You can easily shave five strokes per round off your scorecard if you do a few simple things.
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Golf instruction is always evolving, but the best tips stand the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Lifetime Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice that teachers and players have shared in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we return to our June 2009 issue for some tips from Geoff Ogilvy on how to save five strokes a round. For unlimited access to the complete digital archive of GOLF Magazine, join Inside GOLF tODAY; you’ll enjoy $140 worth of value for just $39.99 per year.
There’s nothing like a good chat in the grill room after the round. It’s where you and your playing partners discuss the day that was. The highs and lows. The good and the bad shots. Birdies and bogeys.
A common refrain often comes up in these conversations. “If only I had…” Golf is easy in retrospect. If everyone had a few mulligans every round, the game would be much simpler. Alas, mulligans are NO part of the rules of golf and we have to live with the outcome of each shot.
Fortunately for you, dear reader, there are a few ways to get those nasty shots back. All it takes is limiting the number of times you throw shots during the round.
In 2009, former US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy they joined GOLF magazine to share some of his secrets for cleaning things up in the margins. Follow them and you’ll take five strokes off your handicap in no time. See below.
Shave 5 strokes off your handicap
If you had your A game every round, golf would be easy. We all post low scores when we’re splitting fairways, hitting clean irons, and draining long putts. But what makes you a really good player — and a tough opponent to beat — is how you play when you’ve left your A game (and maybe your B game, too) at home.
When you’re not playing well, the worst thing you can do is try to hit perfect shots. Save the perfect photos for when you feel perfect. On days like this, you have to figure out what you can still do, and then use that to get the ball from the tee to the hole. You don’t need to hit perfect shots to win – if you miss right, aim left and let it wait. That shot will feel more doable, and that’s the name of the game when it feels like nothing is working.
If you start planning and executing shots – no matter what shots they are – your confidence will return and you may very well find that your game will pick up with it. Here’s how to make those corrections in between drives, irons, chips and putts that will get even your weakest round back on track.
Driving: Find a swing that works
Objective: Hit one less drive out of bounds
Save: Two shots
The most important thing to do when you can’t find the fairway is to find a driver swing that will get you back on track and eliminate the chances of actually missing a left or right. If I hit my driver terribly, I’ll go back to my 3-wood or 2-iron. Another great mid-round adjustment is to simply sink the club an inch. It’s amazing how much easier it is to check drives if you do this. The lower ball flight will feel more controllable, especially when you hit it all over the place. Finally, if you miss one side or the other, plan for it. My main shortcoming is fairway, so if I’m having a rough day, I’ll aim for the left end of the fairway and let it roll.
Approach: Manage your mistakes
Objective: Hit another green
Save: A blow
Lee Trevino says this is the biggest key to hitting solid iron shots
On a good day, you can go after every needle. But when you don’t feel it, it’s crazy to go after difficult pin placements. The key is to miss on the right side of the hole so you can land the ball on the green and not miss a putt or putt from the rubble or sand. Move your target area to the fat side of the hole. If the pin is on the right, as it is here, lose the one on the left. If the pin is short, lose it long.
Get a tip on how Tour pros play the biggest tournaments. In a US Open, you have to manage your mistakes. You can get up and down the right side of the hole, but the firmness of the greens and the thickness of the hole make it impossible to get up and down the wrong side. Augusta National is the same. You can get up and down all day from under the hole, but it’s impossible when you’re on top of it.
You will know how the ball will react on the green after the first two holes. If I’m playing well, I’ll aim about 10 feet to the left of the hole. If it’s “one of those days,” I aim out of trouble. Rule no. 1 on a bad day is to double-bogey out of the game. Determine your landing zone based on your confidence. No matter how well I’m playing, I never go straight to the pin: the remaining 10 feet is just fine.
Short game: Get itrolling
Objective: Get up and down one more time
Save: A blow
If you have a strong short game, you can save a lot of bad drives and approaches. The key to shredding is to roll the ball as fast as you can. Watch the lie: If the ball is sitting deep in the grass, use a higher club. If the lie is tight, you want less loft.
Also, don’t try to roll the chips; you will get better spin with less spin. If you’re hitting them fair, avoid the temptation to move the ball back into your stance. The reason you are hitting it hard is that the angle you are landing the club at is too steep and this causes the clubhead to hit the ground first. With the ball back, you’ll just come in even steeper.
Setting: Trust your instincts
Objective: One less by three shots
Save: A blow
Seve Ballestero’s clever trick to hitting shots with perfect speed
When I was younger, Ian Baker Finch told me that when you’re not well, you should stop reading the greens. That’s an exaggeration, but if you stop to overanalyze the greens, your mind will instinctively know what to do. The important thing is to keep it simple. Trying just makes it worse. If I don’t have a good day on the greens, I don’t think about my mechanics and try not to over-read the green. Instead, I just line up in a comfortable position that allows me to feel like the ball is going to go in. The more I do by instinct, the better I shoot.
Amateurs should use their instincts more instead of doing what they are told is the “right thing”. I can’t tell you how I know a putt feels good; I just know I do. Your feet will feel the slope better than your eyes. Stand over the ball and line up so the putt feels right. If it feels wrong, walk away and start over.
