I want to help you play your best golf ever… without changing your swing. 

Don’t get me wrong, it never hurts to keep refining your swing and making it as repeatable as possible. But the truth is, even the most successful golfers in the world are always tinkering with their swing. Basically, as long as you keep playing golf, your swing is a constant work in progress. 

This is where most golfers get stuck… They think that a perfect swing is needed to shoot lower scores. I’m here to tell you otherwise after dropping 50 shots from my game (more on that in a second). 

Over the past 25 years of playing golf, I’ve done just about everything to get the most out of my game. From quitting my corporate job (so I could practice more often), getting lessons from PGA Tour coaches, working with golf hypnotists, reading endless golf books, and more. 

During this quest I’ve learned there are so many things you can do outside of technical swing changes to start shooting lower scores. Because that’s what the game is all about, getting the ball in the hole in as few of shots as possible; even on your off days. Being able to score well on any given day is what I call - playing wicked smart golf. 

I want to share some of these tips with you to get the most out of your game (without having to quit your job or change your swing). 

Becoming a Wicked Smart Golfer 

If you are far from your current golf goal, I want you to know that anything is possible if you keep pursuing your dreams. 

For context, in high school I dropped 50 shots from my golf game in four years. My first tournament freshmen year I shot a 124, four years later I was the team captain and shot 74 in my first event. 

In those four years I tested out any and every theory I could on all aspects of the game. Recently, I compiled all these tips from my high school days and more that I’ve learned from pursuing professional golf over the past few years in a book called Wicked Smart Golf. 

The book uses a five pillar approach to help golfers play better without swing changes. There is zero technical advice and instead, offers different, less common solutions that have been proven to lead to lower scores. 

In total, there are 111 ways to start playing more consistently and I wanted to share five of those lessons with you today. 

1. Focus on What You Want 

The first pillar of playing wicked smart golf is all about mastering the mental game. Because you can have a great swing, but if your mind is your enemy, not your ally, on the golf course, you’ll never reach your full potential. As 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus said, ““The game of golf is 90% mental and 10% physical.” 

So many players struggle with the mental aspects of the game because it’s not something we’re really taught how to use growing up. They don’t throw us an instruction manual in school and say, “This is how your mind works.” Instead, we have to figure it out on our own. 

One thing I’ve discovered in my own personal development journey is how the subconscious mind operates. Believe it or not, the subconscious wants to help you succeed in life (and golf) but it needs a clear target. The problem is that most of us know what we don't want and rarely focus on what we do want. 

Think about it, as golfers, we see water by the green and say “Don’t hit it in the water.” The only problem is that the mind doesn’t understand negatives like the word “don't.” Since all your focus is on the water, you’re much more likely to make a bad swing and watch your ball go for a swim.

Instead, acknowledge the water or other trouble but then focus on the target. 

Make it clear in your mind where you want the ball to go and visualize the shot traveling toward your target, not trouble. 

2. Practice With Intention

The second pillar of becoming a wicked smart golfer is all about improving your practice routine. Most golfers practice entirely wrong (or not at all) and wonder why their scores never improve. 

As Harvey Penick said, ““Every day I see golfers out there banging away at bucket after bucket. If I ask them what they’re doing, they say, ‘What does it look like I’m doing, Harvey? I’m practicing!’ Well, they’re getting exercise all right. But few of them are really practicing.” 

While I detail the most common practice mistakes in the book, the biggest one I see from most players on the range is not having a target. Or, using any sort of alignment either. Essentially, just hitting balls mindlessly but expecting to improve. 

Instead, make sure each shot you hit on the range has a clear target and shot shape. 

Try to visualize the shot, use your pre-shot routine, and have intention for every shot you hit. This will ensure that each range ball helps you get better, instead of just getting some exercise. 

3. Only Practice Short Putts 

The third pillar is all about putting because when you become a clutch putter from short range, your handicap will drop…significantly. I emphasize the importance of short putting in the book because it’s one of the easiest parts you can change in your golf game. 

I read this Dr. Bob Rotella quote one day and it changed the way I practiced putting:

“If you’re solid from, say, two to five feet, it makes it so much easier to make your longer putts. You can stroke them more confidently when you know that if by some misfortune you do miss, you’re a cinch to sink the next one.” 

Now, when I practice putting I spend 80% of my time on putts inside five feet. Even if you don’t have time to get to the golf course as often as you’d like, practicing indoors is very helpful. An indoor putting green can help you hone the short putts that will give you incredible confidence once you’re on the golf course. 

4. Weight Forward to Become a Wedge Wizard

The fourth pillar in the book is all about the scoring zone - inside 125 yards. To me, this is another easy area that most golfers could start improving today and lead to lower scores quickly. As Paul Runyan said in The Short Way to Lower Scoring, “Within every golfer there is a vast, untapped potential for improving his short game.” 

While I share a ton of short game times in the book, the biggest tip is to make sure your weight is forward almost anytime you have a wedge in hand. So many golfers have their weight 50-50 or even 40-60 and this leads to hitting up on the ball, often thinning the shot.

When your weight is forward, it’s much easier to make crisp contact - on both full shots and pitches around the green. Don’t forget, a wedge has 45 or more degrees of loft, it will get the ball in the air, you don’t need to help it up. 

5. Club Up for Better Course Management

The final pillar of the book is all about course management, what I call, playing wicked smart golf. The decisions you make in any given round have a massive effect on your total score.

One of the best course management tips I can offer is to club up more often than not.

Why?

Two reasons. 

One, most trouble on a golf course is short of the green, not long. If you think about your home course, I bet you’ll realize that most trouble (water, hazards, grass bunkers, etc.) is short, not long. Golf course designers intentionally position trouble short because they know that most golfers overestimate their distances and tend to miss short.  

Second, even if you don't hit the shot perfectly, taking more club will give you more putts for birdie. The more greens you hit, the more likely you are to shoot lower scores. 

If you’re between clubs, it’s almost always a better choice to take the longer club so you have more birdie putts. 

Wrapping Up

Remember, playing your best golf does not come from creating a perfect swing. If it did, Rory McIlroy or Adam Scott would win every PGA Tour event. But that’s not the case… 

Instead, it comes from a combination of a strong mental game, a consistent short game, and navigating the golf course on any given day. 

To become a wicked smart golfer and start playing your best, make sure to read the full book for 100+ lessons and bonus video training.  

Click here to learn more about Wicked Smart Golf on Amazon now (available in paperback or Kindle version).