There are days on the course when the swing flows, yet the card still fills up with bogeys. It isn’t your technique that’s failing, but the lack of a plan. Picture yourself on the tee of the 1st at Club de Golf Costa Brava: the air is fresh, the sun brushes the tops of the pines and, ahead of you, stretches a layout that rewards those who think their way through every shot. Here, victory doesn’t belong to the biggest hitter, but to the player who can read the ground like a chessboard, anticipating risks and leaving the ball in precisely the right spot to create the best chance for the next strike.
Golf, at its heart, is strategy. For centuries, from the Scottish links to the most modern courses, the finest players have understood that every hole is a management challenge: calculating distance, studying the slope, sensing how the wind will play its part and, above all, deciding where it’s wisest to miss if an error comes. In the end, even great champions like Bobby Jones or Seve Ballesteros knew the secret wasn’t the perfect shot, but the ability to plan.
The essence of strategy in golf
Golf isn’t merely a sport of power or refined technique; it’s first and foremost an exercise in intelligence in motion. Each hole poses a different puzzle, and the key is to solve it with your head before you do so with your clubs. It’s not only about executing a perfect swing, but about understanding the course, weighing your options and making the smartest decision at every moment.
The great names in history knew this well. Bobby Jones, regarded as the father of modern golf, maintained that the difference between a good player and a champion lies in the ability to think under pressure. Decades later, Seve Ballesteros took it to the limit with his inexhaustible creativity: more than striking the ball, he seemed to hold a conversation with the course, always finding an unexpected escape even from the thickest rough.
That strategic outlook is what transforms a simple round into an experience of precision and control. When a player learns to observe the course calmly, it becomes clear that every bunker is a calculated trap, every dogleg an invitation to choose between risk and safety, every sloping green a test of patience. And it’s in that pre-shot reading where the real difference begins between improving a score or squandering an opportunity.
Analyse the hole before you play it
Walking to the tee without having studied the hole is like putting to sea without a compass. Strategy starts long before you strike the ball: with observation, reading the terrain and the ability to anticipate scenarios. At Club de Golf Costa Brava, where each hole hides its own nuances, this prior analysis becomes an indispensable ally for shaving shots off your card.
Identify the risks
Lateral water, bunkers placed with intent, penal rough that punishes errors, or fairways narrower than they appear from the tee. Spotting these hazards before you hit avoids the golfer’s most common trap: being taken by surprise. The key isn’t to fear risk, but to recognise it and have a Plan B ready.
Decide the optimal ball position
A 250-metre drive can impress, but what’s the point if the ball finishes in heavy rough or behind a tree? Strategic placement means choosing the safest zone that allows a comfortable second shot. Sometimes it’s wiser to take an iron from the tee to find the fairway and attack the green from a clear position than to hit driver and complicate the hole. The golfer who plans every shot knows that a score is built with patience, not impulse.
Adapt your play to your own handicap
A low-handicap player might risk going for the green in two on a par 5, while a mid-handicapper should consider playing it as three placement shots. Strategy is never universal: it depends on each player’s experience, confidence and ability. Analysing the hole realistically, accepting strengths and limitations, is the shortest route to a good result.
The scorecard: a map for planning
Many players look at it only to confirm the total distance or the hole’s par, but the scorecard is far more than a formality. Used properly, it’s a strategic map that anticipates what awaits you on every shot.
Within it lies the information that separates an orderly golfer from an impulsive one: each hole’s length, the green’s design, the position of hazards, and the sequence of par 3s, 4s and 5s that will set the rhythm of your round. Reviewing it before you head out allows you to foresee the most demanding stretches and conserve energy, both physical and mental, for the holes that will ask the most of you.
The most experienced players use it as a personal road map. They mentally mark safe zones, note which club they prefer on certain holes and sketch their strategy even before they step onto the tee. In this way, every shot becomes the execution of a considered plan rather than an improvisation.
At Club de Golf Costa Brava, with its 27 holes that blend hills, woodland and open ground, the card becomes a fundamental ally. Reading it carefully is like walking the course with your eyes before you do so with your clubs: a quiet advantage that adds more to your final score than you might think.
