Golf Coach Explains Best Strategy for Each Type of Hole

Course Management in golf is just as important to scoring well as having a good swing. If you hit a solid strike, but put yourself in trouble because you made a silly mistake with your aim, it can be worse than hitting a weaker shot into a safe area. In this video, Coach Ed plays 3 holes with Patrick at the beautiful Dalhousie Golf Club in Missouri and explains the strategy behind each shot.

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Watch More Lessons with Patrick and Ed:
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This Simple Concept Will Help You Hit Perfect Draws

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so we’re over at Dal huzi Golf Club here
in Cape dardo Missouri and Ed’s going to
play a couple holes with me and talk
through the strategy of how we’re
supposed to approach some of these holes
and this course is Pretty Tough looking
I I haven’t played it yet but some of
these holes are pretty intimidating so
we’re going to talk about some strategy
on how you approach some of these
difficult holes and maybe what to avoid
and what to be thinking about as you’re
playing yep let’s go this is a 17th hole
of doozi it’s really cool it’s 490 yards
from the back te and um a lot of times
especially if you get don’t have a
chance to play a practice round it of
course if you’re going to play in a
tournament or a member member or
something like that if you can get in a
cart and drive the course and Scout it
out I like to go backwards because it’s
really you can see the landing areas you
can see the green and you can see the
tea box in the distance down there way
back down in those trees but from here
if you were hitting a t- shot back that
way Patrick he’s on the camera so he can
just talk here but if you were hitting
this direction back does that look like
an intimidating Fairway at all to hit no
not too bad no it’s pretty wide right
well that’s how wide it is the other
direction but it’s not going to look
like that right and Golf Course
Architects do a really good job of
intimidating you with visually what it
looks like off the te a lot of times if
you look at it backwards and see where
you would want to be
um um um it’ll help you when you get to
the tea and you’ll realize how much more
room you have so we’ll go back to the
tea and take a look at it all right
we’re here on 17 at Dal huzi it’s the
hole we showed you from the green back
to the te and would you agree with me
this looks a lot tighter and narrower
than the perspective was from up by the
green looking backwards this looks
terrifying from this perspective
absolutely does but remember how much
room there was if you hit it solid
there’s lots of room a lot more room
right than what it looks like off this
tea would you agree with that absolutely
and we’re still this is one of the most
difficult holes in Missouri doesn’t have
a bunker on it which I think is a pretty
neat design yeah and um but uh great
great golf hole and uh and very
difficult five is a good score here even
for a good player um I would a par four
but it’s a par four but I I would uh
Arch Tech like
to have holes that are half pars I would
call this a par 4 and a half if you had
a two-day tournament here even as a
scratch player and you made a nine for
two days on this hole pry you’d be
pretty happy one par one bogey average 4
and a half um pretty good way to look at
it if you’re
a five or 10 or 15 handicapper you’re
getting a stroke here five with a stroke
we win you lots of bets all right okay
so um that’s the other way I would look
at holes like this okay all right go
ahead and lead us off sounds good all
right good I like I like holes that have
walkways cut from the T boxes out to the
Fairway and so yeah Patrick’s done this
without me saying anything but I like to
use those to aim if if that walkways
your t Target landing area straight out
there well then you ought to te your
ball up right in the middle of that
walkway and it’ll help you aim so can
you see that’s what you’ve done yeah
absolutely so our perfect landing spot
here on this hole is down the right
center of the Fairway and so we just
want to hit a good and solid right down
that walkway and my typical shot shape
is kind of a little bit of a fade so for
me personally I’m planning to aim maybe
towards the right edge of that trouble
and then just kind of hopefully it f
kind of more to the right side does that
seem like a good line
does not too bad faded a little but it
should kick down yeah that’s pretty much
what I had in mind maybe a little more
fade than I wanted but you know it’s so
that’s pretty safe I’m not in that all
that debris over on the left no you’re
