Data from Arccos Golf shows how and where scratch players make up a shot per hole on 18-handicappers

We know the stats behind a scratch golfer, with zero digit players hitting 10 out of 18 greens, making a total of 2.2 birdies a round and 5.2 putts per round. But how does that compare to an 18-handicapper and which are the main areas where the biggest differences occur?
The stats in this article come courtesy of Arccos Golf, with data gleaned from more than 540 million shots from 11.5 million rounds worldwide using its Smart Sensors.
The first and most obvious area of difference between scratch and 18-handicap players comes with scoring, with scratch players averaging 2.2 birdies per round, 10.5 pars, 4.6 bogeys and just 0.7 doubles or worse, compared to 18-handicappers averaging just 0.4 birdies, 4 pars, 8.9 bogeys and 5.7 doubles or worse.

Scratch players play par-3s in 3.1 shots, par-4s in 4.2 shots and par-5s in 4.7, with 18-handicappers 0.8 shots higher on par-3s, 1.1 shots higher on par-4s and 1.3 shots higher on par-5s, illustrating that the longer the hole is, the more strokes a scratch golfer gains compared to an 18-handicapper.

The strokes are gained throughout the round of golf across all aspects of the game, whether it's putting, chipping, approaches and driving. A scratch player hits 56% of greens for example, with an 18-handicapper finding just 23%. Scratch players get up-and-down from inside 25 yards 57% of the time compared to 26% for an 18-handicapper.
The scratch golfer is also unsurprisingly significantly better off the tee, too, with an average distance of 259 yards, finding 51% of fairways versus 217 yards for an 18-handicapper, who finds 42% of fairways.

Course Management Strategies
The fastest way to lower your scores
The average golfer wastes 5-7 shots per round simply due to poor course management. There are simple rules to course management that all players can implement instantly to lower their scores.
The biggest hurdle is being disciplined enough to stick to your strategy when on the golf course. PGA Tour professionals hit less than 5 perfect shots per round. Why does the average golfer get so frustrated and stray away from their game plan when they hit one bad shot? Be disciplined!
 
 
Everyone wants to strike solid shots and have fun playing the game. There is a good chance that someone trying to break 100 is either fairly new to the game of golf, hasn’t had much of an opportunity to golf on a regular basis, or just simply really struggles with the game.
We all want to play respectable golf and be able to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and the time with our friends.  
 
 
So here you are seeking tips, strategies or anything that will help you break 100 and start your journey to becoming a better golfer and approach the typical average score of somewhere around 90.  
For many golfers, breaking 100, 90, 80, or 70 for the first time is very memorable and starts with setting it as a goal. The hard work that it takes to get to each milestone should be fun and rewarding once you do arrive at that score. Keep in mind that golf is supposed to be fun and that by maintaining a positive mindset, your chances of reaching the goal greatly increase.
 
In my practical guide to breaking 100, i take you through a series of tips and ways to reach your goal of breaking 100 in golf.  
 
I spend a great deal of time talking about the mindset for the day of your round. My philosophy and approach focus on natural movements and a mindset that helps you keep it simple and remain positive.
 
 
Be confident that you have come to the right place to help you reach your goal. I provide some great information to help get you into the right mindset and to create a plan to help you reach your goal. There are 8 key tips found throughout the guide.  
 
As someone that has reached each of the milestones and has broken 70, I hope that my advice can help.
 
Golf is a game played in the beautiful outdoors. See some rapid improvement and you will quickly fall in love!
I will take you through the topics below and provide tips in each of the categories.
 

1. The Score Breakdown and Mindset
   • Set the New Par
   • Course Management

1. Tee Shot
2. Approach Shot
3. Chipping
4. Putting
5. Mental side
6. Online Golf Instructors
7. Practice
8. Have Fun!

 
The Score Breakdown and Mindset
Thinking of breaking 100 might seem overwhelming, but you truly must take it one shot at a time and have a plan for each hole that you will play throughout the day.  Maintaining a positive mindset and not beating yourself up will be a key.
Remember your round will more than likely last 4-5 hours and negativity will zap your energy and keep you from executing your plan.  Being negative and having negative self talk will only destroy your mission and you will end up shooting 100 or higher. Keep in mind that you will hit some bad shots, but if you can keep your composure and recover, you increase your chances of breaking 100.  You can only control your process and response to each difficult situation, you cannot directly control the outcome of each swing. In fact, the more you try, the more you will likely struggle.
 
Set The “New” Par
So you have 18 holes – more than likely the breakdown will be the following:
 

• 4 Par 3’s
• 4 Par 5’s
• 12 Par 4’s

For a total par of 72.  In order to shoot a 99, you have 27 shots over par that you can utilize during the day.  The simple breakdown will help you reach your goal of breaking 100.

• 9 Bogeys
• 9 Double Bogeys

This would leave you 27 over par and give you your 99.
The first step is to take your scorecard and look at the 9 most difficult holes and cross out the par and add two.  For example, if one of the toughest 9 holes is a par 5, cross out the par and set the par for that hole at 7. Now do that for the 8 other most difficult holes. Take the remaining holes and cross out the par and add one.  For example, if one of the other 9 holes is a par 3, set the par for that hole at 4.
 
Tip: If you do not know the course well, simply base it off of the handicap system, where the most difficult is rated as a 1 and the easiest is rated as the 18th hole.  Or if you struggle on par 5’s or par 3’s do that to all of the par 5’s and par 3’s
This approach will free you from the barriers of the set par and allow you to feel some success throughout the day as you reach your “par” for that hole.  Earl Woods, the father of Tiger Woods, used to do this for Tiger when he was a very young kid to help him feel the success and manage the course properly for his current skills level.  
 
Set your new par! At the end of the day, you will feel better about the overall round.
With those golfers that struggled the most, I would tell them to try to bogey every hole which would leave them with a 45 or 90 for their round of golf. It is amazing how the shift in mindset can have such a positive impact on the final score.
 
Tip:  Avoid the big number!  By taking this approach, you are more encouraged and likely to punch out if you are in the trees or layup if there is water in front and you have 175 yards left.  Or take something smaller than a driver off of the tee if the hole is narrow to stay out of the woods.
 
Awesome book by Dr. Rotella, “Golf Is Not A Game of Perfect” – (Check Current Price on Amazon).
 
