Has your golf game evolved over the years? Have you made significant strides improving areas of your game that produced the best results. Or have you stagnated sticking to a plan regardless of your golf scores. Interestingly, I have been in that position years ago, but I now seek ways to improve my game and an evolving course management strategy is my main focus.

I am currently at the fork in the road for my golf game. I purchased new Mizuno MP20 irons and two Mizuno hybrids and suddenly my game has improved. These clubs fit my swing better any any other purchase in the past. As such, I now need to adjust my course management strategy to match my improve level of play.

This should not come as a surprise to most readers because I have talked about my improving short game and ball striking. Having posted my best round of the year just a few short days ago, I have been thinking a great deal on how I am going to make the adjustment to how I think on the golf course to make the most out of my game.

Take the above hole as an example of my evolving game. My ball is 135 yards from the pin (Range Finder) and you can see the hazards. Left is safe and wide open. Long, short and right are trouble all the way. However, with my new clubs I feel confident I can hit to with 5 yards of a know yardage most of the time. So, instead of hitting the left to the safe area as in the past, I am convincing myself to edge the ball towards the pin.

As my course management game evolves I find that I am hitting the ball closer and closer to the pin with less fear of missing. Of course I have not lost all my senses and will try to play the smart shot 100% of the time. But, this is a slow process because change is never easy. With change, I have to conquer my FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) of failure. I never want to incur extra strokes for missing my target.

Moving forward, adopting a more aggressive approach shot to the green will require a change to which club I hit off the tee, for my second shot and on approach shots. Because I am hitting the ball a bit farther and just as straight as before, the extra yardage is changing which clubs I am using from a specific distance.

Hitting a higher apex and angle of attack with my new clubs is resulting in much smaller roll on the green. I am really liking the shorter release distance because it is increasing my options. These options are forcing me to adjust my course management strategy. Because if you were unaware, it is all connected. A minor change someplace requires adjustments elsewhere.

Evolving course management skills has been a part of my golf game for years. I am at a fork right now and I am choosing to take the aggressive route for the time being. I will following this path until I am required to make a course correction. I expect that this new path will help me achieve my goal of being a scratch golfer.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!