Golf Course Strategy Explained Like You’re 10

Most golfers try to fix their swing to lower their scores… but the real secret is learning how to think your way around the course. Strategy is one of the biggest differences between amateurs and great players. In this video, I break down golf course strategy in the simplest way possible, so you can start making smarter decisions, avoiding big mistakes, and saving strokes without changing your swing.

You’ll learn how to plan tee shots, when to lay up, how to pick smart targets, how to manage risk vs. reward, and why the best golfers don’t always aim at the flag. If you’ve ever wondered why pros make the game look easy, a lot of it comes down to strategy—now you’ll understand exactly how to use it in your own rounds.

#GolfStrategy #CourseManagement #GolfTips #LowerYourScores #GolfForBeginners

Most beginners think golf is just about hitting the ball as far as possible and trying to get it in the hole. But the best golfers know that golf is really a game of strategy. It’s like chess, but with clubs and a ball. Knowing when to be aggressive, when to play safe, and how to think your way around a course can save you more strokes than any swing tip. In this video, I’ll explain the most important golf course strategy concepts in a way that’s easy to understand. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been playing for years, learning to think strategically will help you shoot lower scores without changing your swing. Let’s start with the most important strategic concept in golf. Course management. What is course management? Course management is the art of making smart decisions about how to play each hole based on your abilities, the conditions, and the situation. It’s about playing the percentages and avoiding big mistakes. What makes course management important is that it can save you more strokes than improving your swing. A player with average skills but great course management will often beat a more talented player who makes poor decisions. Tiger Woods is famous not just for his incredible talent, but for his strategic brilliance. He often talks about playing within himself and making smart decisions rather than always going for the hero shot. Good course management means knowing your own game, how far you hit each club, what your typical misses are, and what shots you’re comfortable with. It also means understanding the course layout, where the trouble is, and where you have room for error. The key principle is simple. Avoid big numbers. A bogey isn’t great, but it’s manageable. A triple bogey can ruin your entire round. Smart course management helps you avoid those disaster holes. Playing to your strengths. One of the most important strategic concepts is playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses. Every golfer has shots they’re comfortable with and shots they struggle with. What makes this strategy effective is that it maximizes your chances of success. If you’re more comfortable hitting a fade, ball curving left to right for right-handed golfers, you should set up your shots to favor that ball flight rather than trying to hit a draw. Jack Nicholas, one of the greatest golfers ever, played a fade his entire career. He set up every shot to favor his natural ball flight. Even though many courses are designed to favor a draw. If you struggle with long irons, but hit your seven iron consistently, it might be smarter to lay up to your favorite distance rather than trying to reach a green with a club you’re not comfortable with. Know what you do well and build your strategy around it. If you’re a great putter, but struggle with chipping, try to miss greens in spots where you can put rather than chip. Play your game, not someone else’s. T-shot strategy. The T-shot sets up everything else on the hole. So having a smart strategy off the tea is crucial. The goal isn’t always to hit driver as far as possible. What makes T-shot strategy important is that finding the fairway gives you a much better chance of hitting a good approach shot. It’s easier to hit the green from the fairway than from the rough. So your scores are usually lower when you find the fairway. Many professional golfers, including Zack Johnson when he won the 2007 Masters, have won major championships by hitting three-wood or iron off many TE’s instead of driver. Prioritizing accuracy over distance. Before you tee off, look at the hole layout. Where is the trouble? Is there water on the right? Are there bunkers on the left? Which side of the fairway gives you the best angle to the green? Sometimes the smart play is to hit a shorter club that you can control better. A 3-wood in the fairway is almost always better than a driver in the trees. Remember, you can’t score if you’re not in play. Aiming away from trouble. One of the simplest but most effective strategies is to aim away from trouble. This means identifying the biggest hazards and making sure your misses avoid them. What makes this strategy powerful is that it gives you room for error. If there’s water on the right side of the hole, aim for the left side of the fairway. Even if you push it right, you might still be safe. At Augusta National, the par 312th hole has water in front and bunkers behind. Most pros aim for the center or slightly right of the pin, knowing that a miss left into the water is a disaster. This concept applies to every shot. On approach shots, identify where the trouble is, water, bunkers, out of bounds, and aim away from it. It’s okay to miss on the safe side where you’ll have an easier recovery shot. Many amateurs