Course Management
Now that you have your new “par” for each hole, it is time to breakdown your game plan for each hole.  If you do not know the course well, be sure to do this on every tee before playing the hole. If you have played the course many times, I would recommend even writing down what your plan is, so there is less thinking on the course and more trying to follow the plan.
For example, let’s say the first hole is a 360 yard par 4 and you have set your par at 5.  You will design and plan for the shots that you will hit. Here we go:
 

• 1st Shot – the longest club that you are confident / are assured of hitting at least – 160 Yards (200 Yards remaining)

• 2nd shot - plan for 2 shots to get onto the green (I.e. lay up short of the hazards like bunkers around the green between 50-30 Yards)
• 3rd Shot – Wedge – Onto Green (Putting Next)
• 4th Shot – Putt to within 3 feet
• 5th Shot – Make the putt

 
We were able to reverse engineer the hole to leave you with a 30 to 50 yard “approach shot.”  If you get that shot on the green all you have to do is two putt. If you happen to hit it close and one putt – bonus for you!  You just made a “birdie.” This simple mindset approach allows you to pick shots that you can hit and enjoy the successes. 
We took the driver out of your hand on the tee shot, make a simple second shot down the fairway and hit a 50-30 yard shot onto the green. 
 
Here is another example.  Second hole is a 505 yard par 5 that you have set as a par 7.  You will design and play for the shots that you will hit. Here we go:

• 1st Shot – the longest club that you are confident / are assured of hitting at least – 160 Yards (remaining distance is 345 Yards)
• 2nd Shot –  hybrid/6 Iron – 150 Yards (205 Years Left)
• 3rd Shot – hybrid / 6 Iron – 150 Yards (45 Yards Left)
• 4th Shot – Wedge – Onto the Green
• 5th Shot – Buffer Shot in case you chunked one or thinned one along the way.  Stick to the plan.
• 6th Shot – Putt to within 3 feet
• 7th Shot – Make the putt

 
I think you get the point on the strategy that you can set.  You will be able to feel success and remain positive. Also, breaking it down like this allows you to feel like it is something that you can accomplish.  I understand that you might hit a bad shot or two along the way, but by keeping a club in your hand that is reasonable, you won’t feel the pressure to try to have a hit the ball a mile long and allow you to  stay within yourself.
 
 
Tee Shot and Mindset
It is very easy to step up to every tee and automatically pull the driver and swing away.  This might be where most people get into the most trouble. Why not hit the 3 wood or even something as simple as a 7 iron to get yourself in play and be ready to play the hole.  Remember, you have the “new par” you have set and the ability to adjust and adapt as needed. 
Build the hole backwards and leave yourself an approach shot of something less than 80 yard.  
The goal here is to get off the tee and into the right position to follow the plan you have set.  
 
Tip: Play your curve.  If you slice or hook the ball, setup to allow yourself some space for the curve to happen.  The more lofted club you hit, the less the ball will curve. Keep this in mind on the more narrow holes and where trouble can be found on the course.  Whatever way your shot is moving that day, go with it. You can try to cut down on your slice or hook at the driving range during a practice session. On the course is not the right time to do it.
If you are more advanced in your game and want to hit the driver, on certain holes that might work out fine depending on what trouble is around.  If you can make the occasional par or bogey on hole where you had planned for a double bogey, you will build in an allowance to triple bogey a hole and still be on pace.  
 
When I first started playing and was trying to break 100, I would often look at holes in 3 hole segments and try to reach my make “birdie on 1 of the 3 holes during that stretch.  That would provide some flexibility in my scoring and allow for a hole or two that might be above my targeted “par”
I love the approach to utilizing the entire fairway and allowing for the curve of your ball on a tee shot.  
 
 
 
Approach Shots
With our course management approach, we are setup to have the majority of our approach shots be within 80 yards.  The key here is to aim for the middle of the green and ensure we have enough club. Once we can make clean contact even just 75 percent of the time, we will be in position to break 100.
Many people will watch the pros on this and think that they are shooting at pins all week.  Keep in mind that when watching in the weekends, you are watching the best of the best for that week. Please aim for the middle or the safest route.  
 
 
We want to avoid big numbers and can by staying out of bunkers or short siding ourselves around the greens.  The conservative approach to this round will help us break 100, but we must stick to the plan. Even as you get better and are ready to break 90 or 80, it won’t be about the quality of your best shots, but instead of the quality of your worse shots and then how you follow those up.  Start working on this at this point of your game. Even the pros are minimizing risk and are looking for where the proper “miss” is. Start this in your game and and watch your scores quickly improve.
Tip: Aim for the middle of the green or the safest place, this will give our greater confidence and increase your chance of hitting it where you intend to.
 
Small strokes around the green
It’s simple: smaller strokes means less the chance for error. By extension, smaller strokes equal smaller mistakes.
While I never like to change things in my students’ games that work, sticking to this rule can help to shave strokes.
1. Putt when ever possible to do so
2. Chip when you cannot putt
3. Pitch or lob only when you have to
If you are chipping with the right club and you do not quite brush the grass, the ball should still find on the green in most cases.
 
Chipping
 
We set up our plan and course management setup to average two putts on every hole. Get the ball on the green and then putt well. You might occasionally chip one within 3 feet and you just picked up a bonus stroke for your game.  As a young kid growing up, my friends and I often times couldn’t reach a green in regulation, as a result our chipping and short game became really strong because we were chipping frequently and there was a premium in winning the competition by being able to “get up and down”
 
 
 
Putting
Many high handicappers simply struggle with putting.  However, it is the easiest area to quickly improve in.  It doesn’t take a high level of skill and 20 minutes of practicing each day can help.  The great thing is you can practice in your office or in a room in your house. There are no excuses for not practicing.  When you have a long distance putt, the key is to try to picture a three foot circle around the hole and then get it in that circle.  The task at hand seems much more doable when it is three feet in diameter.
Tip: mark your ball for every putt and line up the line in your ball to where you want the ball to start.  This will help with your alignment
 
Mental Side
Golf is one of the easiest games to quickly get frustrated and lose focus on your plan for the day.  When you get angry or anxious during a round of golf, positive shots do not happen. You can quickly derail a round after just one bad shot.  There are several keys from a mental game perspective.
 
Awesome book by Dr. Rotella, “Golf Is Not A Game of Perfect” – (Check Current Price on Amazon).
 
