Last Updated on May 12, 2024 by Britt Olizarowicz
To be a golfer, you have to play like one, look like one, and even talk like one. Amateur golfers seem to have their own language, one that golf pros can’t relate to all that well. How many of these are you using during your golf rounds? Do you sound like a pro? 10 common things amateurs say.
“All I have to do is keep my head down.”
There’s actually a lot more to golf than keeping your head down. Also, last we checked keeping your centered during your swing is great but if you focus too much on keeping it down, you’ll easily restrict your turn and make it very difficult to gain distance.
“I hooked it right.”
If you are a right-handed golfer, you didn’t hook it right; you hooked it left and sliced it right. Golfers have a hard time getting these concepts down. If you’re a left handed golfer you did hook it right.
“I usually drive it 300 yards.”
Driving the golf ball 300 yards is not an easy task. If you can drive it 300 yards, that’s great, but don’t talk so much about how far you can hit it; just show it. Also, most pros can scope it out on days when you are only driving it 220 and you “usually” drive it 300. Chances are 300 is not the norm.
“That’s good enough; you can toss me my ball.”
Playing fast golf is great for everybody, but four-footers are not “good.” In fact, most amateurs pick up too many golf balls that they should be making.
This is why when the pressure is on, and there’s a golf tournament to play in, they shoot ten shots higher. If a golf ball is sitting on the edge of the cup, fine, but let’s be a little less generous with some of these.
“That was a practice swing.”
If you really took a practice swing, great. If you flat-out missed the golf ball, own up to it! It doesn’t look great when you lie about the shot you hit.
“I don’t count those.”
The flubbed chips, the drives that pop straight up, the shots that get caught in the rough and only move a few inches, they all count. Pros do not like when amateur golfers don’t count properly. It’s so much work to shoot low scores and if you just stop counting shots you’ll never even know how good you are.
“Left arm straight is all I need to do.”
At impact, it’s great to have a left arm straight. In fact, if you can combine that with a flat or even slightly flexed lead wrist, you’ll be in a great position to make a solid impact with the golf ball.
However, keeping your left arm straight is not all you have to do. It’s combined with other things that come together to deliver the clubface square.
“I just need new clubs.”
Having the right equipment in play will make a big difference in your game. However, the best players in the world can make their golf games work regardless of the clubs they have. Don’t blame your equipment when you have made plenty of personal errors. Go for a fitting and see which changes need to be made.
“I have a flex shaft.”
There are lots of different golf shafts that you may have in your clubs, but they aren’t called the flex shaft. Golf clubs come in steel or graphite shafts. They then have different flexes like stiff, regular, senior, ladies etc. If you mean that you have a senior graphite shaft – which is more flexible that’s fine. Just avoid calling it a flex shaft.
“The wind got that one.”
The wind can impact your golf ball flight, but it’s not going to make an approach shot come up 40 yards short. Likely it’s the two inches behind the ball that you hit that caused that to happen.
You won’t fool anyone when it’s not a windy day by saying the wind got your shot. Learning how to hit golf shots that cut under the wind is a great way to improve your game.
Final Thoughts
We all probably say things we shouldn’t say on the golf course. However, if you can start to talk a little more like a pro, maybe you have a shot at playing one. No matter what, you’ll feel like you can hang with the best players in the game and sound like you know what you are doing.
