x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
4 basic golf strategy rules to remember, according to a +3 handicap
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
      • Emergency 9
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • Emergency 9
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf

Great for yourself...or your Dad

InsideGOLF
Instruction

4 basic golf strategy rules to remember, according to a +3 handicap

By: Luke Kerr-Dineen
  • Follow on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on Instagram
August 19, 2022
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email

You don't need to play perfectly in order to shoot a good score, if you play smart.

Getty Images

Welcome to Play Smart, a game improvement column and podcast from editor Luke Kerr-Dineen to help you play smarter, better golf.

Golf is a game of misses. We’ve all heard that cliche, because it’s true. So why is it then that so many amateur golfers plan for the perfect shot?

You can listen to the full podcast below, or keep scrolling. Or, ideally, both!

You can subscribe to the Play Smart podcast on Apple here, or on Spotify right here.

1. Aim between the goal posts

As I alluded to above, one of the most common mistakes is that they aim at the most obvious place, not necessarily to best place. Rather than aiming at the middle of the fairway, Play Smart podcast co-host and +3 handicap Reed Howard says to employ best practices from the DECADE Golf system and aim between the hazards. The areas on either side of the hole that represent a penalty (like water or out of bounds) or trees.

“You should be aiming in between the dead zones, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the center of the fairway,” Howard says. “People might be surprised to learn that pros are very, very rarely aiming down the center of the fairway, and they’re very rarely aiming directly at pins.”

2. Find a shot shape

Another suggestion that Reed offers is to find a shot that you’re comfortable with. It can be a right-to-left draw, or a left-to-right fade. And while ideally the curve won’t be too severe, it’s not the worst thing in the world if it is. It’s more important, as GOLF Top 100 Teacher Nick Clearwater says, that you have some level of predictability over where your bad shots are going to go.

3. Work out backwards from the green

Another tip Howard offers is to work backwards from the green. You may want to hit your shot right at the pin, but plan ahead for where the easiest up-and-down might be, so that in the event of a miss you’ll still be in good shape.

“When I was just starting, I said to myself, ‘Every green I’m going to figure out where my easiest up-and-down is, and I’m going to aim between the center of the green, and there,’” he says.

4. Pace off your distances

The sad fact of the matter is that most amateur golfers tend to miss short. They overestimate how far they hit the ball, and leave themselves in a bad spot because of it.

You could do worse than clubbing up each time, but Howard explains a method he used to use:

“Not many amateur players may have a Trackman, or Foresight, like the pros,” he says. “Something I used to do was after I hit a shot on the course, I’d step off the number of yards it came up short or long, then kept track.”

So if you hit a 7-iron from 155 yards to the middle, and it comes up a little short, walk to the middle of the green and step off the number of yards back to your ball. Be mindful of pace of play, of course, and you don’t need to do it on every shot. But when you do, you’ll start getting a better idea of how far you actually hit the ball.

Latest In Instruction

23 hours ago

The $10 training aid Sam Burns is using at the U.S. Open

1 day ago

Sam Burns' pre-shot swing rehearsal serves an important purpose

1 day ago

Johnny Miller perfectly explains Scottie Scheffler's golf-swing superpowers

2 days ago

Oakmont's rough is crushing players. Top teacher explains why

Luke Kerr-Dineen

Golf.com Contributor

Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.

An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

  • Author Facebook Account
  • Author Twitter Account
  • Author Instagram Account

Related Articles

Instruction
sam burns performs his pre-shot swing rehearsal at the 2025 u.s. open

Sam Burns' pre-shot swing rehearsal serves an important purpose

By: Zephyr Melton
Putting
sam burns carries his putter during the 2025 u.s. open

The key ingredient behind the U.S. Open's best putter

By: Zephyr Melton
Instruction
james hong demonstrates three different ways to use alignment sticks when practicing

3 smart ways to improve your golf swing with an alignment stick

By: Zephyr Melton
Approach Shots
andrew rice demonstrates an ppen clubface during the downswing

Making this critical ball-striking error will kill your iron play

By: Zephyr Melton
Short Game
How to hit Akshay Bhatia’s spinny pitch

Stop it on a dime: Akshay Bhatia's 3 keys for spinny pitch shots

By: Maddi MacClurg
Putting
cameron young hits putt during the 2025 canadian open / chart showing effective hole size

This useful chart shows the perfect speed for making putts

By: Zephyr Melton
Driving
hand reaches down and tees up golf ball

How high should you tee up your golf ball? Try these 2 tricks to find out

By: Zephyr Melton
Instruction
tony ruggiero demonstrates how to grip golf club

How hard should you grip the golf club? Top teacher explains

By: Zephyr Melton
Approach Shots
Hit a draw on command with Xander's shot-shaping keys

Hit a draw on command with Xander Schauffele's shot-shaping keys

By: Maddi MacClurg
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version