not and a pretty good solid shot
there that looks great that was pretty
good huh yeah that’s awesome he still
got it first swing of the
[Laughter]
day so this is all you got let’s see so
from a rangefinder
here probably 200 to the flag about 220
I think from here20 y so again this is
one of the hardest holes on the course
Patrick said a pretty nice drive in the
right side of the Fairway mhm got the
ball above his feet a little a little
bit yep so whenever it’s above your feet
you need to take a couple practice
swings on the same slope to see how far
away from the ball to be yep typically
he’d have to be a little bit farther
from the ball as the ball’s above your
feet you got to be farther away that’s
where he’ll bottom out so he’ll take
some practice swings to bottom out
correctly that’s where he’ll play the
ball it’ll tend to draw off of this
lie uh a lot if you tend to hit a
natural draw anyway but for a fader it
might just be pretty straight y but
there’s a metal box up there to the
right of that flag mhm and that’s where
I think Patrick ought to aim that’s kind
of what I had in mind so good so pick
out your intermediate Target from behind
the ball to that thing and let’s go
ahead and hit a good shot the other
thing I’ll say here Patrick if he was
playing a match would be getting a
stroke here yeah so a five is a good
score so he just needs to get to the in
the hole and four shots from here and
he’s played a good
hole good again Patrick tends to hit a
fade so off that uphill eye he hit a
dead straight and perfect he’s just
short of the green maybe 20 or 30 yards
but it’s a very good shot really happy
with that good shot all right I’ve had a
really good drive up the left side I
wasn’t scared of
carrying that brush that off the tea cuz
I knew I could hit it far enough to get
over so I’m right here in the left hand
side of the Fairway I’ve got about 185
to the flag uh for for me that these
days that’s my fivewood so and again I
still look at this hole even from a
perfect Drive um it for me it’s a par
four and a half so if I make four great
if I make five I’m not mad and um we’ll
see how it goes here
beautiful little draw there yeah it’s
going to be just short though I
think but not too bad it was a good
swing that was
great okay so we’re 47 yards here and I
like to try to play to a distance like
Ed’s taught
me yes that’s correct what’ you say it
was 47 47 up the hill a little yep so
for me usually that means I’m I’m
probably playing either a pretty full um
Pitch shot with the 56 not like a full
swing but like my kind of pitch shot
technique or maybe I would go with the
50° if I once it gets to about 60 yards
I I have trouble with the same kind of
technique to get it there with a
56 great I like the 56 with that pitch
shot I think it’s perfect okay cuz
that’s 47 to the flag you probably only
have to hit at 40 yep absolutely okay
and okay so strategy wise here the right
looks like it really Trails off to like
a dune or something well it does but if
at this yardage we’re taking dead aim at
the flag we’re not even worried about
that that’s good that’s good to think
about so we’re we’re really focusing on
what we want not worried too much about
the trouble right no there’s no trouble
here we’re even right from this yardage
we’re aiming right at the flag all right
all right
great shot that’s pretty good I
know good I’m just short of the green
probably got 15 yards to the flag uh
pretty decent lie I’ve got my 60° club
I’m going to set up to where I hit my
50/50 shot I’d like to land it over this
first part of the where the slope is but
just land it halfway to the hole and let
it roll out so nothing fancy I’m on an
UPS slope GNA take my practice swings
see where I bought them
out I should bot them out pretty much
the same place every
time fly it
halfway let it roll out the rest of the
way oh it’s beautiful yep
thanks all right so Patrick’s three good
shots we got a 9-footer for par pretty
much straight up the hill yep uh we’re
here on a Monday everything’s closed
were the only ones out here so the
greens haven’t been mowed or nothing
today and so there’s leaves and a little
slower than usual probably too and
they’ve been air rated probably a week
or two ago
so so these greens are normally perfect
so but they’re still not too bad so what
I like that line it looks to me like it
goes right just a little bit so you
think the whole Green’s going slightly
slight can you tell that and is this
lower down here is there a drain over
here to our right there is a drain over
there so this part of the green drains
to that drain so that means that’s where
it slopes okay but it’s not a lot here
maybe a cup left to right at the most it
