This is no glib statement. I honestly believe that every player can easily play smart golf. It is a matter of putting into practice, what you practice. This seems like a very simple process and it is; it is a matter of playing your game so that it fits the strokes your repeatedly made in the practice area. That is what I am doing and it is paying off.

As many of you have read in the past, I practiced diligently in my front yard hitting 25 and 50 yard chips. I felt that those distances (or close variations) would serve me well in 2020 and I was not mistaken in that assessment.

When practicing before the courses opened, I used my 52° gap wedge and my 56° sand wedge. I would hit 50 balls each with each club, each day. I did this for weeks trying to land my ball within 3 yards of my target. At the end, I was becoming very proficient at those ranges. When the courses opened in my area (about 6 weeks ago) I decided that I would implement a course management strategy to use these two distances to my advantage.

During my last few rounds, this strategy has paid off very well. As I continue to improve my ball striking, I am finding that if I cannot reach the green I laying up to 50 yards (as mentioned in previous posts). Because of my many previous practice shots, I am finding my up and down percentage from 50 yards to be about 40%. This is twice as much compared to last year and things are only going to get better.

If you are following my logic, it brings us back to the crux of this article. Playing smart golf is easy. The smart aspect of our plan is to employ a course management strategy that maximizes the shots that you practice. It makes no sense to practice specific shots on the range or practice area just to ignore them on the golf course. That is just crazy talk.

Have you ever wondered why professional golfers work diligently to understand how each club will perform and distances they will garner. It is how they know what club to hit, when. It is not a complicated plan, but one that is easy to duplicate and implement. If the professional golfer uses this process, it only makes sense that we amateurs do as well.

Playing smart golf is easy. I think everyone can do it. By using the shots you practice during real rounds makes sense. What do you think?

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