Pre-round strategy

A plan beats a swing thought

A tour player does not walk to the first tee without knowing which club they will hit, where they will aim, and which side they can afford to miss. That preparation is worth strokes before anyone swings, and it is the part of professional golf that amateurs can copy for free.

Preparation is also the only improvement available to a golfer who cannot get to a range.

What a pre-round plan actually contains

Three things, per hole. The club that scores best off the tee for your distances. The aim point that keeps trouble outside your pattern. The side you can miss on without paying for it.

Nothing about technique. A plan does not need you to swing better, which is why it works the first time you use it.

Preparing for a tournament or a course you have never seen

An unfamiliar course punishes you twice: you do not know where the trouble is, and you have no feel for the yardages. Both are solvable the night before.

Work through the card hole by hole. Note the holes where your driver brings a penalty into play, and commit to the club now rather than on the tee. Note the par 5s you can reach and the ones you cannot. Note the two or three holes that will decide the round, which are usually the longest par 4s, and decide in advance to play them for bogey avoidance rather than birdie.

Why it works when practice does not

Practice changes your dispersion pattern slowly and unreliably. A plan changes where you point it, immediately. For a golfer with a job and a family, the second lever is the only one available most weeks, and it is not the smaller one.

More strategy guides

When to Hit Driver (and When Not To)Driver or 3 wood? The trade between distance and fairways, priced in strokes from the same expected-strokes model the PGA Tour uses. The answer surprises most golfers.When to Play It Safe Off the TeeLaying up feels free and is not. What 20 yards is worth in strokes, when playing safe is right, and how to tell whether the trouble you are avoiding is inside your pattern.Best Approach Shot Strategy: Aim at the MiddleWhy aiming at the centre of the green beats aiming at the flag for almost every amateur, shown with real dispersion widths and the cost of a short-sided miss.How to Lower Your Handicap Without Practising MoreThe strokes most golfers lose are decisions, not swings. Three habits that cost more than your technique, and how to improve when you cannot get to the range.

Every figure on this page is read at build time from the same expected-strokes and dispersion tables the Yards engine runs on, for a mid handicap. Your own numbers will differ, which is the point.