Self Talk
Self talk is so very powerful.  You know that little voice in your head telling you a story?  That person, aka you, can be your best ally or your greatest enemy.  The story you tell yourself during the between shots in golf can make or destroy your round.  
So you are on the first tee and your tee shot slices over into the other fairway and only travels 175 yards.  You have two choices at this point from a self talk perspective.
 
Scenario 1 – You can tell yourself the following, “No big deal at all, it was only my first swing of the day and I have room to make a 7 on this par 5, I will just get it back into the fairway and make a smooth comfortable swing with my next opportunity.
 
Scenario 2 – Or you can tell yourself the following, “Man, I just suck at this game, it doesn’t matter what I do, I am never going to be good.  This round is over, I am never going to break 100”
Obviously, the first scenario can actually help you reach your goal of breaking 100.  The second scenario will simply make your round miserable and create a long 4-5 hours of not enjoying such a great game.  
 
Everything will seem a bit more miserable and you produce extra stress in your body that will keep you from performing.
Tip: keep in mind there are other people in your group and they want to enjoy your round.  Do NOT complain about your golf game to your foursome, regardless of how bad you are playing.  Plus complaining never saved anyone a shot on the golf course.
In the book “Zen Golf” Dr. Parent recommends the PAR approach.  Preparation, Action and Response to results. You go through the preparation before each shot, take action, and then response to the results.  How you respond to your results both from a physical and mental viewpoint will drastically impact the quality of your round.
 
 
 
One of the keys in your journey to break 100 will be to make sure you have a decent understanding of what you are trying to accomplish with your swing.  If you are a more natural athlete and are good at many different activities, but struggle with golf, I suggest that you take your Iphone and a golf selfie stick with you to the range and record your golf swing to get an idea of the motion that you are making in your golf swing.  You can even send it to me for feedback.
Check your basics– grip, posture, body turn and those elements that we work on during our lesson times.
 
Practice
Maybe the most important key here is practice.  Below, I will lay out a weekly plan to help you improve your game.  Remember, we aren’t trying to shoot par, but simply trying to break 100.  A little bit of practice time will go a long way in reducing the number of really large numbers and even increasing your chances of making the occasional par.  Here is the breakdown of the percentage of time you will spend on the different parts of your golf game.

• 70% on Chipping and Putting
• 20% on mid irons
• 10% on driver

So if you have two hours a week, you will divide that time using the percentages above.  The great part is that it doesn’t cost money to practice chipping or putting. Practice putting and chipping can be done indoors.  Trust me – you will quickly lower the scores with practicing the short game.
 
 
Summary
This practical guide to breaking 100 in golf should get you going in the right direction.  Golf becomes a lot more fun once you can break 100 and start worrying your way to breaking 90.  You will see that once you break 100, the 90 isn’t as difficult. Keep working on hitting clean shots, making good decisions on the course, and having a plan for each hole.  Look to learn more about the golf swing and practice as much as you can. What makes golf so rewarding is that you will see the benefits of your practice time – especially in the short game area.
 

Dave Pelz’s studies show that distance control in the short game and putting is 3 times more important than direction. In other words, putting distance control needs to be practiced.

Putting distance control is also known as “feel”. A great way to work on your feel is to take the visual element away and putt with your eyes closed. Suzanne Pettersen actually did this for a while in tournaments, putting everything within 20 ft with her eyes closed. This gives you an idea of how important feel is for putting. This meant her focus was totally absorbed by the sense of feel, which would have enabled her to quiet her mind and access a fluid stroke. I don’t suggest you do this in competition, but doing this as part of your putting distance control practice, will increase your feel and you’ll see improvement in your distance control on the course. You’ll notice that you really “dial in” to the feel of the putting during your rehearsal strokes, and connect with that feeling when you’re over the putt and during the stroke.

This exercise isn’t really about how many putts you hole, it’s about becoming aware of the feeling associated with the length and direction of each putt. Once you have the line in your mind’s eye and you are correctly aligned, it is all about feel and making a good positive stroke. This drill will help you achieve this.
1. Take 3 balls and a drop them down approximately 10 ft from a hole. I say “drop them” so you don’t have exactly the same putt each time.
2. Go through your putting routine of reading the putt, visualizing the line (and seeing the ball go in), feeling the stroke and addressing the ball.
3. When you are about to start your back-swing, close your eyes. Really try to connect with the feel of the putt before you hit it. Then hit your putt.
4. Before opening your eyes, make a call on where the putt finished. E.g. short-right, long-left or holed it!
5.When you open your eyes and see where the ball has come to rest, grade yourself on how close you were to the putt you felt. E.g. If you missed long-left and you called it:
Long-left = 2 points
Short-left, Long-right = 1
Short right = 0 points
If you holed it and you called it, give yourself 3 points.
If you holed it and you called a miss, give yourself 2 points.
6.Next pick a hole 15ft away and then repeat for a 20ft putt so you have a total of nine holes. Total up your score and make it a target to beat before you can leave the putting green after your next putting distance control practice session.
The reason I have developed a scoring system for this exercise is that I strongly believe you should always include some pressurized practice. The more you can do this, instead of practicing “consequence-free”, the more you can get “comfortable feeling uncomfortable” when you feel pressure on the golf course. Over time, this exercise will heighten your feel for putts of all distances, build a more confident putting stroke, and ultimately lower your scores.

Tiger Wood’s Double Gate Putting Drill
One of the most famous golf putting drills has become famous because it’s practiced timelessly by golf’s most famous golfer, Tiger Woods. Today’s putting drill has been named the Tiger Wood’s Double Gate Putting Drill after years of seeing Tiger practice it during warm ups before heading out to play in competitive PGA Tour events.
Tiger’s been considered one of the best putters of all time and his Scotty Cameron putter has helped him win 15 majors, with his most recent being the 2019 Masters.
Whether you’re a fan of Tiger Woods or not, this golf putting drill is worth completing during your practice days. It will work on your putter head control, teaching you to keep it straight during the putting stroke so it flows seamlessly between the gate of tees.
The double gate in the putting drill refers to a second gate of tees that the golf ball must pass between. This truly tests your ability to start putts on line which starts with a straight putting stroke and ends with seeing the ball stay straight, passing between gate of tees.
How to Do Tiger’s Putting Drill:

