Play the Course, Not the Opponent

The game's first supreme match player was John Ball, a taciturn Englishman who won eight British Amateur Championships between 1888 and 1912. Ball was blessed with steel nerves and a smooth-flowing swing that never varied -- two undeniable assets for match play -- but he claimed his secret was that he played "against par." Said golf writer Bernard Darwin, "It was his business to go faultlessly down the middle and let the other man make the mistakes, and the more intense the crisis, the more closely he stuck to business." 

 

In one competition, Ball's opponent hit into a bunker on a par-five hole. "He's in a bunker," said one of the gallery members. "You didn't see, did you?" 

 

"No," answered Ball. "Why should I? It's my business to get a five." 

 

Bobby Jones had similar success playing against "Old Man Par, a patient soul who never makes a birdie." That game plan was sound enough to win one British Amateur and five U.S. Amateurs. 

 

Of course, as with all match-play advice, there are exceptions. If the match is tied with one hole to go and your opponent has stuck his approach six feet from the flag, you have no choice but to go for a birdie yourself. If, on the contrary, your opponent hits his approach into a pond fronting the green, discretion will be the better part of valor.

Read more: http://www.golf.com/instruction/10-commandments-match-play#ixzz2lThXbSlG