what is course management in golf

by Terrence Kirlin I 9 min read

Golf course management is every smart decision you make while working your way around the course. It’s everything — that doesn’t directly involve hitting the ball — you do to hit a lower score. Golf course management can include your club selection for different shots or how you pick a target line.

Course management is the approach you take to make better on-course decisions that fit best with your playing style. It is knowing which clubs to use, which shots to take, and when to play to your strengths.

Full Answer

What does a golf course manager do?

Prerequisites:

  • Strong organisational, planning and prioritisation skills.
  • Must be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
  • Must have a valid driver’s license.
  • Must have excellent customer service skills, be friendly and personable.
  • Maintain a credible golf game and remain current on teaching innovations.
  • Self-motivated with the desire to promote and market.

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How to score better through golf course management?

The Ultimate Guide of Golfing Strategy and Lowering Your Scores

  • Step One – Create a strategic plan before you play golf. Before starting your round. ...
  • Step Two – Good course management in golf, starts on the 1st tee box. Having worked through Step One, it’s now time to actually execute your plan. ...
  • Step 3 – Tips for the best approach shot strategy. ...
  • Step 4 – Trust the process even when things are going wrong. ...

What colleges offer golf management?

Here is a list of all the schools that offer a PGM program:

  • Arizona State University
  • Campbell University
  • Clemson University
  • Coastal Carolina University
  • Eastern Kentucky University
  • Ferris State University
  • Florida Gulf Coast University
  • Florida State University
  • Methodist University
  • Mississippi State University

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What is a golf course manager?

What is golf course management?

  • Golf course marketing strategies. Golf course marketing is a critical part of running a successful golf operation. ...
  • Course member management strategies. For any golf course, the most loyal customers are its members. ...
  • Upkeep, lessons, events, and tournament. ...

What is golf course management?

How to improve your golf game?

Is aggressive golf a smart game?

Why is course management important in golf?

Great strategy and golf course management is a key ingredient in scoring. Be clear with your strategy, break down each hole and work backwards to come up with the best plan you can. This approach doesn't guarantee success, but it maximises your chances.

What do golf course managers do?

As a golf course manager, you'd be in charge of supervising and directing all operations at the golf course. This may include hiring and firing personnel as well as training them. You may also coordinate schedules of tournaments, lessons, golf teams and regular tee-off times.

What are the 5 parts of a golf course?

To play with the right club, you have to have a better understanding of the hole you are playing, especially its parts. Each hole in a course has 5 major parts namely Tee, Fairway, Green, Rough and Hazards. Understanding these parts allow you to plan your shots right.

How do you develop a golf course strategy?

7 Critical Steps to Developing a Winning Golf StrategyDon't Tinker Mid-Round. One of the biggest mistakes amateur golfers make is tinkering with their swing too much during their round. ... Stay Positive. ... Don't Be a Hero. ... It's Gotta Be the Shoes. ... Learn to Lay-Up. ... The Danger Zone. ... Visualize Your Shots.

Is owning a golf course profitable?

Profitable golf courses are generally selling for six to eight times EBITDA, while courses that aren't profitable tend to sell at 0.8 to 1.4 times revenue.

What is a PGA general manager?

Identifies and manages the club's budget; monitors revenues and expenses of the club and generates weekly/monthly revenue reports; manages the daily financial needs and processes for the course.

What is the golden rule of golf?

Play the ball as it lies. Don't move, bend, or break anything growing or fixed, except in fairly taking your stance or swing. Don't press anything down.

What is the 90 degree rule in golf?

The 90-Degree Rule Under this rule, carts are allowed on the fairway, but they must maintain a 90-degree angle from the cart path. You must take the cart path to a spot that is even with your ball, make a right angle turn and drive straight toward the ball. This rule may be in effect for all or some holes.

What is water on a golf course called?

The USGA defines "casual water" or "temporary water" as "any temporary accumulation of water on the course that is not in a water hazard and is visible before or after the player takes his or her stance.” In other words, "casual water" is water on the golf course that isn't meant to be there by design.

What is good course management?

A good score comes from managing your way around the golf course. Giving yourself the best opportunity to play to your strengths, whilst steering away from danger should you hit the ball a little fat or experience a wayward drive. This is called course management, or having a golfing strategy.

How do I manage my golf game on the course?

Here's how:Give it a rip. Longer drives convert to lower scores. ... Have a 'trusty' go-to longer club. ... Lay up to your favorite yardage. ... Play the percentages into the green. ... Stress-free putting. ... Respect the downhill. ... Lean to hit knockdowns. ... Small strokes around the green.More items...•

What is the most important skill in golf?