Keeping your nerve on the toughest holes
Every golfer knows the feeling: you reach a long hole with water left and out of bounds lurking right, and suddenly your heart beats faster than your swing. The pressure doesn’t always come from the hole’s actual difficulty, but from how our mind perceives it. That’s where mental strategy makes the difference.
A good player learns to break the hole into small objectives. Instead of dwelling on an intimidating par 5, they reduce it to three specific shots: find the fairway, leave a comfortable distance, then attack the green. By simplifying, the tension eases and each action feels more achievable.
Visualisation also plays a vital role. Picture the ball’s flight to your chosen target, take a deep breath before addressing the ball and keep your pre-shot routine. These habits help to neutralise nerves. It’s not about eliminating pressure, but taming it and turning it into focus.
The most common mistakes on difficult holes usually stem from haste: trying to pull off an impossible shot, firing at a flag ringed with bunkers, or giving in to frustration after a poor strike. The key is accepting that a bogey can be part of the strategy: better to bank an extra shot than wreck the card with a double bogey or worse.
At Club de Golf Costa Brava, such tests abound. From strategic doglegs to greens demanding pin-point accuracy, the player who keeps calm not only survives the tricky holes but can even turn them into opportunities to gain ground on those who let nerves take over.
Practical examples at Club de Golf Costa Brava
The course at Club de Golf Costa Brava is a living manual of strategy. Its 27 holes invite you to think your way through, to choose with good judgement rather than impulse, and to discover that a plan can be as decisive as execution.
On the Green course, the opening nine threads between pines and holm oaks. Here, precision is more valuable than power: on holes with tight fairways, an iron from the tee is often smarter than the driver. The reward comes on the back nine, which is more open, where the player can unleash the long game while keeping ball position firmly in mind.
On the Red course, unveiled with the new holes in 2014, the presence of water adds an extra challenge. On several holes, excessive risk from the tee can ruin the round; by contrast, a conservative shot to a safe area opens up a controlled second and a fair chance at par or birdie.
Special mention goes to the 18th green, visible from the clubhouse terrace. Arriving here with nerves is normal: the course will have demanded constant decisions and surgical precision. The key is to stick to the plan right to the end, without being swayed by the pressure of an audience looking on. A calm putt on this green can be the perfect finish to a round played with intelligence.
Ultimately, Club de Golf Costa Brava doesn’t only reward a good swing: it rewards the golfer who can interpret the layout like a board of possibilities, calmly choosing the most profitable play on every hole.
Strategy and the Academy: learning to think through every shot
Strategy doesn’t come solely from experience; it can be trained. Just as you work on your swing on the practice ground or your putting on the green, the way you plan each hole can be refined with the right guidance.
At the Costa Brava Golf Academy, the professionals don’t limit themselves to correcting technique: they teach you to read the course, anticipate scenarios and make sound decisions according to your handicap and playing style. There’s no universal strategy; what suits a low-handicap player won’t always fit an amateur who wants simply to enjoy the game and improve steadily.
Strategic play is developed here through practical drills: from simulated rounds with specific objectives to analysing scorecards to anticipate the best way to approach each hole. This approach turns the golfer into a more aware player, able to think through every shot before executing it and to keep their composure even under pressure.
All of this takes place in a unique setting: the historic masia that houses the clubhouse, layouts that blend nature with technical design, and a social atmosphere that makes the club the ideal place not only to learn but to enjoy golf in its most authentic form.
Play with your head, enjoy with calm
In golf, technique opens doors, but strategy is what separates a decent round from a memorable one. Planning every hole, anticipating risks, deciding with composure and keeping your nerve at key moments are the secrets of players who truly progress and genuinely enjoy the game.
Club de Golf Costa Brava is the perfect stage to take this philosophy to the next level: a course designed to test tactical intelligence, an academy that teaches you to think through every shot, and a premium, social environment that turns every visit into a unique experience.Ready to play with your head and knock shots off your card? Book your tee time at Club de Golf Costa Brava and discover how strategy transforms your game.
