In Need Of Some Golfing Pointers?

It’s late Saturday morning and you are approaching the 18th green on your local golf course. Today is a carbon copy of your last few rounds: you are 19 over par, have lost 3 balls, hit it out of bounds once, and 3-putted three times.

Sprinkled throughout this potentially disastrous round were 4 pars and a birdie! You are the poster boy for golfing inconsistency as well as how your emotions can go from love to hate and back again in the span of 4 ½ hours.

How did you get here?

Like most weekend warriors, you fell in the love with the game of golf the second that your first purely hit drive occured. After that it was a trip to the local golf shop to be outfitted in the latest clubs, shoes, balls, and hats.

Now your weekend foursome is a standing appointment on your calendar. You spend quality time with your friends. Work, family, or life worries are not your concern once you step up to the 1st tee. Unfortunately, all of these items do keep you from practicing and so you continue to shoot your standard 91-94 each weekend, all the while dreaming of that low round in the 80’s.

How to change?

Let’s set some realistic expectations. No matter how many good drives or close chips you make, you are not and will never be Phil Mickelson. Enjoy the game and your time outside at all costs.

Once you have level set your expectations, we can move to our second pointer, course management. If your average drive is 245 yards, that means for every drive above 245 you will have one below it. Don’t always assume you will be hitting it farther than you do, and plan for the shorter shot.

On your approach shots, if you always end up on the far right side of the green, aim further left. Course management has become a science for professionals but is rarely discussed with amateurs. Our third and final pointer relates to putting. Speed, speed, and speed are all you should concern yourself with. Sure its cool to plumb bob a green or pull a Camilo Villegas’ acrobatics in reading the break, but without the correct speed you will be facing 6-8 footers for a second putt all day long.

Golf is the greatest game for the amateur athlete. Any given day can be your best, using the handicap system you can compete against anyone, and it is a game for your entire life. Enjoy it, embrace your limitations, and win a few dollars from Fred next Saturday.


Learn a lot more about sports and golf trophies online, as discussed by Simon Barnett. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.