Advice for a tourney on a new course?

[disc qualified]

Play smart, keep it between the trees and have fun. No need overthinking it and putting too much pressure on yourself.

 

[wake911]

You can maybe see the difference between how professionals might approach this versus amateurs. Either approach is fine so it depends more on your goals for playing the event.

How many times do Pro's truly play a course blind though? If it's a big event, they've obviously played it at least once the day before.

I would LOVE to walk a course with a pro before a local tourney and get in the head of a top rated pro as they dissect it. Really see how they go about figuring out what they'll throw, risk/reward opportunities, etc.

 

[mashnut]

You can maybe see the difference between how professionals might approach this versus amateurs. Either approach is fine so it depends more on your goals for playing the event.

More like the difference between people without 9-5 jobs who can get out and practice a new course and people who can only make it out for the event itself. I would love to always be able to show up a day or two before a tournament to check out the courses and make sure there were no surprises during the round, but I'd rather play a tournament blind than not play it at all.

 

[joegraham]

You want to know if tee sign or score card hole distances are accurate, and go down the fairways on blind holes to see your routes, scout out drop offs, thick woods etc. to avoid trouble. Put your time into putting practice and stay loose.

 

[BangChaians]

I like playing blind tourneys sometimes, it can be fun. Definitely see as many holes as possible before the round and just stay relaxed. Don't over think, go with your gut instincts on what line to take and go with it. The hardest part is judging distance, especially when elevation is a factor.

 

[JC17393]

How many times do Pro's truly play a course blind though? If it's a big event, they've obviously played it at least once the day before.

I would LOVE to walk a course with a pro before a local tourney and get in the head of a top rated pro as they dissect it. Really see how they go about figuring out what they'll throw, risk/reward opportunities, etc.

I think you'd be surprised how often pros, particularly touring pros, will play a course more or less blind. Heck, even if they've been to a course once before (say, for the same tournament the year before), they've played so many that sometimes courses run together and they can't remember one from the other.

I think most pros, even when they've arrived early enough to put in a couple practice rounds, put into practice exactly some of the advice given here about throwing what they're confident with and avoiding the temptation of "local" routes. They're not all that interested in "learning" the best way to play a hole even when they're "practicing" the course. My experiences watching and playing with some of these pros is that they want to fit, sometimes forcefully, their preferred throw on to holes even when it isn't the shot the hole calls for. When I say forcefully, I mean they throw the big hyzers over the top or around the outside of everything every single chance they can. And if they don't have the big hyzer option, that's when some of them get a little whiny about the "unfairness" of the hole. :gross: