If you're just looking for the TL;DW, here you go. The 3 keys for a great course plan are (for each hole) 1) which club to hit off the tee, 2) hazards or OB to keep in mind, and 3) any other nuances to watch out for (multi-tiered greens, weird bunkering, huge false fronts etc.)
This channel has become one of my favorites, would love a video on how you practice with a full time job, my job has changed and I moved into a city so I don’t live near a course/range anymore so I don’t practice daily like I used to.
Great suggestion! I'll add it to the list! In the meantime, here's a quick answer in case it helps: I don't actually practice as often as I used to (especially since starting this channel; making videos takes a TON of time that I used to spend on the range and watching ALL of Netflix!). So I'm learning how to score well + change expectations since there's less practice time. I'm still working on finding the balance between practice + video making, but the one thing that definitely helps me stay in touch with the game even when I can't get to the range is my chipping net at home. I have a little net in my living room that I hit balls into whenever I have a few minutes. I haven't broken anything yet so my wife is still tolerant! I try different things with that like hitting off different parts of the clubface, and low/med/high shots to different targets. It's not a range session but a) I can do it a lot, and b) it keeps the swing motions fresh. I also have a birdieball putting green in the living room to keep the putting stroke somewhat reasonable. And then with the full swing I do my best to stick to the core swing keys (I mentioned them in the "rescue your round" video) so I'm not drifting too far away from the basics which keep my scores down. And then I also give myself some space when there's days that things just don't seem to work -- personally I've found these are more to do with my head not being in the game vs. my swing not working. So I'm working on more mental game work too (aren't we all!). Hope this helps. Would love to hear what you think!
Manu, this is the type of golf content I am looking for as an aspiring lower single digit handicap! I actually am playing a tournament at a course I haven't played in 10 years in two weeks and I am going to do my homework now to prep myself for it. Thanks for putting together this video. Additionally, how have your liked decade golf? Has that subscription improved your overall scores and tactics for scoring lower?
Nice - good luck for it! (Are you going to get to play a practice round?) And glad you liked the video :) I liked Decade initially: it was good to dive deep into some higher-level golf content and hear from top amateurs and tour pros about the stuff that works. Over time the content got a little repetitive for me (which is the answer to everything to be honest: just master the basics), so I stopped listening as much. The Decade system is (founder) Scott's acronym for how to decide on a target. I use a slightly different system of my own (a combo of the Flashlight Factor + my own shot evaluation rubric (I'll make a video about this at some point)). Decade is a good model though, personally I found it useful in thinking deeply about a shot instead of just stepping up, picking a club, and hitting. Scott also talks through a bunch of statistical results for when to hit which shots. I agree generally, but I also believe every golfer is different so you have to adapt it to yourself. The content was definitely helpful in going deep on shot planning and then doing a ton of reps (because you hear the same concepts in every video). No knocks on that, I firmly believe repetition is the key to mastery. And also the round entry was cool at the start (I even came up with my own custom scorecard so I could capture every single shot accurately) but then I started getting lazy with spending the extra 20-30 min to enter it into the tool. The strokes gained analysis was good though, although you do need a bunch of rounds in there to start really seeing trends + places for improvement. I still have my subscription because a) they raised prices and I got to keep my old price so I'm "saving money" by not canceling 😅, and b) I still use the yardage books every time I play a tournament. They are handy though I'm guessing I could do most of that with the Grint app. I've been thinking about going back to entering all my rounds in the next little while since they've updated the UI, so I might give it another go. Hope this helps! Would love to hear what you think and how your tourney goes!
@@upbeatgolfer Yeah I used it to put together a plan for an upcoming tournament at Steele Canyon GC in Jamul, CA (outside of San Diego). It felt good to do that knowing that I did homework prior to the match so that made it less stressful when playing a new course. After I got the yardage book and put it together, I noticed that I had to make updates to my spreadsheet, nevertheless, it was still pretty good. I came across another idea about playing courses and it is to incorporate course vlogs. Since TH-cam is so popular, I then thought about looking up course vlogs at Steele Canyon and found a few. I even found a pro who started talking about his planning for plotting around the course and that was another level of information one can use for planning a round. So just wanted to share as I found that helpful and it gives me some more information for my upcoming tournament. That all sounds good about the Decade System. I think I might be still interested, but I do have a great coach and we play some rounds together for fun and he helps improve my planning and mental part of the game. Also he always pushes positive reinforcement a lot which is good because one can lose confidence easily. He also tries to make me understand that I am a better player than I give myself credit for and that I should aim for certain targets more because I am can make shots and what not. I'll definitely stay tuned to whatever you have to share. I am always ready to soak up more higher-level golf content! Thanks for the videos! Keep up the good work!
