Last Updated on May 21, 2024 by Britt Olizarowicz
As a golf professional, I’ve watched players struggle with lowering their golf scores for years. I can see the effort and time put in. However, what I notice more than anything is the mistakes. Golfers make a lot of mistakes when trying to lower their golf scores. Let me break down the 10 steps to lower your average golf score for you. Start today; some are really simple and don’t even require you to invest money. Shocking, I know!
Lower Your Average Golf Score With These Tricks
If you don’t have time to read the entire article, here are the key takeaways on how to quickly and simply lower your scores.
- Start walking daily
- Warm up before you play
- Start tracking your rounds and data
- Learn how to aim
- Start hitting both chips and pitches
- Learn a half swing shot
- Aim only for the center of the green
- Change your putting mindset
- Look at the target one more time
- Use your entire bag of clubs
- Play with better golfers
- Use the ground to help you
Start Walking Daily
Get to 10,000 steps every day if you can. When you start walking your way up to the 18th green, you’ll be looking to play more holes instead of crawling to a seat on your couch. I use a Fitbit, and I like it. It’s a simple reminder that even on busy days when you think you move a lot, a daily walk is necessary.
Warm Up Before You Go Out
A lot of the golf I play is after work with the kids on the back of the cart. I run to the first tee box and make a swing that is painful and usually about 15 yards short of my average drive. Fifteen yards is a lot to give up and for no good reason.
I don’t typically feel warmed up until I get to the third or fourth hole. If I had just hit 20 balls at the range and did some stretches, I would give myself better birdie changes and a round I don’t have to be disappointed in.
Yes, even pros make mistakes that cost them strokes.
Start Tracking – Correctly
Strokes gained tracking is the best thing you can do for your game. I’ve used different apps along the way. I like Pinpoint, but it takes a little time to input your data. If you can’t wrap your mind around full stat tracking, at least take some notes after a round of golf.
Think not just about fairways missed but where they were missed. (left/right)
Look at all the greens you didn’t hit. (short, long, left, right, etc.)
Record how far you missed your putts by and which side of the hole. You’ll learn a lot and be able to incorporate this knowledge into your next round.
Learn How To Aim
I know that you understand the importance of aiming, but most golfers really struggle to get this process down.
My favorite way to aim is to pick a small spot between the target any myself and align to this spot. If I do it right, I’ll also be aimed at the target.
Here’s a great video on how to aim correctly, watch it, practice it and then see if it makes a difference in your golf scores.
Hit Both Chips and Pitches
Chipping and pitching aren’t the same.
Chip shots are lower, they require a smaller swing. When the chip shot hits the green it rolls out towards the target as it doesn’t have a ton of spin on it.
The pitch shot is a higher lofted shot that flies higher and then lands softer. You’ll need to be able to play both of these shots around the green.
Learn A Half Swing Shot
Sometimes, a half-swing shot with a trusted club is your best bet. You can get out of trouble, get to the center of a green and even layup to the perfect spot. I know that a 7 iron half swing is a perfect 100-yard distance for me.
How did I learn this?
Practice at the range. The next time you go to the driving range, hit some half swing shots that feel really stable and consistent and see where you can plug them into your game to be more successful.
Aim ONLY For The Center of the Green
Yes, you read that right.
Stop going at the pins. Play your next five rounds of golf, where you only go for the center of the green. See how much your golf score is impacted.
I’ll agree that a few holes you may be three or four feet further from the pin when you putt. However, I’ll also tell you that you’ll miss fewer greens and put yourself in better spots all around.
Change Your Putting Mindset
Your putting stroke is likely not half as bad as your putting mindset.
Think more about making putts.
Stop walking up to a 10—to 20-footer and hoping to get it close. These need to go in. Read them right, take a practice stroke, trust your aim, and believe they are going in the hole. My number one mistake throughout my competitive golf career was not believing my putts were going to go in.
Look At The Target One More Time
Before you take your swing in golf, even after your pre shot routine, take one last look at the target. Our brains often forget the task at hand. We are thinking about things like wrist control or tempo, and we forget the main goal of hitting our target.
When you look at the target one last time, it’s a simple reminder of the goal, and it will help you get your shot there more often.
Use Your Entire Bag of Clubs
Finally, learn to use all 14 clubs in your golf bag.
I know the 5 iron or the 3 wood can be tricky. If you don’t like them and they aren’t being used, replace them with something you are good with.
The golf clubs are your tools, and when you can’t use all of them, you are doing yourself a disservice. Don’t spend $550 on a new driver if you are hitting that well; spend $200 to put a hybrid in your bag that lets you hang up that 4 iron.
Great golfers use all the tools available to them.
Play with Better Golfers
Golfers who are better than you are great to play with. You can learn how they manage the course. Watch how they respond to mistakes and start to take some of this advice.
Even if you are working on breaking 100 for the first time, you can learn from the professionals on where you should and shouldn’t hit the golf ball.
Use the Ground to Help You
The ground is your friend in golf. Learn about ground forces and how you can push off the ground to get more distance and some extra power through the ball.
With the use of pressure plates and launch monitors we have really learned how much golfers are pushing down and through the ground as they swing. The more you can learn to do this the easier it is to generate power and consistency.
Final Thoughts
Golfers tend to overcomplicate the concept of lowering their golf score. If you really want to play better golf, these ten steps to lower your average golf score can do the trick. Whether your a 15 handicap average player or a 30 handicap senior golfer looking to get back to a 25 these steps will work. Let me know what questions you ahve and what clicked the most for you.
