Strategy Do You Play #Golf to Win?|Golf for Beginners

Scenario: You're behind by two strokes, nearing the end a very important golf tournament, and your ball is not sitting in the best position to go for the green. Your nearest competitor has not bogeyed all day long and appears to be in good shape. What is your next move?

Do you:

a) play it secure

b) play to win

This was the predicament for Ian Poulter as he debated his subsequent move at the same time as 21-year-antique Si Woo Kim stood geared up on the fairway to increase his lead on a par-5 at the 2017 Players Championship.

Poulter decided to play it safe, protecting 2nd place money and his world ranking. After the tournament and his decision had been made, Poulter received criticism from a Golf Channel commentator, calling the move "the worst shot of the day."

Was it though?

Chamblee, the commentator in question, clarified his statement to include that it was, indeed, a "fine shot" and, although it "didn't cost himself any money, didn't cost him any world ranking points", Poulter "clearly did not play to win".

According to PGA.com, the hardest shot to hit under pressure is...the layup. "It won't get any votes for Shot of the Year" but it could make the difference in the shots that follow. A study in favor of opposing side, that is, playing aggressively in a tight squeeze, was published by Edmund M. Balsdon in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports. He argues that "pros should start playing more aggressive under pressure because tournament purses are heavily skewed in favor of the winner."

Of course, we don't play at that level but most of us do like to compete and beat our friends.

So, do you play safe and wait for your competitor to make an error (which happens a lot at our level of play) or go for the low percentage shot and, possibly, the win if you make a great shot?

I guess it relies upon on how well you're hitting the ball that day. Two thoughts to do not forget earlier than making that selection at some point of play:

- If you've been making maximum of your shots and your confidence is high, then go for it!

- If you've got been scrambling all day, then again, then you definately need to play it secure.

Good good fortune obtainable!

Have you played it safe when your mind said, "Go for it?" Let us know your story below in the comments section of this Golf for Beginners blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.