Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
The story is all too familiar. You’re playing great, cruising along on the back nine and you don’t even know you’re score. Then, as soon as you figure out where you stand, everything comes crashing down. We’ve all been there, and the situation is no fun.
Going low is hard — and not just because it requires 18 solid holes. Sometimes, the mental aspect of going low is just as difficult as the physical aspect. Often, we aren’t comfortable with “taking it deep,” so when we find ourselves in that situation, we panic.
Being comfortable with going low is a learned skill. It’s why Bryson DeChambeau recommends junior golfers play it forward and do their best to break 60. It might not be totally the same as posting a number from the tips, but it gets your brain comfortable with the idea of being well under par.
Not all of us are seeking to get comfortable being under par, but everyone has a number they’re aiming to shoot. And once we get close to that number, things often go awry.
That goal for me has always been breaking par. I’ve shot even par a handful of times in my life, but I’ve yet to break through and post a number in the red. This season, though, I’m adopting a strategy I saw on X from a user named @mlehman9436.
An idea.
— Michael (@mlehman9436) March 21, 2025
Start the year at forward tees. When you shoot par, move back one set. Repeat
The idea is simple. Start the year playing from the forward tees and continue playing from there until you meet your target goal. Once you do that, you can move back a tee box and start the process again.
I love this idea for a couple reasons:
1. It teaches you how to get comfortable with shooting low scores. Sure, it may be from a shorter set of tees, but it’s great to simulate what it feels like to be working on a low round.
2. It gets you in the habit of making more birdies. For many golfers, birdies are a rarity, and when they get a birdie look, they put so much pressure on themselves that it impacts performance. But when you play it forward, you’ll get plenty more birdie looks and accustomed to the idea of having birdie putts.
I’m going to adopt this tactic in 2025 when I play my home course of Marine Park in Brooklyn, New York. Hopefully by the end of the season, I’ll be able to cross off my goal of breaking par.