1. Measure out a putt 6 feet away from the hole
2. Set two tees about a putter head width apart (Gate #1)
3. Set two more tees (Gate #2) about a golf balls width apart and 3 feet in front of your first tee gate
4. Stroke putts, keeping the putter head square so it passes through Gate #1
5. The ball should also start on line and stay straight the first 3 feet to successfully pass through gate #2
6. If both the putter and the ball pass through their respective gates without making contact it is counted a success
7. Repeat for 10 successful attempts or practice for a half hour to build skill
   

In this golf putting drill you get to forget about watching the ball when putting and instead you’ll be looking at the cup as you make the putting stroke.
It’s a great drill we like to do on long putts to get a feel for distance control. But it’s even more important on short putts, which is where you’ll be starting off the drill first.
Why look at the hole when putting? Well think about most sports. In basketball you look at the hoop when shooting and in football you look at the receiver when throwing.
Golf is the one sport where you look down at the ball instead of at your target.
But like other sports, you can actually still make putts looking at the hole. This gives your brain distance and target information to help you sink the putt.
And by not looking down at the ball, you don’t have to spend your mental energy focusing on mechanics.
Instead, you develop trust that your mechanics will hold up and perform a successful putt just like a basketball player trusts his shooting mechanics will hold up while he focuses on the rim.
Drill Instructions:

1. Measure a 3 foot putt
2. Set up to the ball like normal, square the putter face to your line
3. Now look at the hole
4. Make the putting stroke and trust it
5. Make 5 putts like this from 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 feet
6. Then make 3 putts like this from 15, 18, 21 feet
7. Then work on lag putts from 25 to 50 feet just trying to get within a few feet of hole
   

In today’s putting practice routine, you’re going to develop distance control over your golf ball on the putting greens. This putting drill you’ll be setting up is challenging and will take at least 1 hour to complete so make sure you’re ready for the challenge before starting so you can see it through to the finish.
But first, what does it mean when golfers say “die the golf ball into the hole”?
When putting, there are two ways to make the putt. You can die it into the hole by hitting with enough speed that its final few revolutions drop it in the hole. This requires playing maximum break since the ball will be rolling very slow at the end allowing break to take effect on it.
You can also hit the putt with more speed, sort of “ramming it” into the hole. This requires playing less break since the speed will overpower the putt.
We can talk more about ramming putts into the hole in another golf putting drill since new rules allow you to leave the flag in when putting and Bryson Dechambeau has shown the reasoning behind this for ramming close putts.
Today however, let’s show you a putting drill to develop your distance control and feel so you can sink hard putts that require perfect speed and break.
Putting Routine

Drill #1: Flat Putts

1. Pick out a hole to putt to on the practice green
2. Measure 6 feet away from the hole to begin
3. Find a flat putt to start with and work on breaking putts after
4. Stroke the putt trying to hit with the right speed that it dies into the hole
5. The ball should not hit the back of the cup, if so it had too much speed

Drill #2: Hard Breaking Putts

1. Find a hard breaking putt that really breaks as the ball gets close to the hole
2. Set up again from 6 feet away and hit putts to learn the proper speed so the ball falls into the cup from the side door
3. Make 10 putts from one side and break type before moving to practice opposite breaking putts

This drill really trains your distance control when putting because too much speed and the ball misses on the high side. Too little of speed and it breaks to much before the hole, missing the putt on the low side.
If struck with perfect speed for the amount of break you have to play, the ball should enter the hole from the side (high side) and fall in. This is called making a side door putt.

Practice makes perfect, and when we talk about putting in golf this statement can’t be more true.
Unfortunately when it comes to putting, a shortcut to success doesn’t exist.
Amateur golfers normally don’t have the luxury of time, thus it is important to spend your time wisely when you do get a chance to practice your short game, and in particular your putting.
You might think that you are practicing your putting when you go to the practice green and putt at random holes without any purpose, but without doing focused putting drills on a regular basis it will take a long time before you notice improvement on the greens.


Below are 5 putting drills that will get you to practice like a pro, and with quality of practice improvement will soon follow.

• Train tracks drill
• Rhythm – prayer grip drill
• 3 and 6 footers around the world
• 2 putt speed drill
• Draw back
  

Drill #1: Train Tracks
In order to get consistent putting results on the golf course it is very important to have a putting stroke with good fundamentals.
The first, and in my opinion most important fundamental is to have a putting stroke that goes straight back and through.
When the stroke gets longer on distance putts the arch of the putting stroke will be slightly towards the inside, which is what is suppose to happen.
The first 3 – 4 inches on the backstroke and follow through has to be as straight as possible.
Having a putter head that moves through the hitting area with a square clubface will lead to consistency in strike and direction, thus more putts holed with good speed.
The train track drill is a great putting drill to practice this fundamental with.
Take two alignment sticks, or golf clubs, and align them in the shape of train tracks at a hole, set up the train tracks about 6 feet away from the hole.
The width of the tracks has to be slightly wider than your putters width.
It is important that your putter can move freely between the tracks, but don’t allow yourself too much space.
This drill will improve the path of your putting stroke, and the great thing about it is that it can be done anywhere at home or even in your office during your lunch break.

Drill #2: Rhythm – Prayer Grip Drill
Another key fundamental of a consistent putting stroke is good rhythm.
Having good rhythm will lead to consistency in strike and distance control, both factors that will lead to improved putting results.
In order to get good rhythm it is important to use your shoulder turn to rock the putter back and through.
Gripping the putter with 2 fingers only is a great putting drill that will force you to use your shoulders in order to stroke the putt.
Open your hands up, place your hands on either side of your grip, the hands will resemble hands that are in the prayer position, line the grip up so that your middle fingers are the only 2 fingers that are touching the putter grip.
At first it will feel nearly impossible to putt the ball, but your body will figure out that you need to use your shoulders in order to generate enough speed to make a putting stroke.
This is a great putting drill that will train a good shoulder turn in your putting stroke, and as a by product of a good shoulder turn you will have improved rhythm.

Drill #3: 2 Putt Speed Drill
Speed is arguably the most important factor in putting.
Many amateur golfers blame missing short putts when they have a couple of 3 putts per round, but most of the time distance control on longer putts is the problem.
It is important to take a close look at your putting game as a whole in order to blame the correct area for your putting woes.
The 2 putt speed drill is a great putting drill that will help you eliminate those dreaded 3 putts.
Chose 2 holes on the putting green that are about 30 – 40 feet away from each other, take two balls and putt between the two holes, putt out every putt and continue going until you have 10 consecutive 2 putts.
This drill help with more than just your speed, it will also challenge your mental game.
When you have made about 8 two putts you will start to feel some pressure in order to continue the streak to 10.

