A Lesson Learned: Tiger wins the Buick Open

August 2, 2009 -- This week's Buick Open no doubt provided some useful insight into course management. But before that, let's start with the leaderboard on the final day. With Tiger leading going into the final 18, we were all reminded of his career success. Fifty times, I repeat, fifty times in his career, he has had the 54-hole lead or share of the lead going into the final round. Oh yeah, and he's now won 47 of those events. In a career that has delivered 69 PGA Tour victories, that also means he's been ahead going into the final round in all but 19 of those victories.

• Complete Coverage of Tiger's win at the Buick Open

Enter Michael Letzig, who had barely played in 50 tournaments going into this weekend's Buick Open. And what about Matt Bettancourt, YE Yang, Roland Thatcher, Greg Chalmers or Vaughan Taylor? Bob Heintz!? Who are these guys, right? Wait a minute, they are acutally all accomplished PGA Tour players, it's just that they are up against Tiger, who may end up being the best golfer in the history of the sport. And, as Frank Nobilo mentioned early in the final day's broadcast..."it's all about the score today, not the man." Tell that to Tiger Woods.

When you take a look at these final rounds, it's hard to get a feel for how to play the game, right? Letzig (who at the beginning of the broadcast was noted as distance challenged) pipes one down hole no. 1 all of 320 yards. Matt Bettancourt piped two out of bounds and preceded to make a 10 on the first hole. During the entire final round we heard about Tiger's "uneventful", or "lackluster" round, as he took 3-wood off of many tee boxes. Was it really uneventful? Or, was it just that his course management is so solid down the stretch that it goes unrecognized. I mean, we all like drama, but we all like to win too. Guess the two don't always go hand in hand, so maybe that's the reason that Tiger has won well over 90% of the events in which he has had the lead going into the final round. He's consistent, and being consistent will lead to better golf.

Let's talk about course management in today's "Lesson Learned." Whether you are trying to "go for the gusto," or hit fairways and greens, you have got to play YOUR shot. It is extremely important to remember the fact that you can do what's out of your comfort zone, but it takes alot of effort. As many lessons as I have taught, and playing situations that I have been involved in, I myself have learned that you have to play your own game and do what is in your comfort zone. Doing so builds confidence, confidence builds a thoughtless swing, and a thoughtless swing leads to free rhythm and an easy motion. And we all know that being relaxed is the best way to play the game. Matt Bettancourt launched one OB on no. 1, re-teed, made the same swing, and launched it OB again. The crowd got behind him, and his 5th shot went down the middle, but you could tell he had to do something uncomfortable to make it happen. How about Tiger on no. 14? Leading the tournament by two shots, and 200 yards from the green, why not lay up and make birdie for sure right? No way, let's take the fairway metal and slice it under the tree and go for the green!! The funny thing is he did that because he felt comfortable doing so. That positive mental attitude led to a shot in the water, however, that same mental strength led him to hit the next one 2 feet from the cup and save his par. He did that because he never left his game plan. His game plan was to go for the green, and in doing so, he made a mistake, but it didn't hurt him in the end.

Today's "Lesson Learned" is play YOUR shot. If you play a cut, don't start trying to draw the ball. If you hit your 5 wood better than your driver off the tee, than so be it -- and if you are a long hitter, then go for the gusto! Whatever your playing goals are, do what makes sense for YOU, work on consistent golf within your playing ability, and you will not only play better golf, but you'll have more fun doing so.

Andrew Mitchell is the Director of Golf Operations at Grande Pines Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. He is a proud alumnus of Penn State University and has worked with Marriott Golf since early 2000. He has worked in every aspect of the golf industry as a golf shop manager, head professional, and now director of golf. Andrew served as Head Professional at The Frog Golf Course at The Georgian Resort in Villa Rica, Georgia, prior to arrival at Grande Pines.