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In today's issue, I'm going to be sharing my top 5 tips for mid to high handicap golfers.
Implement these and I guarantee your scores will drop in a short period of time.
Tip #1: Use Standard Cord Golf Grips
I see golfers trying all sorts of grips. They watch Bryson Dechambeau and Bubba Watson rocking the jumbo grips and think that's going to be the "magic fix" for their game.
I've been there. I've tried them all.
And from my experience, using grips that are too large, too slick, or too soft can cause problems in a golf game. For example, I find it very challenging to hit short game shots with jumbo golf grips.
For that reason, I think most golfers would benefit from standard-midsize cord golf grips like the Golf Pride Multicompound or Z-Grip (what I play).
These things last FOREVER, perform well in rain and hot conditions, and are the tour favorite.
Caveat: If you have pain or arthritis
Softer grips and jumbo grips are excellent choices if you suffer from pain in the hands.
In these cases, forget what I said above and get what makes golf a pain-free experience for you!
Tip #2: Start tracking basic statistics
For many golfers, this can be a sore subject. When you're shooting high scores, losing golf balls, and missing putts, it's a pain to track your stats.
And when I say "statistics", I am talking about:
- Fairway percentage
- Greens in regulation (GIR)
- Putts per round
- Scrambling percentage
- Sand save percentage
But if you suck up the pain of tracking these for a couple rounds, you'll find that they can be an extremely helpful tool towards improving your game. And better yet, once you identify the problems in your game and start working on them, you'll see those statistics get better! It's a rewarding process.
With today's technology, it has never been easier to do this. One of the most popular stat tracking systems is Arccos, which allows you to put sensors in your golf club grips and automatically track everything I mentioned above.
Here are a few reasons why tracking your basic stats will help your game:
- You will know what to practice
- You will stop thinking about score so much and focus on your stats
- You will improve your course strategy by knowing your tendencies
Not convinced? Read my post on what stats you should track in golf for more detail.
Tip #3: Feel is NOT Real, use video
If you stick around long enough here, you'll hear me say this a hundred times. I say it a lot because it is SOOO important. What you feel during your golf swing is RARELY what is actually happening.
While I don't want you obsessing over your golf swing, it is important to face reality and see what is actually happening.
I cannot tell you how many golfers I've coached who have said something along the lines of...
Wow, I had no idea I was doing that in my swing!
At a bare minimum, I recommend taking a video of your swing 1-2x per year. If you are actively making a swing change, you'll need to take videos nearly every practice session.
This newsletter's sponsor, V1 Golf is a great choice for taking a video of your swing, and if you need some help learning how to record correctly, you can check out my tutorial here.
Tip #4: Organize your golf bag and clean your clubs
Let's end with some low-hanging fruit. Within minutes of meeting someone on the golf course, I can usually guess their handicap within a few strokes.
Why?
Because most mid-high handicappers don't clean their clubs and have a mess of a golf bag.
But why does this matter?
Let's start with bag organization. This is one of those "if you look good, you play good" things. It won't directly improve your game, but we can at least look like the pros, right??
Here's what a nicely organized golf bag looks like:
After you've got an organized bag, it's time to clean your golf clubs.
- Get a wire brush and old towel
- Fill up a bucket of warm, soapy water (dish soap works)
- Scrub those irons and wedges until there's no more dirt!
Not only will this keep you feeling fresh out there on the course, but it will make you more consistent. The worst thing you can do is play with dirt in your grooves because this causes inconsistent carry and total shot distances.
As golfers, there are a lot of things we cannot control, so let's at least do our best on the things we can control!
Tip #5: Practice your short game to improve your long game
Go ahead...
Skip this section like most golfers will.
But...
If you hear me out, I'll share the secret of golf with you.
The secret is—practicing your short game will benefit not just your putting, chipping, and pitching, but your entire game.
Here's how:
- Your short game is an opportunity to learn a "mini golf swing" and get a feel for how the hands work through impact. This helps your full swing tremendously.
- By improving your short game, you've bought yourself an "insurance policy" that will make you feel less nervous over the long shots. When you know you can chip and putt, you'll feel less pressure to hit perfect golf shots.
- By improving your short game, you'll be able to take it low. The only way to go low in golf is to 1) make a lot of putts and 2) get up and down for par. Without these skills, you will be stuck in the 80s, 90s, and 100s forever.
Concluding thoughts
While you may know several of the tips above, I encourage you to use them as a reminder of what's important. Oftentimes, we know what things we need to do to play great golf; we just choose not to.
So choose great golf, and I'll see you in the next issue!