Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a GOLF.com series in which we’re sharing improvements, learnings and takeaways from amateur golfers just like you — including some of the speed bumps and challenges they faced along the way.
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. Mid-handicapper spends hours improving his slice with the driver, figures out the problem, hits it farther and straighter and lands more tee shots in the fairways — yet still doesn’t see his scores drop.
Welcome to my world, where my driver has improved tremendously, but my approach shots have mainly stayed the same — costing me any chance at hitting more greens in regulation.
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Don’t get me wrong, it’s an incredible feeling watching a tee shot pop off the driver. But the name of the game is scoring, and the only way to really do that is by giving yourself opportunities for more birdie putts.
That’s why hitting more greens in regulation is more important than hitting more fairways, according to data.
So how can we all improve in this area? By understanding how to dial in our approach shots — which is why I asked GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jim Murphy to help me out.
How to dial in approach shots to hit more greens in regulation
The first thing Murphy does is present an imaginary situation, helping me envision an approach shot I might experience on the golf course.
“Let’s say you’ve got 150 yards and the pin’s tucked to the right side of the green,” he says. “Tell me what you do from there.”
My response is similar to what lots of amateurs would probably say.
“I’m always looking at the pin,” I reply. “But once I walk up to the green, I realize how much area I have to land this on, so why am I going for this very finite point?”
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Instead of going for the pin with every approach shot, Murphy says it’s time to rethink my strategy and just aim for the middle of the green. By doing so, I’m giving myself some insurance in case I mishit a shot to the left or right.
“[By aiming for the middle of the green] you can then be more aggressive,” he tells me. “Make the target bigger, not smaller [by going for the pin all the time].”
After taking a swing, my ball goes way left of the target area. Murphy sees another opportunity to teach, and tells me that, by focusing on just hitting to the middle of the green, I’ll be able to eliminate fear and the expectation of having to hit the perfect shot.
“By aiming right at the pin, you told yourself ‘don’t go right,'” Murphy tells me. “But if you aim at the middle of the green, now it can go right, so you take fear out of it. Fear can make you [mishit the ball].”
