Sometimes, the difference between a 90s shooter and an 80s shooter can be as simple as prioritizing the right things. Enter GOLF’s resident low-handicaps, who are here to offer some helpful advice, golfer-to-golfer.
1. Long Putting Practice
Dylan Dethier (+3.3 handicap): Working on long putts. It’s tempting to go full send on the practice green and try canning a bunch of 40-footers before a round. Good speed is important, for sure, but far more strokes are lost in the 2-10 foot range. That’s where players should focus their efforts to dial in that stroke before a round. Don’t get lost going end-to-end — make some shorties!
2. Tempo
Luke Kerr-Dineen (2.2 handicap): Look, making sure you don’t rush your transition can legitimately help you play better golf. But tons of 90s shooters I play with think smooth tempo is a cure-all for everything. Bad shot? Bad tempo. Good shot? Good tempo! Good tempo can help bandaid over poor swing mechanics, at times, but it’s not a long term solution. If you want to improve, you need to take a good, hard look at your golf swing.
3. Exact Yardages
Josh Sens (2.5 handicap): Knowing the exact yardage. I think this is true for most amateurs, not just 90s shooters. But I do see a disproportionate number of higher handicappers worrying a lot about whether they have 150 yards to the pin or 158 yards, when, statistically speaking, they should be happy just to get the ball airborne and somewhere near the green.
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