Golf Course Management

Today I watched the end of the St. Jude Classic PGA event, and watched in horror as Robert Garrigus had an 18 hole meltdown that almost rivaled that of Jean Van de Velde in the 1999 British Open. Heading to the 18th tee, Garrigus had a 3 shot lead over Lee Westwood and playing partner Robert Karlsson. The 18th was a dog leg left par 4, fairly long, with water along the left side of the fairway.

Garrigus, in spite of a not so great golf swing, was playing well all day, and his back nine surge put him in position to win. Basically, all he needed was a bogey to win, and even a double bogey would force Karlsson to make birdie on one of the most difficult holes on the course.

So, Garrigus makes his worst swing of the day and hits his tee shot in the water left. He was forced to drop short of the hazard. He then proceeded to try a heroic shot toward the green with a mid-iron, and pulled it into a tree. This forced him to chip out and he ultimately made triple bogey and fell into a playoff, which he lost.

First and foremost, Garrigus does not have a great golf swing that can hold up under this type of pressure, that is clear. If he wants to take his game to the next level, he needs to change his swing. Most tour pros are unwilling to do that since it takes time and effort, and they worry more about making a living. The better players are able to do it because they can still compete when they don't have their best game.

Secondly, with the water hazard to the left, Garrigus should be aiming well to the right, even if it means missing the fairway into a fairway bunker. With a 3 shot lead, he might even consider an iron off the tee, or just blasting a driver as far down the fairway and to the right as possible. The fairway opened up past the curve of the dogleg and driver may have taken the water out of play.

But, Garrigus chose to play a 3 wood, and made a poor swing. It was his next shot that made the difference. Hitting 3 after his drop, all he needed to do was hit a wedge somewhere up the fairway, hit another wedge on and two putt for 6, which would have forced Karlsson to make birdie (Westwood was already in the clubhouse). Instead, he tried a more heroic and stupid shot, and paid the price.

This is why most golfers shoot higher scores than what they are capable of. They throw away shots all over the golf course with penalty shots, poor short game shots and 3 and 4 putts. Since most people are unwilling to put in the work to really improve their golf swing, they should learn to manage their game on the golf course. If they learn how to play within themselves and score better with the short game, they will see much lower scores.

Next time you are faced with a situation on a golf course similar to what Robert Garrigus faced, play within yourself. Making sure you make 5 will save you many strokes. Trying a heroic shot that is likely beyond your ability will only bring 7 and 8 into play.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net