We all head to the first tee planning to think our way around the course like Tiger.

Yet our game plan and mindset normally fall apart by the second tee. 

We want to play "smart golf" to help us shoot low scores - making optimal decisions, having a confident mindset, and staying in the present. We have visions of this leading to a career round and can even visualize the celebration that will ensue. 

Playing smart golf does not start on the first tee. It starts with developing your playing strategy, your mindset, and your practice plan with the goal of becoming an effective scorer.  

When our coaching team works with players we typically start with these 5 key elements of scoring: 

1. Calibrate Your Distances

The goal of golf is to get the ball in the hole - not to have a good flex for your foursome after you hit 6-iron while the rest of the group hit 5-irons. 

One of the keys to scoring in golf is selecting the appropriate club for each shot. How many times have you hit a shot that looks like it is heading down the smoke stack only to have it come up well short? You are left holding a pose, watching the ball bury in the front bunker and trekking towards a tough bogey.

Most amateurs select too little club the vast majority of the time. Their yardages are calibrated off their best shots, rather than their average shot. 

Use the Under Par yardage calibration guide to understand the process for calibrating your yardages and download our yardage card for a cheat sheet to use during your upcoming rounds. 

2. Understand Your Shot Shape

Virtually all players have a predominant ball flight or shape. The best scorers understand their ball flight and plan their strategy accordingly on the course. 

If you are serious about trying to lower your golf scores, you need to begin going with what works. Trying to hit the "correct" shot on the course is going to tend to run your scores up if you can't pull them off with any degree of reliability.

For example, if you are playing a tight hole with out of bounds down the left and your predominant ball flight is right to left, perhaps you should aim for the right rough rather than the center of the fairway. (You should also tee it up on the left side of the tee box to improve your chances of hitting one in play.)

The pros, who seemly hit every shot pure, even play by this same philosophy.

3. Practice Your Short Game

Most 10+ handicaps get up and down less than 25% of the time and consistently have more than 36 putts per round. If this sounds like you, do not worry - this just means you can shred some shots off your scores with just a little more hustle at the short game facility.

No matter your skill level, you should be putting a lot of emphasis on your short game during your practice sessions. 

Honestly asses the following areas of your game and plan your short game practice accordingly: 

• Short Range Putts
• Mid-Range Putts
• Long-Range Putts
• Pitch Shots from Fairway
• Chip Shots from Rough
• Bump and Runs
• Bunker Shots

Improving your percentages around the green will help you shred strokes off your game and loosen you up when hitting your approach shots.

4. Improve Your Mental Game

The typical amateur makes three key mistakes with their mental approach to golf:

1. The player puts too much thought into mechanics while on the golf course. We like our players to have a maximum of one swing thought on each shot. Ideally this swing thought should not be too technical. Instead of thinking about mechanics, think about executing your pre-shot routine and hitting the ball to the target.
2. The player gets consumed with anger and frustration over the expected outcome in their game. We all watch the pros make getting up and down from even the most difficult places around the green look easy on the TV broadcast. This translates to us wanting to get up and down from similar spots during our weekend round. When we don't, we get frustrated and find our confidence levels dropping. This negative spiral has a bad impact on our scores (and often the "fun factor" in golf.) 
3. The player puts too much emphasis on score over just hitting the next shot. Next time you go out, have one of your playing partners keep your score and try to just focus on hitting the next shot that you face. Most players find this relaxing. It keeps them mentally engaged. And often helps them make better decisions on the course because they do not press as much. 

5. Practice Like You Play

This is a pretty obvious key to scoring, yet many players do not do it. These players end up in the wrong "zone" on the driving range firing balls at will at the same target creating a sexy divot pattern with their 7-iron. 

You should be practicing in a way that simulates how you actually play on the course. Try these tips to level up your practice sessions to practice like you play:

• Put your club in the bag after each shot
• Go through your pre-shot routine before pulling the trigger
• Vary your target in the range even if you are hitting the same club
• Put an emphasis on managing your distance rather than just focusing on the target

The more you practice like you play, the more consistent you will be on the course particularly under pressure. 

Fair Warning

Becoming an effective scorer utilizing these 5 techniques is a process. You will not shoot your career best immediately after implementing these techniques.

Be patient, enjoy the journey and good scores will come in due time. Oh and practice your short game.