What’s the Most Underrated Part of Improving Your Golf Game?

James Anderson EGH

I’ve been thinking a lot about how golfers focus heavily on new clubs, drivers, or swing techniques, but often overlook the smaller aspects that can make a big difference. Things like pre-shot routine, mental focus, course management, or even fitness and flexibility can sometimes shave more strokes off a round than upgrading equipment.

From your own experience, what’s the most underrated factor that has helped you improve your game?

big_drive

Probably course management, knowing when to take your medicine and not turn a bogey into a silly double or worse. The old advice of not following a bad shot with another, know your limitations and don't take on a hero shot that has a small percentage of actual working out.

BraveDonut

Putting - so many new to golf high-handicappers don't focus enough in putting practice. Green reading and pace.
Mostly they think practice is focusing on hitting drivers and irons

FixdePitchmark

Getting the right help and people involved..too many leave it too long , try do it alone or go to a bad pro , or twist their mind with 100 s of you tube videos...

The confidence focus and progress made when you find right pro is unreal.

But finding the right person who suits you and your head is hard bit..

Was also mentioned above ..amazing how empty practice putting greens are .10 putts before a round is not practice..

Same with short game area..

slave1

Not letting the crowd get to me

ShivasIrons

Understanding the impact alignments for a good shot i.e. Centre Contact, club path and club face, low point control and the required speed.

Many golfers still think they hit a bad shot because they lifted their heads.

Gandalph

Obviously lots of underrated or overlooked advice but the two for me on areas in which are better parts of my game are;

Shot shaping off the tee with a driver, you don't hear much about because people assume it's a concept for higher level golfers but it doesn't take a PhD in physics to understand spin when swinging in to out or visa versa. Being able to force a miss left or right gives you so much confidence off the tee and stops you losing balls.

Understand the lie when chipping and being able to adjust to it, I see so many folk who only have the same setup and swing no matter what way the ball is sitting; uphill/downhill, against/with the grain, buried/tee'd up in the short stuff, soft/hard ground. "Dan Grieves does it like this" - yeah but Dan Grieves is typically playing off nice fluffy lies in his parklands practise ground videos…we are out here on a tight and firm links course buddy! (he does do videos on different lies to be fair but not what people are generally watching).

coillcam

1. Course management.
2. Reading the lie/conditions and understanding how they affect the outcome.
3. Short game, most people really don't put enough work into it.

daithi7

For me:

1. I play best when I'm fittest & well rested. I can predict my final score by how well rested (sleep monitor, etc) & fit I am feeling tbh. It's that simple!
2. Short game
3. Putting

token56

Meaningful practice.

I think far too many people, myself definitely included, when they are going out to practice for example to the driving range are doing so aimlessly and without purpose. If you are just going to the range, smashing balls and expecting to get better as a result, chances are you won't see any real improvement. Going out and having a specific intention, deciding what it is you are specifically working, have a structure for that and be outcome focused.

For example, are you working on consistency of ball strike, club face control, dispersion, distance control, ball flight, short iron, mid iron, long iron, driver, etc. Pick one aspect and just focus on that. Define what success is for your practice session and have a structure, for example you get a basket of x number of balls, take 5 to 10 to warm up, get 5 balls, first 4 focused controlled slowed tempo swing focusing on what you are working one, last ball normal swing trying to implement what you've been feeling with the first 4. Repeat a couple of times and then last 5 to 10 balls standard shots and measure success of whatever it is you were working on. Next time you go you've something to compare against. Same type of thing can be done with chipping/putting.

blue note

I see a couple of mentions of course management. I'd argue that's the most overrated part of improving your golf game. It's nice to think that there are a couple of shots available to us to shave off our scores without actually working on our skills, but unless you're an absolute idiot on the course (a virtually no-one is), you're only going to save yourself an occasional shot. And if you get too conservative you're going to cost yourself strokes.