Great call about the course vlogs - I hadn't thought of that and will add it to the routine! Re Decade - makes sense. And sounds like you have a great setup with your coach which is awesome! And I fully agree (and empathize) on the "you're better than you think" point -- for some reason us golfers are perennially focused on what's wrong with the shot instead of what's right in a way we don't do with other sports (video incoming on this topic!). And thanks for the encouragement! It's early days on the channel so there aren't a ton of views, and the positive comments are a MAJOR KEY (as DJ Khaled would say).
I just discovered your channel and love it! I discovered Blue golf several years ago and am amazed it doesn't get more press. As you said, I use it in conjunction with flyovers. In recent years there have been so many more people doing course vlogs that I also watch a few of those to get a better idea of what it's like to be on the course. Keep it up!
Love it! Glad you like the channel and thank you for the encouragement! 🙂 Totally agree about Bluegolf, no idea why it's such a secret. And good course planning is definitely a well kept secret - I think they would teach it earlier except we all get obsessed with HITTING the ball 😅
Circling back to say I used some of the tips from this vid on my last tournament and was a big success! I felt very prepared in all key areas (driving target, club, par 3 considerations) Particularly, I used to exclusively use Google Earth, but paired it with BlueGolf this time and was even more helpful info. Also, took a tip from your other vid - "Par on Par 3 is strokes gained. + "Hit the fat part of the green. - Stanford Coach" Thx for the tips!
I definitely think tee club planning is the best tip, other than blind greens you can kind of get a feel for what you're hitting into. But knowing what clubs you'll be hitting off tees helps a ton when you're warming up. I typically don't tee up a hybrid in my warmups but if I know I plan on hitting it from 1 or 2 tees then I'll absolutely practice it pre-round and it helps a ton feeling comfortable with a club you might not typically tee off with! Glad I found your videos and keep it up!
Thank you - the encouragement is very appreciated! And yes you're totally right about warming up with those clubs on the range. I also like to hit a few shots that I know I'll face on the course, and definitely make my last shot the same one I'm about to hit on #1. (Coincidentally I discussed that in a bit more detail (it's tip #5) in this week's video: th-cam.com/video/NKPaZd-sZG0/w-d-xo.html)
Nice video. I have heard some about negative mindsets such as “don’t go long” or “don’t hit a cut” can lead to unintended consequences in golf swing. I wonder if your notes were positive/affirmation biased if they would have a good outcome in your scores. So instead of those examples a positive outlook would be “aim for center of green or short is safe” and “optimal shape is a draw along left side of fairway”. This is not something I have mastered, or been able to verify a positive affect in my game, would be curious if you think it has merit and worth experimenting with. This is probably more important with negative swing thoughts like “don’t hit a hook”, or “don’t blade this tight lie” while standing over the ball but maybe there can be some benefit on general course strategy as well.
That is a great callout. I 1000% agree with the positive statements. There is some research (I can't find it right now but will keep looking) that says humans basically ignore the word "not" in statements, so framing things as "go over here" is MUCH more likely to work than "don't hit it over there". I do that in my game too but differentiate between course plans (where I'm thinking about the course layout and where to/not to aim) vs. the shot I ultimately end up choosing. For course planning though, I do want to know where there is trouble and what kind of trouble it is. My final shot choice is ALWAYS positively framed, e.g. "I'm going to hit a 150yd medium-height shot that lands right THERE and releases towards the hole". The negative swing thoughts do sometimes creep in, and then I usually (but not always - this is something I'm working on!) step away, breathe, tell my brain to be on MY side (seriously!), and set up again. Usually I find negative thoughts happen when I'm nervous about the shot to start with or not in a good mental state - fortunately this is something that's easy to change with a quick physiology shift like a couple of little jumps or putting a big smile on my face. And sometimes I just tell the negative thoughts "Ok, thanks for letting me know. If that happens I'll just hit a dope recovery shot" :) Does this help? Would love to hear how this resonates (or not) with you!
Great video, Manu - and hello from Oakland! Totally agree that course planning is such a critical part of forming & executing an effective golf game plan. We've recently released some updates to the Course Preview feature in the app, and have more coming in the next few months that are specifically designed to help with course planning. We'd love to hear more of your feedback and how we might be able to implement these into the app. Course preview & game planning will be a big focus for 18Birdies in 2023, so your feedback comes at a great time. Thank you for the mention on this video and we'll shoot you a message to the email you have listed. Cheers! ⛳
Well this is a great surprise (and hi back from Mountain View)! Glad you liked the video, and congrats on making such a great app! I'd love to chat - happy to share/help and excited to see what y'all are building for 2023. I'll look out for your email!
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If you're just looking for the TL;DW, here you go. The 3 keys for a great course plan are (for each hole)
1) which club to hit off the tee,
2) hazards or OB to keep in mind, and
3) any other nuances to watch out for (multi-tiered greens, weird bunkering, huge false fronts etc.)
