Playing Strategy for Mid Handicappers:A good design makes it challengingAt certain times when a mid handicapper is playing well he will be able to conciously use playing strategy to better his score. While the mid handicapper can regularly hit high quality shots, The problem is usually with consistency.The mental challege for the mid handicapper is therefore to remember to play within himself, lest he 'bite of more than he can chew' and hit his ball into deep trouble. The smart play for a mid handicapper having a bad day would be to approach our sample hole (shown below) using playing strategy similar to a high handicapper because the way this hole sets up makes it quite difficult to attack the pin in two shots. As before, our sample par 4 golf hole is laid out in typical strategic risk-reward fashion making no allowance for the 3rd dimension, except for the green which slopes from back to front and from left to right. The golf hole is about 380 to 400 metres in length (420 to 440 yards) with the fairway turning point at 230 metres (253 yards). Playing strategy and other issues facing a typical golfer of a mid standard (maybe 15-20 handicap) player are following.  Golfer ExpectationsOn a hole of this length with several hazards, the mid handicapper will be looking for and should be happy with a bogey 5 and the occasional par 4, depending on the terrain.A hole like this with several bunkers on the line of play should sound warning signs to Mr 15 handicap, and he should carefully consider his playing form before deciding on his playing strategy. Playing ApproachIf he can get the idea of "the once-in-a-round booming drive" out of his head, the best playing strategy will be to play to the front right edge of the green for two shots and take a chance on par with his chipping and putting.the general approach to playing strategy should therefore be to make sure to hit the fairway and stay out of the bunkers for the drive, regardless of length, and aim for the right half of the green with a mid to long iron second shot. Execution - Tee ShotAssuming a range of 200 to 220 metres, Mr 15 handicap will likely 'go for the big one' off the tee, thinking he needs good distance to make his approach easier. On average he will somewhat mishit it and providing he has aimed far enough left, the ball will bounce and roll to about 210 metres, somewhere near the right centre of the fairway.A bad shot will probably be in a bunker. Whatever the result, Mr 15 will feel he only has himself to either blame or thank. This is in fact a positive effect that the design would have imparted on a category of player who usually needs encouragement to think more about his game rather than encouragement to simply keep playing it. 2nd ShotThe second shot will range from a 5 iron to a 3 wood, depending on the tee shot. Regardless of whether he has 150 or 200 metres left, he would still be best advised to aim for the right half of the green, as it is too risky to go for the pin unless with a short iron. Hence the best strategy being to go for accuracy first off the tee.For those with a 2nd shot from a fairway bunker, play towards the front of the green and rely on chipping and putting, as per a high handicapper. Again the results of the approach shot could well leave Mr 15 handicap examining his playing strategy or lack therof, especially if he fell for the trap and went for the pin with his 2nd shot. 3rd ShotAll going to plan, the 3rd shot should either be a longish putt or a short chip from the green edge. From such a situation a 15 handicapper will probably get down in two shots about 1 third of the time, with surefire bogies the rest of the time.A big score could quite easily be run up should over-attacking play be employed as the primary playing strategy. So, on this quite long, and strategic golf hole, a 15 handicapper has several choices he can make with regard to how much he allows the design strategy to inter-relate to his playing strategy. The result is that the 15 handicapper will usually finish this hole either proud and happy with his play, or thinking that with a slightly different approach, he could have done much better. In either case, he feels that he would like to return and try again. 18 holes of golf that have that effect equals a very popular and successful golf course.
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