But around the green is definitely where I think people should focus more practice. Driving ranges will be full with people working on full swings and a few three quarter wedges. Putting and chipping greens are mainly used for warm ups to your rounds. Chipping through a green or into a bunker can be as damaging to your score as a drive into trees. If you can get your technique right, duffed and thinned chips will be rare and up and downs common. That makes a big difference to your score.

Edit: I also second understanding the lie as a few people mentioned. Downhill / ball under feet / bald lie / ball buried / etc. Learning to play these can be huge. If people are including trying impossible shots due to the lie as course management, then I'd say there's an argument for course management. But I think it has more to do with understanding your lie..

Russman

Its a great question and debate.

I think there are several answers and they'll depend on whether you're trying to get from 25 to 20, or say 18 to 12, or into single figures or from 5/6 down to close to scratch etc.

IMHO there's a lot to be said for just making your bad shots better. A good shot is a good shot no matter who hits it, but the destructive bad one is a killer. Speaking for myself, when I drifted from low single figures to mid/high single figures it was largely because my bad drives went from being a few yards in the rough to being buried in the trees.

For the fastest results though its always going to be short game and more short game. Turning 4 shots into 3 from 50 yards and in is huge.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123873213#Comment_123873213

Plus one on short game practice. The saying that 80% of shots are lost around the green is absolutely true. Even if you're taking three to get to a par 4, an up and down will get you par, but we all have experienced a duffed chip that could end up double bogey at best.

There are so many ways to hit a wedge shot and developing a method for different lies and obstacles can make a huge difference to scoring. Sticking a 50 yard chip to stone dead is hard to beat, knowing you can hit those shots is a huge confidence boost. Same with putting. Practicing reading and pacing putts is essential.

ShivasIrons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123873456#Comment_123873456

Are you arguing against strokes gained? More shots are lost due to poor long game than short.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874194#Comment_123874194

Yes. Where is that data taken from?

moycullen14

I think analysing your game in terms of shots gained/lost is very useful and it can work for almost all golfers.

It can be as simple or complicated as you want. No matter what level you're at, you should be getting nett 2 stableford points per hole. For an 18 handicapper that means being on the green in one over regulation and taking two putts. For the holes you didn't get two points, ask why? Bad drive, duffed approach, 3 putts, whatever. Similarly you can gain shots by being on in regulation, single putting, and so on. You can gain and lose shots on the same hole.

As an 18 handicapper, you should be able to drive the ball 170-180 yards, hit an approach about 150, chip on the green and take 2 putts. That's just a baseline.

Over a period it should be obvious where the shots are being dropped and being gained. And that's what you need to focus on.

There's no single solution for everybody. If you're constantly in trouble off the tee, it doesn't matter how good your short game is…. and vice versa.

You can divide up the game any way you like. You can even do it by hole rather than shot.

Accept that the only thing that matters is the score and getting it as low as possible.

All this is doing is identifying the problem. Coming up with a solution is another thing entirely…..

ShivasIrons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874294#Comment_123874294

Mark Broadie, Every Shot Counts. It's possible to be an average putter and have a long tour career, a golfer has to be an exceptional ball striker to be an elite player.

daithi7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874194#Comment_123874194

Approximately 2/3 of shots are taken from within 100 yards. Therefore it makes sense that these type of shots are roughly twice as important to get better at than the 1/3 of shots taken from outside 100 yards.

Don't you think!?

P.s. Also, note this percentage of shots taken within a distance isn't linear either, in fact, it's far more likely to have an inverse exponential type relationship with the distance from the hole imho (cos that seems to make sense)

E.g. So for those 2/3s of total shots taken from within 100 yards, probably 2/3s of those shots are then from within 40 yards, ditto for all of the shots taken from within 40yds ⇒2/3s of those will be from within 16 yds, & again for 16 & 6 yds, I'd say

P.p.s So it seems to me you practice and try to improve your game from the hole back. Simples!!

(This is probably preceded by a requirement to have a basic competence at all frequent shots firstly e.g. drive within bounds, Irons flying straightish, pitches & chips making decent contact, getting out of sand & putting stroke rolling the ball end on end, at approximately the right speed.)