make the mistake of aiming directly at the flag without considering where trouble is. Smart players aim for the fat part of the green and accept that they might have a longer putt, but they’ll avoid the big numbers. Laying up. Laying up means intentionally hitting a shorter shot to position yourself for an easier next shot. It’s one of the smartest strategies in golf, but many players are too proud to do it. What makes laying up smart is that it often leads to lower scores. If you have 230 yards to a green with water in front, and you can only hit your 3-wood 210 yard, trying to reach the green is foolish. Laying up to 100 yards gives you a full wedge shot, which you’re more likely to hit close. Phil Mickelson is known for his aggressive play, but even he lays up when the situation calls for it. At the 2013 Open Championship, he laid up on several holes and still won the tournament. Laying up is especially smart on par fives. If you can’t comfortably reach the green in two shots, laying up to your favorite wedge distance often leads to better scores than trying to force a long shot that might find trouble. Don’t let ego dictate your strategy. A layup followed by a wedge and one putt for birdie is better than going for it. Finding water and making double bogey, understanding risk versus reward. Every shot in golf involves a riskreward calculation. Understanding when to be aggressive and when to be conservative is key to good course management. What makes this concept crucial is that not all risks are worth taking. If the potential reward is small but the penalty for failure is large, it’s usually not a smart risk. At the par 515th hole at Augusta National, players must decide whether to go for the green in two over water. The reward is a potential eagle, but the risk is water and a big number. Players consider their position in the tournament before deciding. A good rule of thumb, if you need to hit a perfect shot to pull it off, it’s probably not worth the risk. If you can hit a decent shot and still succeed, the risk might be worth it. Consider the situation, too. If you’re in a match and need to make up ground, taking more risks makes sense. If you’re protecting a lead, playing conservatively is smarter. Adjust your strategy based on the situation. Club selection strategy. Choosing the right club isn’t just about distance. It’s about giving yourself the best chance for success on the next shot. What makes club selection strategic is that sometimes the right club isn’t the one that reaches the green. On a par three with water in front and trouble behind, taking one less club and landing short might be smarter than risking going over the green. Professionals often talk about leaving yourself in position. This means not just reaching the green, but reaching the right part of the green where you’ll have an uphill putt or avoid a difficult chip. Consider what happens if you miss. If you’re between clubs, which miss is more manageable? Coming up short into a bunker you can handle or flying over into thick rough. Choose the club that gives you the best miss. Also, factor in adrenaline in conditions. When you’re nervous or excited, you might swing faster and hit the ball farther. into the wind, take more club. Downwind, take less. Adjust for conditions, not just yardage. Green reading and pin position. Understanding where the pin is located on the green and how that affects your strategy is crucial for scoring well. What makes pin position important is that not all parts of the green are equally accessible. A pin tucked behind a bunker on the right side of the green is much harder to attack than a pin in the middle of the green. Professional tournaments often have sucker pins. Pins placed in difficult locations that tempt aggressive players into making mistakes. Smart pros often aim for the center of the green on these holes. When the pin is in a difficult location, near water, behind a bunker, on a severe slope, the smart play is often to aim for the middle of the green and accept a longer putt. When the pin is accessible, you can be more aggressive. Also, consider the slope of the green. It’s much easier to put uphill than downhill. So try to leave yourself below the hole when possible. Missing on the low side of the green often leads to difficult downhill putts or chips. Par three strategy. Par 3s require a different strategic approach than other holes because you’re hitting directly to the green with your first shot. What makes par 3 strategy unique is that there’s no layup option. You’re committed to hitting the green or dealing with a recovery shot. This makes club selection and target selection crucial. On par threes, the middle of the green is almost always the smart target. Even if the pin is tucked in a corner, aiming for the middle gives you the most margin for error and still leaves you with a makeable putt. Consider the trouble around the green. If there’s water on the right, aim left center. If there are bunkers short, take enough club to clear them. The worst miss on a par three is usually short. You’d rather be long with a chip back than short in a hazard. Many amateurs make the mistake of always aiming at the flag on par threes. Smart players aim for the safe part of the green and accept that they might have a 30-foot putt. A two putt par is a good score on a difficult par three. Par 4 strategy. Par4 make up the majority of holes on most courses. So having a solid strategy for them is essential for scoring well. What makes par4 strategy important is that these holes offer the most variety. Some are short and reachable, others are long and challenging. Your strategy should adapt to the specific hole on shorter par4s under 350 yards. Consider whether driver is necessary. Sometimes a 3-wood hybrid off the tea leaves you with a full wedge shot, which might be easier to control than a half wedge from closer. On longer par4s over 450 yd, except that par is a good score. Don’t try to force shots you’re not capable of hitting. If you need two good shots plus two putts to make par, that’s okay. That’s what the hole is designed for. The key strategic question on par fours is where do I want to hit my approach shot from? Work backward from the green. If the green is easier to approach from the right side, aim for the right side of the fairway with your T-shot. Par five strategy. Par fives offer the best scoring opportunities for most golfers, but only if you play them strategically. What makes par five strategy crucial is that these holes give you options. You can be aggressive and try to reach in two, or you can play conservatively and rely on your short game. For most amateur golfers, the smart play on par fives is to think of them as three shot holes. Hit a good drive, hit a layup to your favorite wedge distance, usually 80 to 120 yards, then hit a wedge close and make the putt for birdie. Professional golfers often go for par fives and two because they have the distance and skill to pull it off. But even pros layup when the risk isn’t worth the reward, when they’re protecting a lead or when the conditions are difficult. The biggest mistake amateurs make on par fives is trying to hit a perfect 3-wood from 240 yd to reach the green and two. This low percentage shot often leads to trouble in big numbers. Play the percentages and you’ll score better. Wine strategy. Playing in the wind requires adjustments to your strategy and club selection. Understanding how wind affects your shots is crucial for scoring well in breezy conditions. What makes wind strategy important is that wind can dramatically change how far the ball travels and how much it curves. A shot that normally goes 150 yd might go 130 into the wind or 170 downwind. Into the wind, take more club and swing easier. A smooth 6iron will fly lower and more controlled than a hard 7iron. The harder you swing into the wind, the more the ball will balloon and lose distance. Downwind, take less club than you think. The ball will fly farther and roll more when it lands. Also, be aware that downwind shots are harder to stop on the green. Crosswinds require you to aim into the wind and let it blow the ball back to your target. If the wind is blowing right to left, aim right and let the wind bring it back. Don’t try to fight the wind. Use it to your advantage. Uphill and downhill shots. Elevation changes affect both distance and strategy. Understanding how to adjust for uphill and downhill shots is important for accurate club selection. What makes elevation strategy crucial is that the ball travels differently when hitting uphill versus downhill. An uphill shot plays longer than the yardage suggests, while a downhill shot plays shorter. A general rule is to add one club for every 10 to 15 ft of elevation gain and subtract one club for every 10 to 15 ft of elevation loss. So if you have 150 yd uphill, it might play like 165 y. Uphill shots also tend to fly higher and stop quicker while downhill shots fly lower and roll more. This affects where you should land the ball on the green. Also consider your lie. On an uphill lie, the ball will tend to go left for right-handed golfers and fly higher. On a downhill lie, it will tend to go right and fly lower. Adjust your aim and club selection accordingly. Recovery shots. When you hit a bad shot and find yourself in trouble, having a smart recovery strategy can save you strokes. What makes recovery strategy important is that trying to be a hero from trouble often leads to even bigger trouble. The goal of a recovery shot is to get back in play, not to make up for your mistake with one miraculous shot. When you’re in the trees or deep rough, your first priority is to get back to the fairway. Don’t try to threat a 5iron through a tiny gap 180 yard to the green. Chip out sideways to the fairway, then play your next shot normally. Phil Mickelson is famous for attempting and sometimes pulling off incredible recovery shots, but even he admits that many of his most aggressive recovery attempts have led to big numbers. The smart play is usually the boring play. Ask yourself, what’s the worst that can happen with this shot? If the answer is double bogey or worse, you’re probably taking too much risk. Accept that you made a mistake, take your medicine with a safe recovery, and move on. So, there you have it. Golf course strategy explained. Remember, golf isn’t just about how far you can hit the ball or how perfect your swing is. It’s about making smart decisions, playing the percentages, and avoiding big mistakes. The best part about improving your course management is that it doesn’t require any physical changes to your game. You can start shooting lower scores immediately just by thinking more strategically about how you play each hole. Don’t try to play like the pros you see on TV. Play your game. Know your strengths and weaknesses and make smart decisions. As you play more golf, you’ll develop better instincts for course management. You’ll learn which risks are worth taking and which aren’t. You’ll understand your own game better and make decisions that give you the best chance for success. Hit that like button if this helped you understand golf course strategy better.