Welcome to the VERY FIRST EDITION of "The Saturday Golfer", a weekly email sent every Saturday that will give you 1 actionable tip to become a more consistent golfer and CRUSH your next scoring goal.
Have you ever walked off the golf course, KICKING YOURSELF for that stupid shot you played on hole 16 that ruined a great round?
Yeah, same.
I've done this HUNDREDS of times.
Over the years, I inflicted this pain on myself so many times, I finally decided one day to change something.
Lower scores are a CHOICE
I didn't change anything in my swing. I didn't hit 300 range balls. And to my bank account's benefit, I didn't buy a new putter either.
What I changed was my course decision-making.
Let me give you a few scenarios, and I want you to think about how you would handle them.
Scenario 1 - short sided
You missed the green, have about 5 feet of green to work with, and the green slopes away from you.
Do you...
- Hit a flop shot? Or...
- Put the ball back in your stance and try to land a normal chip in the rough to slow it down?
For years, I would try the flop shot because, "if I don't get this up and down, I'll make bogey and then I'll have ZERO chance of breaking 80 today!".
Now, I'll ALWAYS choose option #2. Why? Because in this position, bogey is a GOOD score. The goal is to prevent another chip shot. I want a 20-30 foot 2-putt and move on to the next hole.
The problem here is that I missed my approach shot in the WRONG place. A mistake was made, now let's not compound it!
Scenario 1 - go for it?
Par 5, you've got 230 yards to the green, from light rough. Left of the green is a group of trees.
Do you...
- Go for it?
- Lay it up to 50 yards?
- Lay it up to 100 yards?
While I might go for this shot, I'd generally say option #3 is the BEST option.
If I go for it and miss left, I'm now chipping from the trees, at risk of making BOGEY on a par 5. Bad news.
If I lay it up to 50 yards, now I have an awkward wedge shot. MOST golfers stink from this distance. Unless you're a pro who practices these partial wedge shots daily, you probably want a full swing.
The Saturday Quick Tip
Next time you play golf, try adding these 2 simple rules to your game:
- The 7/10 rule - ask yourself before each shot, "can I pull this off 7/10 times?". If the answer is no, change to a shot you can.
- Chip EVERYTHING. - there are very few situations where a basic chip shot (back in stance, keep it low) is a poor shot choice. It's one of the highest percentage shots around the greens and in 9/10 cases, will put you inside 10 feet for a par putt. Unless you're in a bunker, put that ball back in your stance and chip it! Not only will this reduce disasters around the greens, it will teach you where to miss your approach shots.
Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
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