Golf's 7 Essential SkillsPre swing fundamentals - Grip, Aim and Setup. Grip – Most golfers have never held a golf club properly. ... Club face control. Accuracy is a combination of aim and clubface control. ... Strike, don't scoop. ... Swing Plane. ... Pivot. ... Effortless power, not powerless effort. ... Width in your golf swing.

Who is the golf manager?

A golf manager is typically responsible for all the day-to-day operations of a golf course or country club. This person will often double as the course pro, in which case he will take on that set of responsibilities as well.

What does it take to run a golf course?

The cost to achieve the condition players expect — or will tolerate — ranges from about $500,000 a year for a daily-fee course to $1,000,000 a year for a private club, estimates Bob Randquist, chief operating officer of the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America.

How can I improve my country club?

Here's Phil's list:Reinvest in Your Facilities. ... Rethink Your Membership Development. ... Fine Tune Your Radar, Monitor Key Performance Indicators. ... Focus on Your Budgeting Process, Keep Operations Flexible. ... Offer a Superior Experience. ... Pay Attention to the Big Three. ... Hire Well. ... Communicate Well.More items...•

Build A Conservative Plan

Many golfers choose to use a more-aggressive golf course management strategy simply because it sounds like more fun. After all, who doesn’t want to...

Harness The Power of Uphill

Once you are inside 50 yards or so from the green, ideally you want to be playing uphill as often as possible. Short shots are almost always easier...

Avoid The Dreaded Short Side

Just like the idea that you want to be playing chip shots downhill as little as possible, you also want to avoid chipping from the short side of th...

Start Thinking Two Shots Ahead

Often it can be our tendency to try to cover as much ground as possible with every single shot. The problem with this strategy is that it can lead...

What is Golf Course Management?

Golf course management is every smart decision you make while working your way around the course. It’s everything — that doesn’t directly involve hitting the ball — you do to hit a lower score.

Golf Course Management Tips Every Golfer Should Know

While concentrating on the basics is important, your course management ability can significantly impact your game. The following golf course management tips will tell you all you need to know.

Final Thoughts

As tempting as it might be to try and bomb it off the tee every time, its usually not the best way to play golf. Having a good course management strategy is very important, especially if you are a beginner and still struggling to shoot below 100.

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What is golf course management?

At the heart of the matter, golf course management is really about putting yourself in situations that play to your strengths, and avoiding situations that expose your weaknesses. Think about the golf course like the defense of a football team. The bunkers, water hazards, slopes, trees, etc., are all defenders that are trying to stop you ...

How to improve your golf game?

To commit to improving your game through course management , the first step is to quit working on your swing for a while. That doesn’t mean you should stop practicing, just stop tinkering or making any technical changes (at least for the time being). For now, stick with the swing you currently have, and get to work lowering your scores through better thinking on the course.

Is aggressive golf a smart game?

Aggressive shots might be exciting , but they are rarely the smart play. If you are like most amateur golfers, you don’t possess the consistency in your ball striking to take on challenging shots hole after hole and escape without doing some major damage to your scorecard.

What is course management?

Course Management is the art of making the right decisions during a round for course success. Course Management also means course strategy (see next section). Examples of course management include choosing which clubs to hit, where to lay up to your favorite yardage, and more!

Course Management 101 course strategy

The course strategy you will use will depend on the course and your game plan. For example, if you are playing a course for the first time, course management is course planning.

Hit the long shot!

Longer shots always equal shorter scores! Hit the long shots for two different reasons. One is because they will give you a much better chance of hitting par or birdie, and second is because course management strategies can lead to those great scores.

Layup to your favorite yardage

Layup to your favorite yardage is another fantastic course management strategy. You can layup to your favorite yardage and save a stroke by not hitting a longer club in situations that call for it. You can read course layouts and determine preferred landing zones, or landing areas for various clubs quickly.

Play the percentages into the green

Playing the percentages into the green is exactly what it sounds like. This course management strategy involves hitting a club for your distance to the pin, not over.

Respect the downhill

Another famous course management strategy is called respect the downhill. What this strategy entails is hitting your approach shots from high to low. For example, if the course has a downward slope on your second shot you hit downhill and not across putting more spin on the ball.

Learn to hit knockdowns

Hitting knockdowns out of the bunker is a course management strategy that provides course management while golfing. A knockdown shot is when you hit the sand and send it above your feet towards the front of the green to give yourself an easy pitch onto the green or to make more putts.

