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Connor, this thread is about who's game management is worth emulating. Would love to hear your thoughts on this when you get a chance.

There are too many good course management players out there too choose one but if I had to choose one it would be pre-2008 Tiger Woods. Back then he planned his misses in all of the right places so that even if he hit a bad shot he was not completely screwed on his next shot.

GMac is straight and steady too

Love Graeme, but steady he is not. This year he's played in 15 PGA Tour events. Finished in the top 25 one-third of the time, finished out of the top 25 one-third of the time and missed the cut one-third of the time. Recent years have been much the same.

Now for grit? He's the king!

I thought about Pavin today on the course, how he was such a perfect keep-it-in-play kind of guy.

Put me down for a mix of Tom Kite, Trevino and Seve ...

I need an abacus, two calculators and a link to a super-computer at NASA when it's time to weigh the risk-reward options (like KITE) and while I will go for shots here and there, I also lay it down at times too, chip out, lay up, aim for the middles of greens and obvious bail-out areas and play for par (like KITE).

I also am a shot-maker, not a robot golf swinger ... I generally try to shape shots and control trajectories to fit the situation (like TREVINO), and, of course, I find myself in the junk a goodly amount of time, so I work very hard on my punch-out, escape shots and will hit dang near any club any time to get back onto the course (like SEVE).

My Trevino instincts guide how I work the ball with a heavy emphasis on the fade on longer shots (4-iron up) and draws on shorter shots (7-iron down). My Kite instincts guide my judgement, and they temper my Seve instincts, which help me imagine shots and, at times, give me the guts and determination to take on risky shots.

I think you nailed it with Trevino for 2 reasons... 1) his swing is unique and he always got it done under pressure and 2) he was creative and the best golf course manager back in the day. Pavin was decent and great player as the Average Joe, but Trevino was a wizard and learned to trust his swing to slay the Beast. Only guy out there after Watson to get into Jack's head.

I think that is very wise thinking. Maybe with my neck surgery I should take a close look at Anika's swing. She always followed her shots with her head, rather than keeping it down. I am now forced to do just that. Great thoughts, big help to me, thank you.

Kind of got off subject a bit and got onto swings. As to course management we at our levels could pick any pro there is and benefit from it, but then that is why they are pro's. You don't hear pro's talk about their course management or strategies all that much, more about their swings but If there was one out there I would follow it would be Jack Nicklaus. Reason being he is the greatest that ever played the game (in modern days LL :-)) and the reason wasn't just his great swing and ball striking abilities. He had to have been a great course manager. Probably is why he is a great course builder. He can see a hole in his head and build it and probably could see a hole and could figure out the best way to play it.

I think there really isn't much to course management. Simple if you think about it. just hit your drive down the middle of the fairway. Hit your approach to the middle of the green. And sink a few putts. Its usually the swing that gets in the way.

Trevino is my NO. 1 example of what is wrong with golfers today ... but not necessarily because of the swing (as in, we think of the 2013 average tour pro as a robot swinger who has to fit "his shot" into each situation, whereas Trevino turned the ball both ways and fit each situation into his shot).

When I think of Trevino, I think of heart.

I didn't grow up watching Trevino, have mostly just read about him and learned from watching TV features and old footage, so I may be a mile away from getting this right. If so, call me on it. You won't offend me because I truly admit I might have this wrong.

But what I've learned to belive is that Trevino is the best example of what the best golfers were like in the 1960s, 70s and into the 80s -- guys who didn't succumb to the pressure but rose to meet it. Like Tom Watson once he figured out how to keep the ball on the course. And not to pick on Adam Scott because I happen to like him quite a bit, but my point: Lee Trevino won more majors than Adam Scott will win because Trevino knew how to handle the moment and learned how to convert the desire to win into a performance, whereas Scott, who no doubt handled a HUGE moment earlier this year, will do what most modern pros do most of the time: choke on it.

Steve Stricker also comes to mind, and my god, I LOVE STEVE STRICKER!!! I root for him as hard as TW, but he simply can't handle the moment. Watch that first par-5 at Merion on Sunday this year and call me a liar. Full heimlich. I hated to see it but couldn't say it surprised me.

What we see today is most of our modern-day major champions show some guts and determination on occassion .. that is, just once. Maybe twice. and only when things are going their best as far as how they're swinging it and scoring that day. But I'd bet dollars to pesos they aren't converting desire into performance the way Trevino did.

That, of course, has nothing to do with game management, but being a nothing nobody from Texas with a quirky game, it's very easy for me to identify with Trevino. I wish to the golf gods above I had his strike.