it’s slowing and up the hill so I’d only
play an inch or two left of the hole
this is what’s interesting about golf to
me is so if you just looked here I would
say this part feels like it slopes down
a little right but then the big part of
the Green’s all sloping to the right
right and so you have to figure out on
your line yeah sure which part you have
to worry about right and that’s why the
aim Point guys would come up here and
they’d straddle right here and they
they’d
say and I can tell that foot’s lower
than my left foot so it’ll go a little
bit to the
right yeah I can feel it I can feel it
just very slightly it’s very slight but
you can feel it that’s exactly right
okay
roll it in
there a little soft yep that’s a
good I missed it too just rimmed out I
think mine went left
yeah course a little I just didn’t hit
it solid
well we
tied I’ll take
that number 16 of dzi golf club
beautiful Golf
Hall um par
4 another pretty long one probably 4:30
from where we’re at
here Patrick tends to hit a fade right
yep so his Target here is going to be
those bunkers on the left maybe the
right edge of the far bunker that’s what
I’m seeing too and there’s a big tree
just past it there yep and he’s going to
tee off over here to the right by on the
right side just close to that t- marker
as he can and not worry about hitting it
and uh that gives him a better angle to
play his
fade and um he’s going to pick a leaf
out there in front of him to am’s Club
face and he’s just going to make a good
swing and hit it
solid he’s H it right at the bunker but
I think it’s going to be short of it I
think that think great shot that was
really solid yeah that one didn’t fade
at all it
didn’t that’s how come we always aim to
where if it goes straight we’re still
okay yep so I’m going to do the same
thing I’m going to kind of just aim at
the right edge of that bunker I probably
can’t get it there either if I hit it
solid so it’s a good Target for me and
gives me lots of room right
there you
go beautiful I think it’s pretty good I
couldn’t tell if just shorted of it or
not I think we’re going to be playing
the same line pretty
much so we got about 170 173 we said
something like that a front pin so it’s
on the left up
here Ed out drove me by five yards I did
uh this probably your seven wood again
seven wood for me so I’m I mean I’m
playing to basically go right at it what
do you think about that yeah you ball
above your feet or below it Ball’s
slightly below all right so what’s that
mean well so it’s going to tend a little
bit to the right typically right mhm and
I’m going to have to be just slightly
steeper than usual to make good contact
maybe
maybe this isn’t too extreme though I
think I can make it’s not
I would aim left of this flag just a
little left okay I I would aim at the
left edge of the green what do you think
about this line the bunker line here
right there’s like fun kind of just the
right right side of the bunker just 10
yards left cuz even if you hit it
straight there that’s a pretty good chip
but if you aim at the flag and miss it
to the right any at all you’re going to
be in that bunker okay yep yeah okay
so the line’s good yeah it is topped it
just a tiny bit you did it should roll
up there pretty close I didn’t see
that’s a pretty good Miss yep I
agree same for me I’ve got my little
seven wood too it’s perfect little seven
wood for me 175 that’s about what you
shot
mhm and I told you to go a little left
and so I did but yeah you’re going to be
hit good I should be pin High left there
just left chipping not bad
all right Ed so talk me through this I
got two things I’m thinking about
anytime I’m I got pretty lucky with that
that roll it rolled right up to the
Fringe basically yeah it really turned
out great so so you got a clump behind
in front of your W so this is a there’s
a conundrum here so I like to putt it if
I can but age this is looking a little
bit dicey so I’m thinking maybe i’ chip
this instead yeah I I would probably
chip it if it was me um um but your
worst uh worst put’s always better than
your worst chip so abolutely even even
with that Clump there it may not be as
bad as you think yeah so um but yes I
agree and especially to get up this
close that’s just some po that’s growing
here in the spring F and everything the
Zoes abut it’s a little clumpy there but
but but uh this looks to me this looks
so thick that I I think I have to chip
it pretty much cuz I think it’s just
going to bump right into this and I
agree I would probably blade it with my
wedge belly it with my
one way to go but that’s not a bad way
do your best to ignore that though and
just hit a good solid chip and you’re
just going to land at a third of the way
