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How To Break 90 Or Lower: An Individual Par Strategy
By Foursome
Progressing in golf from the average weekend warrior who knocks a few balls around for fun to a strategic player that thrives from new challenges means not only becoming a better player, but a smarter one as well.
New strategies must be in place. Thinking outside the box must be the norm. And setting up the game differently than just “normal golf” should be first and foremost.
Using Your Individual Par Plan To Dominate Each Hole
As mentioned previously, your individual (personal) par is a smart way of utilizing the game to your own customized score plan in order to help lower your score to 90 and below. You are now ready to break down each hole in a manner in which you have never before experienced.
At this point, you know that your individual par should be one more than the par of each hole. A par-4 means your par is actually a par-5. A par-5 means your new par is a par-6, and so on.
This also means that your new personal “regulation” rules for each hole means getting the ball onto the green in a different number of shots – one less than your total individual par.
Breaking The Hole Down Even Further
Now lets break each hole down to total yardage. While this may seem like a bit of work to get used to, trust me – it is strategies like this that has made every professional golfer who they are today, and can make you a thousand times better on the course yourself, while you leave your friends and playing partners in the dust.
For example, let’s say that a particular hole is less than 200 yards, and your individual par for that hole is a four. This means you should try to hit the green on your 1st tee shot. If the hole measures more than 200 yards with the scorecard listing it as a par-3, then plan on hitting the green in 2 shots. There Is Indeed A Reason For This
Typically speaking, a club with more loft makes it easier to hit it straight, so up to 200 yards or so means you are more likely playing with a club that you are more accurate at (such as a lofted fairway wood). So if you do happen to come up short then the shot to the hole will generally be close to the green.
Now when your individual par is on a hole in length of 200 yards or further, this becomes a distance at which you are more likely to miss your shot and hit the ball to the right or the left of the green (the trouble areas). Such trouble areas mean deep rough and bunkers. These places tend to keep you from getting your upcoming shot close to the hole.
As a result, your goal should be using two shots in order to reach the green. This will allow you to use a shorter and more precise club from the tee, sending the ball landing in a short shot of the green. Then your next shot can be a short pitch from a decent lie.
This same logic should be used with par-5 holes as well. For any shot less than 360 yards you should be able to reach them in only two shots. Your longest club should be used from the tee, giving you the best possible combination of distance and accuracy. I personally use a 7 wood for this tee shot, but you could very well use a 3 wood or a 5 wood.
Now when your individual par-5 is a hole that is longer than 350 yards, you once again use this plan to strategically get the ball where you want it, and in the number of shots your personal plan of action states – so on and so forth for even longer holes.
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