Yesterday I had the chance to caddy for one of my girls during the US Junior Girls qualifier in Cartersville, GA. We had the chance to play a practice round on Sunday, then the qualifier was on Monday. And she played well enough to qualify, Oklahoma bound in July! I’m fortunate to have the chance to get out with my players quite often to caddy and evaluate them on the course during a tournament, so I wanted to take the time to share a few of my thoughts from yesterday’s experience that may help you all as well.

Practice Round:

  • Know your targets off each tee. Know your lay up spots. Know what club you want to hit based on the conditions, don’t always assume it’s driver. Know the elevation changes into greens and how that will affect club selection. Take note of what you hit during practice round on par 3s and where it landed on the green. Write these things down!
  • During practice rounds, if you are allowed and don’t hold anybody up, make sure you don’t just throw some balls down and roll putts on the greens. Take the time chip and hit bunker shots while on the course. I know this isn’t always an option and you need to do it in a timely manner, but take advantage of being on the course as much as possible. Look at spots around the green that you might be hitting from if you miss or lay up.
  • Look at the layout of the green as you walk up and take some notes. Know where different tiers are on the green that you may not be able to see from the fairway and what the carry distances are for those tiers. If pin placements are marked, check out carry distances over bunkers, and how much room you have behind, beside and in front of the pin if it is tucked away.
  • Do some good speed control drills on the putting green after your practice round and/or before your tournament round. One of the toughest parts of playing many different courses is figuring out the speed of the greens. Take the time on the practice green to do this for mid to long putts. And see some shorter putts go into the hole: read the putt, get a feel for the speed and understand how the two are matching up for that particular golf course.

During the tournament:

  • Stick to your plan. Don’t let what the other players do affect what you have set out to hit off the tee or layup with on par 5s. Stick with what you feel comfortable with, every player has a different strategy and approach with their game.
  • Don’t just shoot the yardage to the flag, look at the green and what factors may change your club selection.
  • Stay patient. Bad holes and bad shots will happen but you can’t let them affect the rest of your round.
  • Pay attention to what the other players’ balls do on approach shots, short game shots around the greens and especially their putts. Even if they are on the other side of the hole watch what their putt does at it gets close to the hole. Watch as their chip runs by the hole or how the speed is affected going up and down slopes.
  • Always look at all options when getting out of trouble. If you can’t get a big advantage by the risk of hitting under trees or through a small gap, then don’t force a shot just to gain a few extra yards. Chip/punch the ball out the safest way, take your medicine, hope to make a par or worst case a bogey and move on to the next hole. And my best advice is to practice these shots!
  • Know the rules!! An official will help you with drops, options and rulings but they won’t tell you things to give you an advantage. If you better understand the rules you can use them to your advantage by giving yourself a more favorable lie. Pay attention to where you are dropping the ball within the 1 or 2 club lengths you are given, don’t just pick the ball up and drop it. Don’t be afraid to ask to questions.