A Lesson Learned: Kuchar prevails using great game management

October 5, 2009 -- Congratulations to fellow Atlantan Matt Kuchar, a great player and great guy, for his win at Turning Stone Resort Championship this past weekend. This means we can look forward to watching "Kooch" play quite a bit more since he gets a two-year exemption on the Tour for this win as well as an invitation to next year's Masters.

Matt Kuchar showed great poise, skill and temperment in winning the 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship. (Photo: Getty Images)

Those of us who have followed Matt's career knew that he would have a successful run in professional golf, not because he is the most physically talented player or because he hits the ball further than anyone else - it's due to his ability to manage his game and play to his strengths. He has always done this well and this is what carried him to victory under tough playing conditions, going to a playoff, having play suspended due to darkness and then come back the next morning and surviving four additional holes (six total) of that playoff before prevailing.

As an instructor, I watched Matt's play this week with a great sense of appreciation for the way he plays the game - something that almost all amateurs should adopt as part of their game. It's not about how far you hit the ball, or how close you can get to the green that will improve your scores, it's how you manage your game. What are the odds of you knocking that 3 wood on the well-protected green from 230 yards out? Or a better way to put it, do you have a better chance of getting up and down from 25 yards off the green or short-sided in the bunker by the pin? The worst score you might make from laying up is a bogey. The worst score you might make trying to pull off a career shot over water is - well, a lot higher.

Did you see Matt's first playoff hole Sunday? He hit a drive that went through the fairway bunker on the 18th hole, and instead of trying to make birdie by going for the green in two, he layed up to a comfortable distance for him. That layup left him 123 yards for his approach shot, a shot he was able to put within 10 feet. He then made a clutch putt for birdie - something he needed to do as Vaughn Taylor had just hit his approach to near tap-in distance. Kooch did not panic nor force anything, he played the way that he felt left him the best chance to score.

Smart play, managing your game and clutch putting. Those can go far in making sure you get the best results out of your game.

Steve Long is the Director of Instruction at Brookstone Golf & Country Club in Acworth, Ga. Steve, a golf Professional since 1986 and has worked with players from beginner to tour level. Steve also enjoys helping grow the game of golf, by helping golfers with disabilities. In 2000 Steve was awarded special recognition for his work and coaching athletes with special needs by the Colorado Special Olympics. Steve can be reached at scottiedogs2@pga.com.