Drill #4: Putting 3 and 6 footers Around the World
Most weekend golfers are very quick to give a 3 or 4 foot putt to their buddies, deep down they are doing it with the hopes that the favor will be returned because secretly they are petrified of those short putts.
This is one way to deal with the problem, but in reality the plan has zero longevity.
When you play in your annual club tournament then you will have to putt out those short putts.
The 3 and 6 footers around the world putting drill is a great drill that will help you get confidence on those short putts.
Take 6 tees and place them in a circle around the hole, start with 3 footers before you move on to 6 feet.
The goal is to make 6 putts in a row, use only one ball and move on to the following tee after every putt, move on even if you missed.
Continuously moving on to a new tee is important because this way you don’t get use to hitting the same putt over and over.
Once you have mastered this try and get 12 in a row, and once that doesn’t challenge you anymore move on to 6 feet.

Drill #5: Draw Back
Draw back is a great putting drill that will work on both speed and short putts.
It is an easy 2 putt when you roll your first attempt to a couple of feet from the hole, but draw it back to 4 or 5 feet and all of a sudden that little putt will get your attention.
Take one ball and go around the putting green, choose 18 different putts, all par 2’s, but draw the second putt back a grip length every time, the goal is to get a score of even par 36.
Once you have accomplished that draw it back a putter length, this will make it considerably more difficult.
If at first even par is too difficult, try and improve on your personal best every time you do the drill.

Like most innovations that disrupt traditional conventions, TrackMan seems to take more than its fair share of heat.  The most vocal of the skeptics seem to wear their unwillingness to embrace change like a badge of honor– chosen defenders of the status quo.
A recent tweet by a former Tour player insinuated that somehow this inanimate device was responsible for the decline of a certain iconic golfer.  This added fuel to the fire, stoking what’s become a rather redundant debate on the benefits of technology in golf instruction.  The apparently arithmaphobic detractors seem to point to ‘The Numbers’ as the most prominent wrong-doer in their indictment of Trackman.  Their central point being that measuring and then quantifying the intricate details of the swing will leave a golfer a confused, overly-technical mess.  All those numbers– robbing the game of ‘feel’ or artistry and replacing it with sterile, cold, hard measurements.

Yes– in the wrong hands or delivered carelessly, all those numbers can be bad.  But the same can be said for anything being administered by the inexperienced or misinformed!  This frequently cited reasoning is reductive and hardly a compelling reason to condemn the measurement device or its users.  It can actually be a massive aid in shifting the learning environment from command-based, prescriptive instruction to one that is performance-focused and more conducive to effective skill acquisition.
And that’s not to say that we’ve never been guilty of over reliance on ‘The Numbers’.  But we’ve also utilized them in a way that enriches the feel and artistry of players.  In fact, because our prime concern is usually to just enhance impact alignments instead of obsessing over positional ideals, we make less wholesale ‘swing changes’ than ever.
Ultimately, our job as coaches is to create confident and competent performers who thrive under difficult conditions.  All TrackMan does is provide information – our job is to take that information and use it to help people move from A to B.  More often than not, that information is incredibly useful in facilitating that process…if used appropriately.
We hope to help everyone see beyond the recent discussion and gain a better understanding of how it can be used to facilitate learning and improved performance.  Below are a few elements of the learning environment that coaches can enhance through thoughtful application of Trackman.

AUGMENTED FEEDBACK

The most important ingredient to the learning process is feedback– it’s largely responsible for bridging the gap between experience and understanding.
There are two primary types of feedback; intrinsic and augmented.  Intrinsic feedback are the sounds, feelings, etc. that the performer experiences as a result of hitting a golf ball.  Augmented feedback is anything related to their performance that they can’t directly experience.   Technology helps provide augmented feedback that helps players process the intrinsic feedback they receive during practice.  The golf swing is a unique motor program in that it’s often very difficult to detect movement errors from intrinsic feedback alone.  Trackman allows learners to more accurately evaluate results thus informing future trials.  It acts as an accelerant in bridging the gap between feel and real.  Yes, FEEL!  Trackman users can, in fact, become better FEEL players based on the feedback provided.
There is also an element of confidence and motivation to consider.  Research has shown that having accurate Knowledge of Results can motivate performers to persist longer at practice tasks.  They are able to see the tangible results of their efforts through the quantitative changes that can infuse learners with self-efficacy and the confidence to persevere.

The challenge for coaches and players is the amount and schedule of the feedback, not the feedback itself.  Numbers don’t hurt people – they’re inanimate concepts.  Rather, as our friend from Happy Gilmore in the accompanying image suggests, people hurt people.  Ensuring that athletes receive the right feedback at the right time keeps the learning process moving forward.  Too much feedback, too often– creates dependency, which often yields to the adage of ‘paralysis by analysis’.
When in a ‘Transfer Training’ mode with a student, we recommend that you no longer provide the quantitative feedback of Trackman, opting instead to withdraw Knowledge of Results and allowing the golfer to prepare within a more authentic performance context.
Providing different types of feedback, such as summary feedback, positive or negative bandwidth feedback, or athlete-led feedback can accelerate the learning process and reduce the likelihood that an athlete becomes dependent on ‘The Numbers’.

ACTIONABLE: 

Rather than give feedback on every shot, try two different methods when giving feedback.  First, only give feedback when performance falls within a certain range.  The range could be negative (when performance falls outside of the range) or positive (when feedback falls within the range).  This helps decrease dependency and creates more of an independent learning process aided by feedback only when needed.  Secondly, when getting ready to give the feedback– engage the performer.  Ask them where they think their movement was in relation to the standards of performance that you both set.   This helps them calibrate internally and fosters a better sense of what they need to create the desired outcome.

