How to Win Golf Tournaments Like Koepka

Just around this time last year, Golf for Beginners posted a guest article focusing on the 2018 statistics of Brooks Koepka whose phenomenal season came on the heels of a wrist injury late the previous year.

In 2018, Koepka was on the PGA Tour top-10 list for scoring average and driving distance, to name a few stats, and won the 2018 PGA Championship after a come-back from an early deficit with a 63 to tie a record. Now that's perseverance!

How can the average golfer learn from Brooks Koepka and apply that knowledge to win golf tournaments? Most of us don't have the distance of a PGA Tour pro but, as this golf blog's tagline states, "...because we're always learning" stands firm in its resolve that we can find something useful in every situation.

That being said, here are a few golf tips which may help you to win like Koepka.

Mental Toughness Stops the Dreaded "Choke"

If you can understand that during a round of golf everyone has their "choke moments", even Koepka during the final round of the PGA Championship (that is when the pressure gets too great to handle), you will be able to move past your mates quickly after the moment strikes. Breathe deep, pull positive thoughts from within and move on.

If you do nothing else during your round, do this...

Say NO to Snowmen: make a plan of how you will tackle each hole as you get to the tee box so that you can steer clear of trouble and get close, get on, and get in the hole in the least number of strokes. Koepka avoided large numbers and so should you. That's the game of golf...play it!

Remember - No Win Comes Easy

Even if your round of golf seems to be slipping through your fingers, don't give up. If you feel that you are not suited to stroke play, why not give yourself the advantage and suggest a round of match play golf?

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Strategies to Beat Your Partner in Match-Play Golf

Instead of playing for lowest score, as in stroke play, consider the finesse of playing the oldest form of golf, namely match play, the next time you go out on the course for couples' night!

Stroke play is about how few strokes you have at the end of the round while match play is all about how many holes you win.

There is a strategy to winning both competitions but in match play, it's all about understanding both your partner's as well as your own position and making decisions based on his or her moves.

Settling the score will be so much fun when you don't have to rely on score and handicaps and instead plan a psychological attack which offers the golfer a chance to be rewarded for winning one hole at a time.

Here are a few ways to feel empowered during match-play and win in spite of the deficiencies you might have during stroke play.

KEEP EMOTIONS IN CHECK: Try not to feel negative if you lose a hole to your opponent. In stroke play, getting a snowman can really blow your round both on the scorecard and psychologically but in match play, losing one hole will not determine the final outcome. It is important to hold your emotions in check and put on your best poker face. No worries about blow-up holes will also allow you to recover more quickly which keeps you calmer and focused on the mission at hand...beating your spouse or partner!

GIVE GIMMES? There is no harm in giving 2-foot putts to your playing partner, now is there? Especially when/if he or she returns the favor. The fun part comes into play if you are down later on in the match and then, instead of giving that "gimme", you decide to have your partner make the shot. Doubt may creep into your mate's mind about whether or not he makes the shot and...hey, you never know what can happen.

SHOW CONFIDENCE: Consistency breeds confidence, something you need to outwardly show in match-play so make sure you practice your short game on the range, especially putting (see above note.)

IT'S NOT OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER: This quote on pga.com says it best...

"Always stay positive. This has got to be the Golden Rule when it comes to match play. You're not out of it until you run out of holes."

Now that you have a few golf tips on how to beat your partner in match play, suggest this format the next time you are out on the first tee!

What golf tips can you share about match play? Post them in the comments section of this golf blog and tag us with them on Twitter @Golf4Beginners!

What Did YOU Learn from Watching The Ryder Cup? #golf

Every golf tournament can be considered a learning experience by players and fans; the Ryder Cup is no exception. Some writers looked into the seriousness of the individual golfers and teamwork displayed while others wrote about the validation of the USA "family".

It was said many times during the Ryder Cup that this tournament is like no other event in golf; the seriousness is there but the cheering and jeering elicits so many different responses in the players that they must seek out their zen place in order to close out distractions. In a recent article by Golf Digest, it was suggested that players do not try to block out pressure but, instead, embrace and channel it.

