Good golf strategy is a set of decisions made before the round and recorded, so that on the tee you carry them out instead of inventing them. For each hole you choose the danger to avoid, the club that finishes in the widest part of the hole, the target for the approach and the side on which a miss costs least. After the round you compare the plan with what happened. The gap between the two is where the strokes are.
This is the method of the Game Plan worksheet in week 3 of our 28-day golf practice plan, and the worksheet itself is at /golf-practice-plan/#game-plan. It is free to read and use whether or not you apply. We are not affiliated with any club, we do not issue handicaps, and this page makes no promise about your score.
Why plan at all
Most golfers decide on the tee, with a fresh view of the fairway and a half-formed memory of last time. That is when an ambitious carry over a bunker or a driver at a narrow hole looks reasonable. At the kitchen table with a scorecard the same hole looks different, because you can see the whole hole and your own numbers.
A plan does three things. It removes the worst holes by making the risky choice a deliberate one. It gives you a record to learn from. And it keeps the pace of play steady, because a player who has decided is not still deciding when the group ahead has gone. Rule 5.6, on unreasonable delay and prompt pace, is about exactly that.
Step 1: rate each hole by its danger
Take the scorecard and a yardage guide, or a satellite view if the club does not publish a map. For each hole write the main danger and where it sits: water, out of bounds, bunkers, trees, slopes. A hole can have two. Mark the one that costs the most strokes.
The cost of the danger depends on what the Rules say happens next:
- Out of bounds or a lost ball costs a stroke and the distance, so you play your next shot from where you hit the last one (Rule 18.2b). You can play a provisional ball if a ball may be lost outside a penalty area or be out of bounds (Rule 18.3).
- A penalty area costs one stroke if you take relief (Rule 17.1d); you may also play the ball as it lies without penalty.
- An unplayable ball costs one stroke and lets you choose among relief options, except that going back on the line outside a bunker costs two (Rule 19).
- A bunker costs no penalty but often costs a stroke in effort, with its own restrictions on touching the sand (Rule 12.2).
The point of the list is to rank the dangers. A penalty stroke is a certain cost, and a bunker is a probable one. Plan accordingly.
Step 2: choose the tee club for the widest landing area
Choose the club that finishes in the widest part of the hole, not the one that goes furthest. On many holes this is not the driver. A hole with water on the right at 250 yards is a different hole for a player who carries 220 than for one who carries 270, and your own number is the only one that matters. Use your median carry, not your best.
Two questions help.
- Where does the ball finish if it is a normal shot, not a perfect one? Plan for the ordinary swing.
- What is the next shot from there? A shorter club that leaves a full wedge in is often better than a long one that leaves an awkward half-shot.
Step 3: choose the approach target
Aim at the middle of the green unless the danger is short of it and you have a clear shot. Aim away from a short-sided pin. A pin tucked behind a bunker is a request to take the risk, and you are free to decline. Choose a stock shot, a smooth swing with a club you hit well, and use it as the default. Week 3 of the plan builds this with a drill of 20 balls to a target.
Step 4: set the miss side
For each target write the side on which a miss costs least: left, right, short or long. Then aim so that your miss lands there. A golfer who misses right with the driver more often than left should put the danger on the left in the plan and aim a little left, not hope for the best.
Your own record shapes this. If you keep simple stats for a few rounds (fairways found, greens reached, putts, penalty strokes), the pattern of your misses becomes visible. A small 2024 study of 257 club golfers by Golf Insider UK found that those who kept regular playing statistics improved by 3.38 shots on average, against 1.38 for those who did not. It is an observational sample and the page's own figures conflict in places, so we cite only that finding, and it does not prove that stats cause improvement. It is a reason to write things down.
Step 5: note a realistic stroke target
Write a planned score for each hole. For most players on most holes, a bogey is a good result. That is not a lowering of ambition: it is the arithmetic of the strokes budget, in which eighteen bogeys on a par 72 is 90. If a hole is a par 5 you can reach in three, say so. If a hole is a par 3 over water, a bogey may be the plan.
The worksheet, in outline
| Hole | Par | Danger | Tee target | Tee club | Approach target | Miss side | Planned score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||||
| 2 |
The full worksheet, with the after-round columns, is at /golf-practice-plan/#game-plan. It takes about 40 minutes for 18 holes the first time and 20 once you have the habit.
During the round
A plan is not a rule. If wind, a poor lie or a tee shot that goes astray changes the situation, make a new decision and write down why. Do not write targets you cannot hit: if your driver is not reliable, the plan should not need it.
Some things stay fixed whatever the plan.
- Know the local rules printed on the card or posted at the first tee, and check the course's marked areas.
- Mark out of bounds and penalty areas on your card before you start.
- Keep to the pace the course asks, and be ready to play when it is your turn.
- Keep the score honestly. Rule 3.3b makes the player responsible for the score on each hole, and Rule 1.3b is the basic duty to apply the Rules and your own penalties.
After the round: reconcile
Within a day, add columns for what happened: whether you followed the plan, where the ball finished and the actual score. Then answer three questions in your own words.
- On how many holes did I follow the plan, and what was the score on those holes compared with the rest?
- What was the first poor decision on my worst hole?
- What one change to the plan would have saved the most strokes?
The third question gives the next round's single change. One change, not five.
Common mistakes
- Planning with your best distance. Use the median.
- Aiming at the flag when the pin is short-sided. Choose the middle.
- Treating a plan as a promise. It is a starting position, and you change it when the situation does.
- Writing a plan and never reconciling it. The plan only teaches when it is compared with the round.
What Elected Golf is and is not
Elected Golf is a club entered by a 28-day card. It is not open yet: nothing is charged and no card is asked for. The Game Plan is one part of week 3. It does not run society days, own a course or issue a handicap, and its Playing Record is unofficial. We are not affiliated with any club and cannot secure admission. If you want a group to play with, see how to run a golf society.