IMPLICIT LEARNING

Implicit learning occurs when an athlete learns something in the absence of instruction.  Coaches should strive to help athletes learn as implicitly as possible, as skills learned in this fashion are proven to hold up better under pressure.  Often times, focusing on the effect of the desired movement or having an external focus of attention can help in this process.
Believe it or not, coaching with TrackMan can facilitate implicit learning.  One of the benefits of TrackMan is the ability to control what numbers are visible to the coach and player.  For example, one of the keys to playing great golf is managing curve, which, for argument’s sake, means controlling the face to path relationship and the impact point on the clubface.  To help people learn the old-fashioned way and ‘dig it out of the dirt’, simply spray the face with Dr. Scholl’s and put up only the launch direction and spin axis numbers.  Then ask them to accomplish the task of generating a positive launch direction and negative spin axis (draw), or negative launch direction and positive spin axis (fade).   This exercise creates many learning opportunities and provides a means by which a player can achieve repetition without repetition.  Providing a learning environment in this fashion helps the individual self-organize and begin to develop novel solutions to accomplish the task of curving the ball to the target and hitting it solid.

ACTIONABLE: Get creative with what numbers you enable the student to see.  Spin axis and a bit of Dr. Scholl’s goes a very long way in helping an athlete understand their ball flight and how it is influenced by where they make contact on the face relative to the sweetspot.  Additionally, try attack angle and launch angle for someone who struggles with contact precision and trajectory control.  Ask them to keep the attack angle shallow while getting the ball to launch lower.  Attacking the problem externally paves the way towards the possibility of learning a movement implicitly or in the absence of directive instruction.

TRANSFER TRAINING

Golf is hard.  The sport demands that a player be able to excel under extremely stressful conditions, often. Players are continually challenged to vary the distance, shape, and trajectory of their shots on every hole they play.
One of the core challenges inherent in the player development process is creating an environment that engages the psychological processes and physiological stressors that the athlete experiences during the course of play. Being able to create conditions that require the performer to plan, execute, and review the shot, while making each shot significant and carry a consequence, is really helpful in facilitating transfer and closing the gap between practice and performance.
TrackMan makes bridging the gap between training and play easier.  Combine and Test Center enable coaches to develop games that test the athlete’s ability to use all their skills (technical, tactical, mental), to accomplish the task of moving the ball from A to as close to B as possible.  In the end, much like golf, they receive a score that let’s them know where they are and provides perceived significance to each ball.  As scores improve, players are also able to see how and when they are making progress.  This type of satisfying feedback motivates players by allowing them to see the direct impact of their efforts.
In essence, through games and transfer training applications, technology enables coaches to design tasks that are more representative – the added pressure, difficulty, and variability ensures that the task, environment, and first-person experience closer resembles that of the course.

ACTIONABLE:
Make your own skills tests and training protocols in test center.  These are great ways to start a session or to challenge a player that is demonstrating good performance from a more stable environment.  Test center allows you to leverage the task-design matrix by virtue of assigning meaning to each shot, as well as giving you the opportunity to randomize the order of the task (distance).  Ultimately, it helps you, the coach, strike a great balance between task difficulty and environmental stability – a must for helping people progress their skills and perform on the course!

Tee drill: Set two tees a club head apart, and address the inside tee. To hit the outside tee, you must extend your arms.

Hitting the ball off the toe of the club is one of the most common ball-striking problems. It usually occurs when the arms lose their extension as the club moves into the impact zone -- often the swing path is pulling in because the golfer is trying to lift the ball off the ground.
To cure this problem, stick two tees in the ground about a club head apart. Set up to the tee that's closer to you, but swing at the one farther away. This drill will flatten your downswing path and will help you extend your arms through impact. Extension is the key. You'll also swing the club more around your body, which helps eliminate toe hits.

Using this same idea, I'll sometimes have a student visualize two balls and try to hit the outside ball. This has an even stronger effect.

With a tumultuous month of April behind us, golf is being phased back into everyday life. Temperatures are rising, and with coronavirus restrictions being lifted in various regions, many people are dusting off their clubs and heading back to the links. But with such a lengthy delay to the beginning of the golf season, your game is sure to have some rust.

So what is the most important thing to practice when returning from an extended layoff? Here’s what they had to say. Read up, and play well.

Refine your touch around the green through trial and error — the only way to develop feel. Repetition develops rhythm and feel, so grab a wedge and start pitching to a target for solid contact. After 20 to 30 shots, randomize your chips and pitch shots to control distance.  Hit shots that require a higher or lower lofted wedge to hone the shot loft and landing area. 
Next, practice speed of putts uphill, downhill and sidehill from different distances to a hole. Then play a game of “up and down,” hitting a chip or pitch and putting out.
Finally, you’ll need to get your swing moving at full throttle, especially the driver. It’s important to accelerate through impact, but you must also maintain dynamic balance and not hurt yourself.  Start with a smooth swing rhythm, then increase speed until you hear a high pitched “swoosh” through impact. 

The most important thing when coming back is to ease into things slowly, don’t let your enthusiasm override the physical needs of your body. Most of us have been unusually sedentary during the pandemic and our body is not ready for lashing a driver at 110 mph immediately. A measured approach is required.

Find some good all-body stretching exercises you can do before starting to warm up is a primary thing. Next, get some feel back in those hands and start your opening practice session at the putting green, followed closely by some chipping. Then move into the driving range, stretch again and then ease into some wedges before running through the bag. Keep the expectations low, as it’ll take some time to get your eye back in. When you get out there, enjoy and appreciate the beauty of the environment we play our game in. It’ll feel so good after being inside so much. If you hit a couple decent shots, that’s great. Don’t play for score, play match play and have fun!

When returning from a long layoff from golf the priority should be getting your full swing and solid contact back intact while avoiding injury. Be sure to warm up by stretching or taking practice swings to “wake up” their golf motion and their body.
Once your body tells you that you’re ready to start swinging, I suggest staring with a shorter club and less than a full swing. With success, start graduating to a full swing and work your way up through your longer clubs. Balance drills like practice swinging with a more narrow stance and rhythm drills like continuous swings in a row can also help build in some repetitions to help a more speedy successful return. Short game shots can be added in your practice session if you become tired or need a break in between your full swings.

Golfers should also practice patience when returning and enjoy your good shots. A good attitude and appreciation for returning will be a big help when any golfer returns after a long layoff.

Between the winter and the virus it has been an extended break for a lot of golfers out there. If you are going out to play, I would practice gratitude. Be grateful to be out playing. Enjoy the fresh air, the walk and your friends. Lower expectations, don’t care. Just try and find a rhythm again out on the golf course. Set small goals. Try and make two pars in a row or two bogeys in a row. Try and make a putt over five feet. See how many fairways you can hit.

