link:
https://apps.apple.com/redeem?ctx=offercodes&id=6447127454&code=SAMVICKERSGOLF
For more details on the app visit their website:
https://shotpattern.app/
Check out the next video in the series where we will focus on short game.
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in the second part of this video series on course management and decade golf strategy I’m going to talk about approach shots approach shots in principle is the same as t-shots in terms of we’re trying to choose a good Target a good Club selection based on a shot pattern to keep things really simple to begin with I’ve got 140 yards from the center of the Fairway I’ve got a front left flag now for my handicap of scratch if I was to hit this to 40 ft I would be gaining zero against other handicaps so in a Strokes gain sense just to hit it to 40 feet is actually still a good shot when we take that into account if I was to CH look where the pin is placed on the green and I was to imagine the ball was going to finish 40t left of that where would that roughly take me would that ball finish still on the green or would it be off the green or would it be in a hazard for example visually I would Hazard the guess that that would still be on the green so that then allows me to go I’m going to choose a club that gets me to carry 40 yards and I’m going to aim straight at the flag so now that we’re up here and you can see the pin location I’m talking of that 40 ft between the pin and basically missing the green that’s 13 yards and we can see here we clearly got 13 yards so my target was correct now if I was to move the PIN to here for example 40 feet left of that which isn’t a bad shot would be in the roof so in essence regardless of where that pin is onto this front part of the green the target would still be straight at the pin now I’ve actually hit it to probably about bang on 40 ft which is actually quite a poor shot but there was nothing wrong with the actual quality of strike and the direction it was just a poor Judgment of yardage the wind was a little bit more down the ground was a little bit more wet the ball went further than I was expecting but there’s another example of where I’ve not actually lost any Strokes gained because I’ve still hit the green and I’m still going to likely to put and walk out with a par if I take that exact shot and cut the distance from the flag or the distance the ball traveled on the same line to the correct yardage so this is more about yardage control straight away I’m no more than 15 foot away and a really good look for Birdie on a tough hole so choosing the correct Target into greens is as important as choosing the correct Club so we got 155 yards here but we’re into to win so let’s call it a 165 yard shot cuz it’s quite cool this evening now Strokes gained we know that from if we can hit this to just under 50 ft which is nearly 15 yards and that is a 15 yard circle around the flag then you’re at the very least not losing anything to your handicap when we look at this particular flag which is pretty much in the dead center of the green we know the target is simple it’s straight at the flag but obviously if that pin changes and gets closer to any hazards we got to learn how to aim away from targets and know that why that’s effective let’s give that a go so as we can see with a flag like this at center of the green drawing a 15 yard circle around the flag upwards of 40 ft we can always aim at that pin and that’s why Center Flags especially when you watch on TV you’ll very rarely see a center pin because scoring would always be much much lower and course easier because the danger is often not in shot patterns at every level if I was to move the flag to the front part of the green here and closer to this Hazard I can’t now go if I draw that 40 foot window or more a lot of my shots are going to end up in that Hazard and short-sided so at the very least at most skill level you’re making at least a bogey there so again we’d have to actually to lower score we’ actually want to be a more at the center of the green knowing that yes some shots are going to end up more on the right half of the green which could leave you a long put but that’s better than bringing in the hazard if we do the same and go to back right we’ve got the same issue but all of a sudden if we go to back left that actually takes that hazard out and if we’re closer to the green we might be able to get a little bit more aggressive because we know that dispersion window becomes a little bit tighter so as we take this par through we’ve got the pin on the back right so when we know this golf course we know all the there’s bunkers surrounding this whole green the short sided Miss which is the bunkers right is a big no no so when we look at a dispersion window again of around about 40 ft around the whole hole can we create a circle and what is the best place to aim for now naturally if I actually to hit this ball really close I’m likely going to have pushed the ball online and that’s okay to knock it to 4050 foot I might even pull it slightly but the main aim is hitting on the green so when I choose a Target I want to be choosing a Target that’s slightly left of the flag that is dead center of the green to the best of your ability and choosing a yardage Zone that we know doesn’t bring short into the equation takes that front bunker out of play okay so we’re aiming left of the flag it might feel defensive to some but when we know based on the shot pattern we’ve got the right target so I’ve I’ve hit that dead center of my Target and I’ve hit that really really good and it might visually look about 20 foot away but I’m still gaining there to my handicap I’ve still got half a chance for a birdie and I’m very unlikely to make a bogey because I’ve played safe so here’s a really good example of approach play shots and knowing the course and doing your planning in advance I’ve hit that dead on the line I wanted to that pin as we’ve got up here is not as tight to the right as it looked visually from the distance and that gives you an idea of sometimes pins are way worse than you actually think or way better and that then can emotionally draw you into poor decision making I’ve been lucky there where I’ve hit a perfect shot on my line and I’ve gone to 20 foot but if I knew where that flag was I might have adjusted my line slightly and be half the distance away and the reason that’s important because if I pulled that in my shot pattern there’s a good chance I would have ended up in the rough leaving myself a difficult chance for an up and down but it’s fine margins at all levels of golf and we’re not trying to over complicate this the more you understand about shot patterns the more you understand about averages and making clear targets the lower your scoring will become and that is a guaranteed fact if you apply this principle so with all approach play Shots it’s so important that you choose a Target that’s going to give you the best chance of removing those big scores that doesn’t always have to be at the flag more often than not it’s away from the flag but knowing how far to aim away from the flags will depend on how far you’ve got into the green so the club you’re using I.E the amount of spin you create the amount of control with the Loft but also the lie you have let me know how you get on and if you can lower your scores with those approach shots