Google Earth is Awesome

I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I didn’t actually use Google Earth at all before someone showed me this trick. As a former Google employee I should have known, but hopefully most of you reading this will learn something new here!

Hazards and Trouble

Knowing your exact yardages on key shots to water hazards, bunkers, and out of bounds stakes is important information to know. I’ll show you a few examples from my golf course to give you ideas.

Fairways

One thing you want to look out for is where a fairway gets “squeezed.” Typically a golf course architect will tempt players to go for it in areas that become extremely narrow. You can easily check fairway widths with Google Earth, especially when there are hazards around.

Course Management Tips – Make Your Decisions Beforehand

One of the best course management tips I would give any golfer is to process your information before your round, and go in with a plan. You can take a look at a lot of these yardages and make decisions on what clubs you will play off the tee, and know some important distances to trouble and hazards around the course.

What is a golf management company?

A golf management company is tasked with managing a golf course and making it thrive economically. These groups are paid a fee each month to turn around a course’s fortunes and make them profitable.

How does golf management affect the economy?

Increase revenue and decrease spending. While golf management companies can increase incoming financial profits, the groups can also limit the outgoing expenditures. Due to having a relationship at a national level with various companies and other golf courses, clubs can buy supplies and equipment at lower prices.

What are the big names in golf management?

The big names in the golf management company world – Kemper Sports, Troon Golf, Billy Casper Golf – have made a reputation by enhancing the golf and membership experience.

Why add members to a golf course?

By adding new members, courses and clubs can increase revenue and owners feel more confident in the current financial atmosphere. In addition, management companies may invest money that the golf course owners now longer want to put into the course. This helps to improve the quality of the facilities.

Why are golf rules changing?

Golf’s rules changes can be seen as a way to bring new players into the game. But until those new players enter the sport, golf courses and clubs are in need of members and to stop any financial losses. That is where a golf management company can help. In 2016, experts said that 18% of all US golf courses hired third party management groups ...

Is Detroit a golf course?

In Detroit, there has been controversy over the city’s golf courses and the lack of money brought in from them. In 2016, the city paid part of its revenue to one golf management company as part of a water bill of $442,000.

Do golf management companies invest money?

Golf management companies do invest a lot of money into the courses they oversee, and these groups have some beautiful courses. One area that many believe management companies do the best at is the golf resort business. These large courses need to be taken care of for their guests, and a management company can do it well with its connections.

How to get lower scores in golf?

This is because they’re being more efficient and making smart decisions. You can, too. Here’s how: 1. Give it a rip. Longer drives convert to lower scores.

What to do if you are not playing your best golf?

If you are not playing your best, choose less aggressive clubs or ways around your golf course to help regain confidence and get going again. It is about making adjustments throughout your round and good golfers are doing this all the time, you might just not realize it. 10.

What is a good goal in downhill putts?

A good goal in your downhill putts can is just to get the ball close or a percentage of the way as gravity will take care of a lot of the distance on its own. 7. Lean to hit knockdowns. The days that your swing is working well and you hit most of your shots solidly are certainly a lot of fun.

What are the leading indicators of successful golf?

By aiming for the larger part of the green, should you miss the ball, you are more likely to still be on the green. 5. Stress-free putting . Total putts is one of the leading indicators of successful golf as it reflect putting prowess but also other parts of the game as well.

How to build confidence in golf?

A relatively consistent club that you can trust, which will help you build confidence throughout your round. 3. Lay up to your favorite yardage. Most golfers have approach distances they prefer and other distances they do not. This can always be a helpful part of your course management.

Is distance control important in golf?

Distance control in putting is a necessary part of of becoming a successful golfer. If you have not been as successful with distance control as you might like, calibrating your putting and associating a stroke size with a distance can be helpful.

What is golf course management?

At the heart of the matter, golf course management is really about putting yourself in situations that play to your strengths, and avoiding situations that expose your weaknesses. Think about the golf course like the defense of a football team. The bunkers, water hazards, slopes, trees, etc., are all defenders that are trying to stop you ...

How to improve your golf game?

To commit to improving your game through course management , the first step is to quit working on your swing for a while. That doesn’t mean you should stop practicing, just stop tinkering or making any technical changes (at least for the time being). For now, stick with the swing you currently have, and get to work lowering your scores through better thinking on the course.

Is aggressive golf a smart game?

Aggressive shots might be exciting , but they are rarely the smart play. If you are like most amateur golfers, you don’t possess the consistency in your ball striking to take on challenging shots hole after hole and escape without doing some major damage to your scorecard.

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