On the practice tee, I would start with your sand wedge. Put a target out about 50 yards and work on trying to hit your target. Focus on contact, distance control and direction. Three things you need for almost every shot. This will be a great building block for bigger swings.

It is often said that “Players don't plan to fail, they simply fail to plan!”

There is no arguing that working on your feel around the greens, full swing mechanics, physical fitness, etc., are all very important when coming back from a long layoff. The fact that there are so many different skills necessary to play good golf makes it impossible to delineate which is the most important. Due to the complexity of the game and all it demands to play well, the most important thing to practice is having a PLAN! 

Choosing the right things to practice, for the right amount of time and in the right way shouldn’t be reserved just for the Tour player. Amateurs should be making specific practice plans in normal times, but especially in our current situation. For example, putting practice should consist of 5-10 minutes working on the stroke with gates, 10-15 minutes on short putts, 10-15 minutes on longer putts and 3-putt avoidance. Drills, competitive games and combines should all be written out in advance and adhered to. This approach is the blueprint for every part of your game. 
The shotgun approach to getting your game back in shape has never worked in the past, it won’t work now. Think of your game holistically to get the most out of your time and be the best prepared when you come off a layoff.

The most important thing a golfer can do after coming back from a long layoff is have patience with both their bodies and golf games.  Especially in a time like this when they have been more sedimentary than normal.  
To prevent injuries from unused muscles and tendons, a player needs to stretch out the muscles more and also limit the full swing reps until the body can handle a normal load.  I suggest a practice routine that consists of 25% full swing practice to 75% short game. Of those full swing shots very few are full speed and as your body gets stronger and more acclimated to those shots you can increase the percentage of full speed swings.  

In most parts of the world where golf practice facilities are closed, I suggest stretching and making full swings at home before you get to the golf course. Start with nine holes and build your stamina up until you can walk 18. 
Please remember a bad day at the golf course is better than a good day cleaning out your garage or basement.  

The only thing that is consistent in this game is….
Wait for it……

Inconsistency!
​
Yes, even pros shoot a 63 and follow it with a round over par.
Furyk once shot a round of 2 over and followed it with a 12 under par round (a 14 shot swing)
McIlroy shot a 62 one week and an 82 the next (20 shot swing)


BUT WHY?Golf is a game with many shots and many variables. 
Everything from;

• Tiredness
• Coordination
• Emotions
• Skill fluctuations
• Small technique fluctuations 
• Strategy
• Environment (wind, green hardness)
• Course difficulty/set up etc

can affect how we play. If you go out to the course angry one day, for whatever reason, and have high expectations for playing well, you are very likely to play poorly.
Hell, even the same shot can cost you more from one day to the next,
Imagine hitting a fat shot that lands 20 yards short – if there is water guarding the front of the green it is going to cost you more than if you did the same shot on an unguarded green.

Due to the the multi-factorial nature of golf, day to day scores can vary wildly.
This should be expected – improving at golf is not as linear as something like learning the piano, where fewer variables are at play.

golf score (pink) versus total average score (green). This player sees a yearly average score decrease of 5 shots, with a high score of 95 and a low of 75.
A yearly swing of 20 shot between your highest and lowest scores is more than normal – even the tour players go through this. But if your average score drops by 5 shots each year, that’s significant!

Luckily, this problem is something that is pretty easily fixable – as YOU are the one that’s causing it in the first place.
Imagine a player is doing all the right things – they are;

• Having good-quality instruction
• Practicing effectively
• Working on things that relate to performance improvements (not random things they found on Youtube)

They are projected to see an average stroke decrease of 5 shots.
But, due to the random fluctuations around this, they have a bad round (which is inevitable), or even a bad stretch.
The below picture shows 3 times during the year (yellow) where a player may “jump ship” and change their process due to a bad stretch, as opposed to seeing the bigger picture (the average).

The amateur who chases their tail all year jumps ship and moves onto something new, thinking that what they are doing is not (or no longer) working and there is some secret out there that they need to find.
Better players do something different…..

What can you do to improve your golf more consistently over a long period of time? Start adding some of these to your life.

• Understand that there is no secret ingredient that will take your game from where you are now to scratch
• Recognize the reality/nature of golf and the fact it is always going to be consistently inconsistent.
• Look more at your average score – and zoom out to at least a monthly average (yearly ideally).
• Work on things that improve performance – as opposed to striving to achieve a “look”
• Be patient with changes – even the best change can throw you off for a short time – nothing new is easy. Almost every change requires reps and practice for the fruits of your labor to be seen.
• Improve your golf strategy – by doing this, you will be able to smooth out a lot of the variance in scores, and lower the average score quicker.
• Stop bounding around between ideas – stick to a methodology that has been proven to work, as well as drills that relate directly to performance improvements – like those in my plans.
• Better techniques mean outcomes fluctuate less when your movement has any inevitable variability – basically, your shots become more consistent, even if your movement is not consistent. This is what the pros do which makes them better.​

In my programs for improvement, I show you exactly how to do all of the above. 
If you tend to suffer with heel shots, toe shots, fats, thins, and tend to miss the target more long/short – The Strike Plan is perfect for you.
I show you how to strike the ball like the pros, creating those great-feeling/sounding shots more often. As a result, you will hit more greens, score lower and just walk off the course having enjoyed it more.

Many years ago, I once took a few of my students to watch a big Professional event in Kuala Lumpur.
My students had only seen these famous players on TV and as you know when watching TV you are only privileged to see those players in the leading groups. The result is that my students were of the opinion that "ALL" professional golfers are "GOOD"!

Well after they watched a bunch of their favorite players "LIVE", the general consensus, was  "We thought that all hit good shots all the time, but in fact, even the players in lead occasional hit really BAD golf shots"!

In fact even today when my students go to watch a professional event, the resounding option is that "They're not has good as i thought!"

So they have warped perceptions.
For example;
Pupil – “I thought they hit every single fairway”
Me – nope, they’re not THAT good.
Fact – pros average around 60% of fairways hit

Pupil – “I though they hit it to 5/10 feet all the time”
Me – “nope, they’re not THAT good”
Fact – pros average proximity to the pin from the fairway with a 7/6 iron is over 30ft. Yes, they “occasionally” knock it to 10ft, but often hit it outside this range too. Also, they miss 45% of the greens from this range

Pupil – “ I thought they hole every 10ft putt they look at, especially on those perfect greens”
Me – “nope, they’re not THAT good”
Fact – pros hole only around 40% of their ten footers – even on the best greens in the world.