and it’s going to roll out okay
yep perfect nice shot that’s about the
best I can do there that’s awesome that
was great you’re nice four yep and
that’s the number four handicap hole
really so if you were getting two
strokes from somebody n you’d have got a
stroke there yeah and that’ be a four
for three that’s great all right so I
don’t have a very easy shot here but um
I do my best and try to hit it good and
solid but a lot of people get mad but I
was 175 yards and I’m perfectly pin High
mhm and I’m what 30 ft from the hole
Yeah so that’s not a bad shot there’s
not much green there and so I can’t get
too mad for hitting 175 yard shot 30 ft
left even though it’s left me with a
pretty tough chip yep and so I’ve got a
great lie though and so um I’m going to
try to hit this one high and soft and
land It Around The Fringe and just let
the green do the rest
so that looks pretty
good that’s about as good as I could do
it Patrick still or8 ft you didn’t have
much room to land that so that’s pretty
solid I didn’t
so can seated Patrick’s putt was a great
chip good four thank
you so what do you see here alignment
wise well I think it’s pretty straight
as slow as it is so I’m just going to
aim inside the right Edge and try to
roll it up there
I have hit it out of man that was the
perfect line yeah it was just a little
slow there a little slow yep being a
rated we’re here at number 11 Dal huzi
Golf Club in Cape Gerardo uh one of the
cool things they do is um everybody
that’s ever made a Hoin one on any of
the par 3s they got these old boards
here where they ET your name in and look
here down here at the
bottom I was lucky enough to have my
10th career hole in one here I hit a six
iron in the hole from
170 and uh it had been about 15 years
since I had a whole in one that was
pretty cool I had nine going into that
one that was my 10th uh my dad had nine
too I as he was a pretty good player in
his day so it’s pretty cool we we’ve
both had 19 combined father and son so
one of the things I’m proud of but
Patrick I are going to play this whole
great part three it’s got water short
and right and um um got to hit a really
really good t-shot good and solid here
to to make a three so uh we’ll see how
we do yeah we’re 163 back here so
probably
fig no downwind you want to start us off
I’ll start us off on this one
well I hit it good I’m just a little
right that was nice H that was the right
Club yeah that was a great hit I might
aim that way just a little I was trying
to aim over there left and for you with
your little normal fade I would you see
where the yellow steak is there left of
the flag yep that’s kind of what I’m
thinking that’ be take a good practice
swing for me and brush your grass just
perfect and then step up and Trust
it h take a swing though that’s not a
swing take your swing you’re going to
swing speed wise there we go
good there we go go ahead and hit it
just like that all you’re doing is
brushing the grass same way ball just
gets in the
way good shot there we
go you’re a putting we’re on yeah you’re
on awesome little past the pin but that
was a good shot yep so heads in the
bunker
yep pretty good not too bad a little
long but pretty good A little long but
not not too bad all right so I got a
pretty big breaking putt here I got to
pretty much go over this Fringe I think
to get there you probably right in here
and it goes up the hill and then down
the hill yep but boy I’ll tell you what
if if you’d almost pretend like the hole
is about right here that’s good spot
that’d be a good spot to think you’re
going to diet does that make sense so so
the camera probably doesn’t do this
Justice Way uphill and then way downhill
and to the left so just try to roll it
down there to the right speed you’ve got
about 35 ft
probably oh not
enough had the right idea but needed a
little more juice on
it and they’re not very fast today after
being air rated so just but I knew that
wasn’t hard enough practice thing harder
than that there we go all
right good a little too hard but that’s
better than leaving it short yep yep
well yeah cuz I have to deal with that
slope again all right I’m going to go
ahead and roll it down there got about 8
feet left here past the hole goes a
little bit right
oh oh good
putt another they bogey but yep but not
bad no it’s a beautiful evening is it
yeah all right pretty straight from
there one thing when you blow it by the
hole like that it usually gets on the
fall line so the next one coming back is
uphill and straight so y it’s still
uphill so give it a pretty good
wpis you’ll see the it’s pretty straight
do you see that yeah good put I know all
right good job yeah it was blast yes all
right we’ll do it again