If you are like most golfers, you want to shoot better scores but you really don’t want to radically change your swing, take a lot of lessons or even practice a great deal more. That’s OK. Here are four solid, doable strategies you can use immediately so you can get more out of your game.
First, play the hole backwards. Most golfers step to the teeing ground just hoping they hit their drive somewhere in the vicinity of the fairway. I’m saying raise your standards. Decide exactly where you want to play your second shot from and then visualize a tee shot that will land in that area. This is a target-oriented mind-et, rather than “hit-and-hope.”
Secondly, play to the fat part of the green. Generally, the center of the green is the easiest target to hit. Considering the size of an average green (about 7000 square feet), a ball played to the center leaves you a putt that may be 30 feet or so, if a hole location is near the perimeter. Many players get mesmerized by looking out toward the green, seeing the flag waving and unthinkingly making that their target. There are hardly any “go-for-it” hole locations for the 20 handicapper. “Play-it-safe” works better.
Thirdly, play your shot with enough club. This tip is worth a mother lode of saved strokes. It’s rare to see the average recreational golfer miss the green long. Why? He knows a perfectly struck 7 iron will go 155 yards, or so he thinks. The SkyCaddy reads 157. Golfer pulls a 7 iron. He hits it slightly fat and slightly on the toe, to a target that is slightly uphill and slightly into a breeze. Short again; well short. Put your ego on the shelf and take more club. When you start missing long on a regular basis then it might be time to go down a club. Remember, what frequently happens when we take what we think is more-than-enough club, we swing easier and more under control. Here’s another little tip: take a few practice sessions to hit shots with every club while actually measuring the average carry distance. That’s right: average, and carry, which is the distance you can realistically expect from each of your clubs for an average swing, which is what you need to know. You can boost your results from proper club selection by making sure your rhythm and tempo stay smooth for each club and each swing.
Lastly, play chips and short pitches more like putts. It saddens me when I see a player hit two good shots on a par 4, and see them cancelled by a couple of chunked or bladed chip shot attempts. Unless you’re well-practiced in the high Mickelsonesque lob, or the long Tigeresque chip that flies low, skids once and then checks up like a felon hit with a Taser, you are wise to play a simple “bump-and-run” shot every time. Even the putter works out of the short grass or the light rough.
Play the percentages. Don’t try a shot you don’t have. Here’s an example: Let’s say you are six yards short of the green, and have 12 yards more to the hole. Take your 7 or 8 iron, take a 1/4 swing, land the ball on the fringe and let it run to the hole. If you’re not in thick rough, you can chip it low with a hybrid. The only way you can get confidence with any of those shots is to practice them and find what feels best. You need to avoid the disappointment of turning two or three shots into four or five.