Pupil – “wow, there are a couple of guys who shot in the 80’s today. I thought they never shoot that much over par”
Me – “nope, they’re not THAT good. They have bad days like the rest of us”
In fact, during the day we saw;

• Quite a few wild drives that ended on opposite fairways
• Lots of missed putts from inside ten feet
• Half of the players miss the fairway with an iron on one hole
• Dustin Johnson pull his tee shot so far left that it hit a tree, bouncing back into the fairway at just 120 yards or so.
• Some drives that were so far offline that an amateur couldn’t hit it there if they aimed at that spot.

Tiger Wood’s reaction to a tee shot that ended up in the bunker on an opposing fairway. He managed to hit his shot of the day from that bunker
Obviously, as a professional coach who lives this info, I understood this. I had explained this to my players before too. But, for whatever reason, seeing it live in action made it really sink in.
These guys are humans playing one of the most difficult games ever invented.

WHY THIS MATTERSI think I labor this point for a few reasons, namely:

• How it affects your mood
• How it affects your strategy
• How it affects your level of play

For example, if you have unrealistic expectations of what the pros do, when you hit a poor shot it’s tough to “dust it off”. It’s more comforting to realize that the pros make mistakes too, but they get on with it and deal with the next shot in hand, making lemonade out of lemons.
Unrealistic expectations also affects your strategy. If you think the pros are hitting it to 5ft all the time with a 7 iron in their hand, you are going to take on riskier pin locations. This can quickly turn an “average miss” into a dropped shot or more.

EVERYONE IS GOOD

​To flip this argument completely on its head – everyone is amazing at golf.
Just think about it, in order to send a golf ball to our target, we have to;

• swing a small club head around their body while attached to shafts of varying lengths and
  facing varying environmental scenarios each time and
• STILL return it at close to full speed to within an inch of accuracy
• all the while controlling where the 3D club face is pointing to a level so minuscule you can’t even detect it visually
• Getting the club to move through impact in a direction within a few degrees of a target with incredible consistency

It’s incredible that we can do this at all, with all of our moving body parts.

PROS ARE JUST BETTER

​Did you know that, in order to hit a 35-yard-wide fairway at 300 yards, a player has to present the club face within a 3 degree window?
That’s crazy! Just 1.5 degrees right or left and the ball will miss the edge of the fairway.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t even see 1.5 degrees – the thought of swinging a clubhead around our body at 120mph while attached to a 45 inch shaft and then returning it with that accuracy is astounding.

Well, you are right, but they only do it 10% more often (pros average 60% fairways, amateurs average 50%). And their wild shots can be just as offline as an amateur’s.
​
I mean, on one side you could say the pro is more than 33% better the amateur in this example – but on the other hand you could say that they are both pretty freaking awesome.
It’s tough to even see 2 degrees either side, let alone flail a club around your body at full speed and return it back there.

ARC HEIGHT

Just like our club face example, the differences between a good contact and a poor one can be small. Watch the slide show below.

COMPOUNDING EFFECTSSo, with golf, everyone is good, but no one is THAT good. Not even the pros.
As our club face example suggests, the difference between pros and amateurs CAN be as little as;

• Returning the face to a 3 degree window as opposed to a 4 degree window more often
• Returning the club less than an inch more accurately to the sweet spot more often
• Returning the club back to impact with a height variance of less than half an inch (as opposed to 0.75 inches for an amateur)

No one would argue that quarter of an inch or a few degrees is a HUGE amount – but in golf, with such fine margins between success and failure, these small differences ARE huge.
All of these small differences add up with each shot. If dropping just half an inch in height can make the difference between a birdie and a bogey, these effects compound over the course of 72 or more shots.
The pros ARE better than amateurs, but often by a few degrees, an inch, or one mph of speed control (in putting, for example).
But it could be said that it is their ability to consistently control these fine margins, as well as the accumulations of the combinations of fine margins, which make them superhuman.
Where they obviously excel is their ability to do these things at incredible speeds. Not many amateurs will ever swing a club anywhere near 120mph.

Average amateurs swing the club around 90mph – pros are closer to 115mph
Also, their ability to do these things under extreme pressure is what impresses me the most. I can strike the ball pretty darn well – but put me in front of a crowd of 3000 people on a Sunday with 1.5 million on the line and I might just fall into a dribbling mess on the floor.

FUNCTIONAL VS CONSISTENTWe can also look at this problem from the view of functionality versus consistency.
The vast majority of amateurs are actually incredibly consistent – they return the club to almost the exact same spot (within an inch), and return the club face to incredibly accurate degrees.
The issue is , they are often returning the club consistently to poor places. See the below example.

This gholfer was losing 40 yards of carry distance by returning the club to a consistently poor spot.
Better players (scratch players, for example), have figured out most of the functionality – they return the club to the right places. Higher handicappers might be inconsistent, or consistently poor – which requires different interventions.
Professionals have both – they are optimal AND consistent. Their level of consistency may only be 0.25 inch better than that of a scratch or higher hand player, but this combination of optimal AND more consistent really stacks up.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

In The Golf Improvement Plan, I explore where amateurs lose the vast majority of their shots – Impact!
I believe that The Golf Improvement Plan is a program which looks at controlling the small changes which make the difference. Through using the motor learning scientific research, I show you drills which enable you to close the gap on the professionals quicker than ever.

In The Golf Improvement Plan, we go through these concepts more in depth, showing you;

• How to increase function and get yourself within the ranges of the pros
• How to use the research discovered from motor learning science to increase consistency and refine those differences between you and the pros.
• We even look at techniques which can open up bigger margins for error – allowing you to get away with more, just like the pros
• How to increase distance and consistency with the driver

CLOSING NOTES

The message to take from this is YES, pros are very good – but amateurs are often not far away from good function.
They may just be less consistent by very small margins, for example a pro might be returning the club to a half-inch bandwidth (range of alignment error), whereas an amateur might be closer to a 3/4 inch bandwidth
Amateurs might also be doing the wrong things consistently, such as having their whole range of alignment error 1/4rd of an inch lower than optimal.
Or, amateurs might be using techniques where the margins for error are much smaller – such as having the lowest point of their swing too far in front or too far behind the ball