"You probably aren't playing in front of a 50,000-person gallery, but everybody will get to a shot that gets the butterflies going," related top PGA Teacher Randy Smith.

 "The trick is to practice drifting into the past, to access the good shots you've hit on that hole or in a similar situation. When you do that, you're reminding yourself that the situation isn't completely foreign. The nerves are there, but they're part of the experience."

The Golf for Beginners mantra is that we are always learning...and sharing our thoughts with golfers of all levels so, here are a few observations as to how to use Ryder Cup model to your advantage during a friendly competition with your mates.

1. Managing Emotions: As discussed above, emotions do play a role on the golf course but the key is how to use those feelings to your advantage.

Preventing a meltdown is easier said than done when you slice your ball so badly that it splashes into the green-side pond or when you have a few shekels on the line and miss that three-footer to go down by three in the match. Dr. Deborah Graham suggests using Dave Stockton's "2 Second Rule" as a quick fix to a possible emotional disaster.

Basically, give yourself two seconds to react to a bad shot - release frustration and then change your thoughts to something you can control and move on to the next shot.

2. Try a Different Format: Match Play format is sometimes the better format when going out and playing with friends. You can have a blowup hole without losing the match as in stroke play; the game also moves along faster because of gimmee putts and takes less time for when you need to finish in under five plus hours (ah, the publinks experience!)

3. Try Playing as Teams: The team experience can be very rewarding, creating a sense of cameraderie during the round.

About the idea of playing with a team, Karen Stupples mentioned that solo golf can be very "selfish" and said with regards to her experience in the Solheim Cup, "You have to be aware of what everybody else needs as well and you may have to make some sacrifices. You will definitely feel more pressure in this type of format because you don't want to let your team down."

I personally like the option of playing best ball and believe that the joint strategy offers less pressure because the team is shouldering some of the weight. Ham and egging it has its advantages!

What did you learn from watching the Ryder Cup matches?

Now that the Ryder Cup is officially in the books, we congratulate both teams for their incredible winning spirit. Next up in the way of team sports is the Solheim Cup slated for mid-August of 2017 and then the President's Cup at the end of September, 2017.

Are you a fan of team sports? What can you offer about your experiences playing with a team? Tag us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and feel free to comment in our golf blog below.

How Match Play Golf Gives Old Man Par a Stroke

Is the art of Match Play lost on golfers in the U.S. or do we simply prefer every stroke to count?

In a recent GolfWeek article, Brits such as Ian Poulter prefer "the oldest form of golf" to stroke play because it boils down to "just me against the other guy rather than the rest of the field." Bubba Watson, on the other hand, believes that "it should be everybody gets up there and tries to shoot a score."

Even Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, after their first round departure from the WGC Accenture Match Play Championships, decided to "settle the score" in a match play format although the two games ended all square.

Amateurs should probably take a tip from Poulter, McIlroy and other golfers from across the pond and rotate a game of match play into their weekly foursomes. Where it is probable, at the end of a four-day professional tournament, that stroke play will ulitmately lead to the "best" player and score, the game is not necessarily all about score for amateurs. As Henrik Stenson said about match-play format, "It's very clear what you need to do...You just have to play better than your opponent."

Here are a few reasons to opt for a game of match-play golf instead of stroke play the next time you are out with your golf buddies:

1. There is a different psychological approach to Match-Play: 

* Less stressful throughout the game (until the end if you're dormie, for example).

* Seeing your score on the card in stroke format may cause you to count strokes instead of focusing on your shot.

2. Easier to score without having a scorecard.

3. Head-to-head competition versus playing for par.

4. A playing opponent can legitimately concede your putt.

5. Focuses your attention to the adventure of a single hole when standing on the tee box. Each hole becomes its own mini-game.

6. You can make match play more fun by adding a wager per hole (skins game).


Try Match-Play the next time you go out with your friends and leave Old Man Par in the Clubhouse!


As a postscript, in my opinion it is a shame that as of this article, the Sybase Match Play Championship will no longer be an event on the LPGA Tour.


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