Post #6: Tournament Preparation for “The Woodchuck”
Since I got the Covid “stank” last week and missed almost a week’s worth of practice time (which I was having a hard time utilizing so far as it was) and missed the Creekside Ice Bowl which would have been a good warmup for the next tournament, I’m going to need to put some EXTRA effort into the tournament preparation for "The Woodchuck" at White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, DE.
This course is a pretty typical, park-style course with lots of “open fairway, protected green” style holes. Most of the shots will favor drive accuracy off the tee pad over drive distance; with few “tunnel shots”, “sucker lines”, or “risk/reward” decisions to muddy the mental waters. It’s a good course for me to play at the beginning of this season, as I can use it to polish the mechanics changes that I have been making and see what effect then have in a tournament setting.
It’s All About the Data!
So lets start out with the historical data. If I grab the score data for White Clay Creek DGC over the past few years, I see this:
| Score | +/- | Avg Rating |
| 48 | -7 | 998 |
| 49 | -6 | 986 |
| 50 | -5 | 974 |
| 51 | -4 | 962 |
| 52 | -3 | 951 |
| 53 | -2 | 939 |
| 54 | -1 | 927 |
| 55 | Even | 915 |
| 56 | +1 | 904 |
| 57 | +2 | 892 |
| 58 | +3 | 880 |
| 59 | +4 | 868 |
| 60 | +5 | 857 |
| Score | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
| +/- | -7 | -6 | -5 | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 | Even | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 |
| Avg Rating | 998 | 986 | 974 | 962 | 951 | 939 | 927 | 915 | 904 | 892 | 880 | 868 | 857 |
For fun, I have a “Dream Score”, which is what I would think of as a perfect round for me on this layout. I calculated that "target" score as -7, which would mean no bogies and bridies on holes 1, 2, 6, 13, 15, 16, and 18.
My current PB is -2, with birdies on 2, 8, 13, and 16; and bogies on 7 and 10.
My "danger" holes (holes that have given me trouble in the past) are 7, 10*, 14, and 15.
Based on the average rating scores, and the fact that I am targeting 925-rated rounds at this point in the season, my target score is -1. This is the score that I’m going to use as a reference point during play to give me a sense of my level of play.
Preconceived Notions
The fact that I’ve played this course several times in the past, gives me a head start towards building a game plan of what I want to do on each hole. I’m also going to take into account my current mechanics “issues” and what I have been throwing well (or not!!!) lately. Along these lines, here is my criteria:
Standstill drives when possible — some of my new mechanics changes come a little undone when I transition to a walk-up.
Avoiding trouble which would require a possible pitchout — my shoulder is a bit sore when I throw overhand, so I want to minimize the possibility of needing that shot.
Forehands uphill over backhands — my backhand still tends to come out too high when I’m throwing uphill.
Play a bit more aggressively — I need to start moving the “Conservative/Aggressive” controls a bit more toward the “Aggressive” side, with both putting and shot selection
So, combining all of that info, I can plan my drive choices for each hole:
314 ft (3) - Forehand Driver (Air Giant)
251 ft (3) - Forehand Control (Fortress)
258 ft (3) - Backhand Driver (King)
355 ft (3) - Backhand Driver (King)
230 ft (3) - Forehand Control (Bowman)
279 ft (3) - Forehand Midrange (Anvil)
262 ft (3) - Forehand Driver (Adder)
252 ft (3) - Forehand Control (Fortress)
288 ft (3) - Backhand Driver (King)
276 ft (3) - Forehand Driver (Adder)
344 ft (3) - Backhand Driver (Sword)
285 ft (3) - Forehand Driver (Adder)
245 ft (3) - Backhand Midrange (Warship)
361 ft (3) - Forehand Driver (Giant)
255 ft (3) - Forehand Control (Fortress)
214 ft (3) - Forehand Midrange (Anvil)
328 ft (3) - Backhand Driver (King)
210 ft (3) - Forehand Midrange (Anvil)
As an (in)famous boxer once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” All of these plans could get thrown right out of the window based on weather conditions, course conditions, and my condition. I hope to get at least one good practice round in this week, weather and “covid-cough” conditions permitting, of course, and that will go a long way towards solidifying what I have thought out so far.
We’ll see what happens. Until then …
I’ll see you on the course!