If you ask any golfer, they will state that they want to shoot their lowest score each time they tee it up. This statement strikes at the heart of why many golfers pick up the sticks and chase a little white ball for about 4.5 hours in the first place. It seems like a logical response to a simple question, however I beg to differ with most responses because many amateurs sabotage their round by not playing their best golf. We (I include myself in this category) have a tendency to make poor decisions that are easily avoided that adds to our scores almost every time. After much consideration, I found three primary faults in my decision making that when avoided set the stage for a great round of golf.

Whether it is pride or ego that causes poor decision making is uncertain. The reason varies, however I am confident that these two score killers are involved in one degree or another. As I delve into my three areas to avoid or at least consider when playing our round, none will have anything to do with mishits. This phenomenon happens to all golfers and can be avoid through practice. Let’s shelve that discussion for today and focus on the three areas I feel will improve your overall game and lower your golf scores.

First, do not always let the big dog eat! Yup, keeping our driver in the bag on many shorter par 4 holes will do wonders for our score. At my current home course of Mattawa Golf and Ski Resort, all of the par fours (4 of them on the nine holes) could easily be played with a different club off the tee. I use the driver on all but one because I hit my driver straight, however if my driver is taking a vacation one day, my score would not be detrimentally affected by hitting a 3 wood or hybrid. Although the driver is a fun club to hit, often it does not leave many amateur players in play which, in turn, results in a higher score on the hole more often than not.

Second, use different clubs around the green when chipping. One club does not always fit all situations. I have found that hitting the ball in the air less means a better result. I know this is nothing new, however, I watch many of my friends grab their favourite wedge regardless of the conditions. In the past, I have fell into this trap resulting in added strokes to my score. There are many different options or possibilities when chipping around the green and exploring them will help your up and down percentage. Of all ways to lower your score, expanding or perfecting your short game is the most impactful.

Lastly, take your medicine. Every golfer hits wayward shots. Unlike the professionals, most amateurs need to accept that trying to pound the ball as far as possible all the time is not the solution. I often watch players trying to hit their 3 wood out of rough where their ball is almost buried. The percentage of making great contact when the ball that is surrounded by grass very low. Or trying to hit that miracle shot out of a very tight situation when the easy solution is staring them in the face. The point of this observation is that hitting the ball back in play so it provides the opportunity for a simple next shot is key to lower golf scores. Rarely do I hit my 3 wood out of the long rough, my hybrid provides a better result 9.5 times out 10. Accepting a slightly shorter distance for better next shot position is key to taking our medicine for a wayward shot. It may not be cool in your mind, but it is the best solution.

Lowering our golf score is always a goal for golfers. Many times our decision making does not support that end-state. Not hitting our driver off every tee, learning to chip with different clubs and taking our medicine are three areas that will help lower our golf score. These three fixes offer an 80% solution to many amateur’s challenges; I know it was key to my game improvement.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!