Some courses are best for horses

By Chuck Evans,
Special Contributor

Some golf courses are suited for a particular type of player while other types of players have problems with them.

If you have played this game long enough you know what I mean.

How many times have you gone out, played a round of golf, and played pretty well, only to go out a few days later and shoot 15 to 20 strokes higher on a different course. If you're stroke mechanics were good enough to produce a score of say 75 then why do you go out a few days later and shoot 90?

It could be that the course doesn't fit your eye or your particular shot pattern. If your normal ball flight is a slight fade but the course is designed for players that draw the ball you'll have problems. The same thing is true for players that hit the ball high and then they go to a golf course that requires you to hit it low.

So it is not always your mechanics.

That's also the reason why Tour players pick and choose how many events they play each year. Outside of the Majors, these players typically will only play events on golf courses that suit their game. While most of us will never have the opportunity to play in a Major we can however still choose to play courses that fit our eye, and our game.

Yeah, it's macho to go out and play the longest, tightest, toughest course we can find but that may not be in our best interest. Most of the time it will be a humbling experience instead of an enjoyable one.

Yes golf is a sport, golfers are athletes, and among other things golfers supposed to be fun - and not endure some form of medieval punishment!

January 24, 2007

Chuck Evans, G.S.E.D., a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, is one of only 31 golf instructors worldwide designated to hold a doctorate in golf stroke engineering. He is executive director of instruction for the Medicus Golf Institute and has served as director of schools for the PGA Tour Golf Academy, and as director of instruction for the United States Golf Institute. He is also the author of "How To Build Your Golf Swing."