This channel has become one of my favorites, would love a video on how you practice with a full time job, my job has changed and I moved into a city so I don’t live near a course/range anymore so I don’t practice daily like I used to.
Great suggestion! I'll add it to the list!
In the meantime, here's a quick answer in case it helps: I don't actually practice as often as I used to (especially since starting this channel; making videos takes a TON of time that I used to spend on the range and watching ALL of Netflix!). So I'm learning how to score well + change expectations since there's less practice time.
I'm still working on finding the balance between practice + video making, but the one thing that definitely helps me stay in touch with the game even when I can't get to the range is my chipping net at home. I have a little net in my living room that I hit balls into whenever I have a few minutes. I haven't broken anything yet so my wife is still tolerant! I try different things with that like hitting off different parts of the clubface, and low/med/high shots to different targets. It's not a range session but a) I can do it a lot, and b) it keeps the swing motions fresh.
I also have a birdieball putting green in the living room to keep the putting stroke somewhat reasonable.
And then with the full swing I do my best to stick to the core swing keys (I mentioned them in the "rescue your round" video) so I'm not drifting too far away from the basics which keep my scores down. And then I also give myself some space when there's days that things just don't seem to work -- personally I've found these are more to do with my head not being in the game vs. my swing not working. So I'm working on more mental game work too (aren't we all!).
Hope this helps. Would love to hear what you think!
Manu, this is the type of golf content I am looking for as an aspiring lower single digit handicap! I actually am playing a tournament at a course I haven't played in 10 years in two weeks and I am going to do my homework now to prep myself for it. Thanks for putting together this video. Additionally, how have your liked decade golf? Has that subscription improved your overall scores and tactics for scoring lower?
Nice - good luck for it! (Are you going to get to play a practice round?) And glad you liked the video :)
I liked Decade initially: it was good to dive deep into some higher-level golf content and hear from top amateurs and tour pros about the stuff that works. Over time the content got a little repetitive for me (which is the answer to everything to be honest: just master the basics), so I stopped listening as much.
The Decade system is (founder) Scott's acronym for how to decide on a target. I use a slightly different system of my own (a combo of the Flashlight Factor + my own shot evaluation rubric (I'll make a video about this at some point)). Decade is a good model though, personally I found it useful in thinking deeply about a shot instead of just stepping up, picking a club, and hitting.
Scott also talks through a bunch of statistical results for when to hit which shots. I agree generally, but I also believe every golfer is different so you have to adapt it to yourself. The content was definitely helpful in going deep on shot planning and then doing a ton of reps (because you hear the same concepts in every video). No knocks on that, I firmly believe repetition is the key to mastery.
And also the round entry was cool at the start (I even came up with my own custom scorecard so I could capture every single shot accurately) but then I started getting lazy with spending the extra 20-30 min to enter it into the tool. The strokes gained analysis was good though, although you do need a bunch of rounds in there to start really seeing trends + places for improvement.
I still have my subscription because a) they raised prices and I got to keep my old price so I'm "saving money" by not canceling 😅, and b) I still use the yardage books every time I play a tournament. They are handy though I'm guessing I could do most of that with the Grint app. I've been thinking about going back to entering all my rounds in the next little while since they've updated the UI, so I might give it another go.
Hope this helps! Would love to hear what you think and how your tourney goes!
@@upbeatgolfer Yeah I used it to put together a plan for an upcoming tournament at Steele Canyon GC in Jamul, CA (outside of San Diego). It felt good to do that knowing that I did homework prior to the match so that made it less stressful when playing a new course. After I got the yardage book and put it together, I noticed that I had to make updates to my spreadsheet, nevertheless, it was still pretty good.
I came across another idea about playing courses and it is to incorporate course vlogs. Since TH-cam is so popular, I then thought about looking up course vlogs at Steele Canyon and found a few. I even found a pro who started talking about his planning for plotting around the course and that was another level of information one can use for planning a round. So just wanted to share as I found that helpful and it gives me some more information for my upcoming tournament.
That all sounds good about the Decade System. I think I might be still interested, but I do have a great coach and we play some rounds together for fun and he helps improve my planning and mental part of the game. Also he always pushes positive reinforcement a lot which is good because one can lose confidence easily. He also tries to make me understand that I am a better player than I give myself credit for and that I should aim for certain targets more because I am can make shots and what not.
I'll definitely stay tuned to whatever you have to share. I am always ready to soak up more higher-level golf content! Thanks for the videos! Keep up the good work!
Great call about the course vlogs - I hadn't thought of that and will add it to the routine!
Re Decade - makes sense. And sounds like you have a great setup with your coach which is awesome! And I fully agree (and empathize) on the "you're better than you think" point -- for some reason us golfers are perennially focused on what's wrong with the shot instead of what's right in a way we don't do with other sports (video incoming on this topic!).
