Part 10 – Golf Tactics and Options – Chris McWhirter

Risk and Reward

A lot of players don’t realise the pressure they have generated for their opponent. Many of the games I see lost are through wasting pressure potential. The most common one of these is where one ball is in a scoring zone and the other three are no where useful. So many players go for a long low percentage hoop without realizing they control the power of the hoop. Instead of trying to score and miss, put your ball in a certain scoring position. Take the gamble that your opponents will miss a long shot and try to give yourself the best chance of scoring that hoop and the next one as well.

Likewise, if you have a great chance of jawsing with little risk, then go for it. So many players just hit the ball through the hoop without any thought of the potential of the next one. Have a plan! If you have the power of the hoop there is no rule that you have to score straight away. You can just double up your balls in scoring positions and let your opponent have long shots at you all day. If you choose to take a low percentage scoring shot that fails, you allow your opponent too easy a chance to come back deep into the scoring zone. If you position closer they will be forced to play a clearance rather than a position shot. If they do clear you then you just keep coming back in front.

Know the score

If you continue to use the tennis analogy for scoring throughout the game it does provide you with some guide to the risks you should take. If you are in the lead by one hoop and your opponent jaws the next hoop, you actually risk losing 2 hoops to gain 1. That opponent jawsed hoop by rights was your opponents anyway as you scored the last one. If you allow them to score that hoop the game is tied but you have first chance on the next hoop so you still hold a lead. If you attempt a risky jump that scores the hoop for your opponent, the score is tied and they have the first chance on the next one. They have gone from one hoop down to potentially one hoop up.

Keep thinking about tennis sets throughout your game and assess your risk accordingly. Once you are in the lead you don’t need to jeopardise it with risky choices. However, if you are down on hoops and it is getting close to the end of the game, it is better to lose your current hoop and perhaps the game in order to give yourself the best chance at getting two hoops in a row. You might risk an opponent’s long range clearance on a certain scoring ball in order to set up for the next hoop. In order to win a game sometimes you have to choose not to score that hoop at that time. Don’ just score your current hoop if you are down on points without having a plan to get back the deficit on the next hoop.

How to win a toss

This only applies to doubles and relies on you having some knowledge of your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. When you lose the toss your opponent must play first. They have to show their order of play. If you have a good clearance player in your doubles pairing then you play them before your opponent’s best player. That is you choose to put your best player in front of theirs so that their best player is hopefully having all their shots from the boundary.

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