Major winner explains how to easily shave 5 strokes off your handicap

Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we look back to our June 2009 issue for some advice from Geoff Ogilvy on how to save five shots per round. For unlimited access to the full GOLF Magazine digital archive, join InsideGOLF today; you’ll enjoy $140 of value for only $39.99/year.

There’s nothing like some good conversation in the grill room after the round. It’s where you and your playing partners debrief on the day that was. The highs and lows. The good shots and bad. The birdies and bogeys.

A common refrain comes up often in these conversations. “If only I had …” Golf is easy when you analyze it in retrospect. If everyone had a few mulligans every round, the game would be a heck of a lot simpler. Alas, mulligans are not a part of the rules of golf and we must live with the outcome of every shot.

Luckily for you, dear reader, there are some ways to get those bad shots back. All it takes is limiting the number of times you throw away shots during the round.

Back in 2009, former U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy joined GOLF Magazine to share some of his secrets for cleaning things up on the margins. Follow them and you’ll shave five strokes off your handicap in no time. Check it out below.

Shave 5 strokes off your handicap

If you had your A-game every round, golf would be easy. We all post low scores when we’re splitting fairways, hitting pure irons and draining long putts. But what makes you a really good player — and a tough-to-beat opponent — how you play when you’ve left your A-game (and is maybe even your B-game) at home.

When you’re not playing well, the worst thing to do is to try to hit perfect shots. Save the perfect shots for when you feel perfect. On days like this, you need to recognize what you still can do, and then use that to get the ball from tee to hole. You don’t need to hit perfect shots to win — if you’re missing right, aim left and let it cut. That shot will feel more doable, and that’s the name of the game when it feels like nothing’s working.

If you start planning and executing shots — no matter what shots they are — your confidence will come back, and you may very well find that your game comes back with it. Here’s how to make those mid-round fixes to your drives, iron shots, chips and putts that will get even your shakiest round back on track.

Driving: Find a swing that works

Goal: Hit one less drive out of bounds
Save: Two strokes

The most important thing to do when you can’t find the fairway is find a driver swing that will get you back on track and eliminate the chances of really losing one left or right. If I’m hitting my driver horribly, I’ll throttle back to my 3-wood or 2-iron. Another great mid-round fix is to simply choke down on the club an inch. It’s amazing how much easier it is to control your drives if you do this. The lower ball flight will feel more controllable, especially when you’ve been hitting it all over the place. Finally, if you’re missing to one side or the other, plan for it. My main miss is right, so if I’m having a tough day, I’ll aim to the left edge of the fairway and let it come back.

Approach: Manage your misses

Goal: Hit one more green
Save: One stroke

Approach Shots

Ona good day, you can go after any pin. But when you’re not feeling it, it’s crazy to go after difficult pin placements. The key is to miss on the correct side of the hole so you can land the ball on the green and not waste a stroke chipping or pitching from the rough or sand. Move your target area to the fat side of the hole. If the pin is to the right, like it is here, miss it left. If the pin is short, miss it long.

Take a tip from how Tour pros play the biggest tournaments. In a U.S. Open, you need to manage your misses. You can get up and down from the correct side of the hole, but the firmness of the greens and thickness of the rough make it impossible to get up and down from the wrong side. Augusta National is the same. You can get up and down all day from under the hole, but it’s impossible when you’re above it.

You’ll know how the ball will react on the greens after the first couple of holes. If I’m playing well, I’ll aim about 10 feet to the left of the hole. If it’s “one of those days,” I aim away from trouble. Rule No. 1 on a bad day is to take double-bogey out of play. Determine your landing area based on how confident you are. No matter how well I’m playing, I never go right at the pin: 10 feet left is pretty good.

Short game: Get it rolling

Goal: Get up-and-down one more time
Save: One stroke

If you have a solid short game, you can rescue a lot of bad drives and approaches. The key to chipping is to get the ball rolling as soon as you can. Look at the lie: If the ball is sitting down deep in the grass, use a more lofted club. If the lie is tight, you want less loft.

Also, don’t try to spin your chips; you’ll get better roll with less spin. If you’re hitting them fat, avoid the temptation to move the ball back in your stance. The reason you’re hitting it fat is that the angle you’re bringing the club down on is too steep, and this causes the clubhead to hit the ground first. With the ball back, you’re just going to come in even steeper.

Putting: Trust your instincts

Goal: One less three-putt
Save: One stroke

Putting

When I was younger, Ian Baker Finch told me that when you’re not putting well, you should stop reading greens. That’s an exaggeration, but if you stop overanalyzing the greens, your mind will instinctively know what to do. The important thing is to keep it simple. Trying just makes it worse. If I’m not having a good day on the greens, I don’t think about my mechanics, and I try not to over-read the greens. Instead, I just line up in a comfortable position that lets me feel like the ball is going to go in. The more I do by instinct, the better I putt.

Amateurs should tap into their instincts more instead of doing what they’re told is the “right thing.” I can’t tell you how I know a putt feels right; I just know it does. Your feet will feel the slope better than your eyes. Stand over the ball and line up so that the putt feels right. If it feels wrong, step away and start over.