And thanks for the encouragement! It's early days on the channel so there aren't a ton of views, and the positive comments are a MAJOR KEY (as DJ Khaled would say).
I’ve seen the course plan work first hand for you! Maybe it’ll finally convince me to do it
Haha 100% of the time it's smarter than whatever my current mood is 😅
I just discovered your channel and love it! I discovered Blue golf several years ago and am amazed it doesn't get more press. As you said, I use it in conjunction with flyovers. In recent years there have been so many more people doing course vlogs that I also watch a few of those to get a better idea of what it's like to be on the course. Keep it up!
Love it! Glad you like the channel and thank you for the encouragement! 🙂
Totally agree about Bluegolf, no idea why it's such a secret. And good course planning is definitely a well kept secret - I think they would teach it earlier except we all get obsessed with HITTING the ball 😅
Circling back to say I used some of the tips from this vid on my last tournament and was a big success! I felt very prepared in all key areas (driving target, club, par 3 considerations) Particularly, I used to exclusively use Google Earth, but paired it with BlueGolf this time and was even more helpful info. Also, took a tip from your other vid - "Par on Par 3 is strokes gained. + "Hit the fat part of the green. - Stanford Coach" Thx for the tips!
That is awesome! Tournament success is no joke - so glad it worked for you! Looking forward to more wins!!! 🙌
Great content as always Manu - apps I haven’t come across! Thanks!
Love it - glad it was helpful! And thanks for the comment - really makes my day :)
I definitely think tee club planning is the best tip, other than blind greens you can kind of get a feel for what you're hitting into. But knowing what clubs you'll be hitting off tees helps a ton when you're warming up. I typically don't tee up a hybrid in my warmups but if I know I plan on hitting it from 1 or 2 tees then I'll absolutely practice it pre-round and it helps a ton feeling comfortable with a club you might not typically tee off with! Glad I found your videos and keep it up!
Thank you - the encouragement is very appreciated! And yes you're totally right about warming up with those clubs on the range. I also like to hit a few shots that I know I'll face on the course, and definitely make my last shot the same one I'm about to hit on #1. (Coincidentally I discussed that in a bit more detail (it's tip #5) in this week's video: th-cam.com/video/NKPaZd-sZG0/w-d-xo.html)
Nice video. I have heard some about negative mindsets such as “don’t go long” or “don’t hit a cut” can lead to unintended consequences in golf swing. I wonder if your notes were positive/affirmation biased if they would have a good outcome in your scores. So instead of those examples a positive outlook would be “aim for center of green or short is safe” and “optimal shape is a draw along left side of fairway”.
This is not something I have mastered, or been able to verify a positive affect in my game, would be curious if you think it has merit and worth experimenting with. This is probably more important with negative swing thoughts like “don’t hit a hook”, or “don’t blade this tight lie” while standing over the ball but maybe there can be some benefit on general course strategy as well.
That is a great callout. I 1000% agree with the positive statements. There is some research (I can't find it right now but will keep looking) that says humans basically ignore the word "not" in statements, so framing things as "go over here" is MUCH more likely to work than "don't hit it over there".
I do that in my game too but differentiate between course plans (where I'm thinking about the course layout and where to/not to aim) vs. the shot I ultimately end up choosing. For course planning though, I do want to know where there is trouble and what kind of trouble it is. My final shot choice is ALWAYS positively framed, e.g. "I'm going to hit a 150yd medium-height shot that lands right THERE and releases towards the hole".
The negative swing thoughts do sometimes creep in, and then I usually (but not always - this is something I'm working on!) step away, breathe, tell my brain to be on MY side (seriously!), and set up again. Usually I find negative thoughts happen when I'm nervous about the shot to start with or not in a good mental state - fortunately this is something that's easy to change with a quick physiology shift like a couple of little jumps or putting a big smile on my face. And sometimes I just tell the negative thoughts "Ok, thanks for letting me know. If that happens I'll just hit a dope recovery shot" :)
Does this help? Would love to hear how this resonates (or not) with you!
“I remember this hole bc I had 9 strokes on it.” I burst out lolz. 😂
Haha can you hear the crying on the inside? 😅
Great video, Manu - and hello from Oakland! Totally agree that course planning is such a critical part of forming & executing an effective golf game plan. We've recently released some updates to the Course Preview feature in the app, and have more coming in the next few months that are specifically designed to help with course planning.
We'd love to hear more of your feedback and how we might be able to implement these into the app. Course preview & game planning will be a big focus for 18Birdies in 2023, so your feedback comes at a great time. Thank you for the mention on this video and we'll shoot you a message to the email you have listed. Cheers! ⛳
Well this is a great surprise (and hi back from Mountain View)! Glad you liked the video, and congrats on making such a great app!
I'd love to chat - happy to share/help and excited to see what y'all are building for 2023. I'll look out for your email!