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874321#Comment_123874321

That's from tour pros, no? Not in the slightest bit indicative of what an amateur experiences imo.

copacetic

for me it’s setup, you can see from most players (including myself) that they will have to do some pretty unrepeatable things from their starting position just to get back to the ball and strike it solid. I see it a lot even with putting that actual ball striking is really poor. Pros work at it every week, we could all do with doing it more.

ShivasIrons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874367#Comment_123874367

If i hit every green in regulation to 6 feet, no matter how bad the putting is, the overall score will be good, and if you take 5 shots to get to every green and hole every putt, which is phenomenal putting, the overall score is bad.

Long game trumps short game

ShivasIrons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874410#Comment_123874410

Lose every tee shot or miss every 6 foot putt?

daithi7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874508#Comment_123874508

Dude, nobody on the planet hits every green in regulation to 6 feet. Imho, your example is so highly theoretical that it's facetious!?

' you cannot be serious!?' ;)

ShivasIrons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874525#Comment_123874525

Sometimes you go to the extremes to prove a point, if a golfer hits most of the greens in regulation they are an elite player, there are plenty of golfers who take under 30 putts a round who are double digit handicaps

daithi7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874540#Comment_123874540

I don't agree sorry. Nearly every double digit (intermediate) handicap golfer I see take 38 or far more putts per round. (I.e they have far more 3 putts than single putts , & they sometimes have 4 putts & even 5 on occasion)

And don't get me started on chips & sandies. They're 'Up & Two downs' at best!! :)

ShivasIrons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874577#Comment_123874577

You can disagree as much as you like but you're still wrong. Who scores better the golfer who hits 4,8,12,16 or 18 greens? The better the striking the better the score in general.

daithi7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874631#Comment_123874631

And you can declare that I'm 'wrong' all you blooming well like, but until you can back that up with firm proof, this is still just your opinion.

An opinion that differs from every professional I've heard on this matter. So are you wrong, or are they?

Sorry, no contest. You're wrong!!

ShivasIrons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874656#Comment_123874656

I'll ask you this question again, since you didn't answer.

Who scores better the golfer who hits 4,8,12,16 or 18 greens?

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123874712#Comment_123874712

No idea. What sort of putter are they?

We're talking about amateurs here. Maybe check the thread title? This is about what are the best things to work on to improve your game. Getting on the green in regulation means you already have half the job done, maybe work on your putting?

But for those who don't get to the green in regulation (most of us a lot of the time?) there are other work ons that make more sense. Especially if their distance off the tee means they are struggling with a low iron or fairway wood to get there or just close. If you can't chip or putt, you're looking at double bogey, if you can, you're looking at a good par chance.

Horses for courses. I've seen lots of guys who are capable of GIR, miss greens and have shocking attempts at an up and down.

billy3sheets

Improvement can be viewed in many ways, depending on the level you're at and what your overall goal is.

Would you prefer to improve so that:

1. you have a consistent game that gets you 30+ points each round or
2. you shoot 40 points to win a prize but might not break 25 for 6 months?

Do try to drive it as far as you can off the tee every time, even though you'll be in trouble most of the time or do you play your fairway finder?

Do you take on that 200 yard shot over the water or or break it down to 2 shots?

Do you ensure that you'll have 2 putts or do you go for every putt even if that means you might 3 putt?

For me it's 1 and that feeds into my game strategy and how I approach each hole.

I'm a 12-13 HI over last 2 years in my 60s. I mostly break 30 points but haven't won much. I get enjoyment from all my rounds and am rarely headbutting my steering wheel on the way home.

So game strategy is my vote for an underrated area for improvement.

reggie3434

I would back that the long game is more important than the short, no matter how good you are round the greens, getting up and down will wear you down where as hitting the green and 2 putting is much easier.

For me, taking stats in an excel sheet has shown where my stenghts and weaknesses are, hitting more fairways and greens has improved my score no end. Adding length, the right equipment and constant lessons has helped as has Fit for Golf warm ups which I use nearly every day as I hit my mid 40s to keep nimble.