Improving your golf game is full of important milestones: clearing a penalty area for the first time off the tee, getting out of a bunker efficiently, making it through a round without any three-putts — these are all accomplishments that should be celebrated.
But another milestone golfers tend to measure themselves by is score. Breaking 100 for the first time, then 90, 80 and so on.
Breaking 100 can be particularly meaningful for new golfers, as going from triple-digits to double-digits is generally an indication of significant progress.
So if you happen to fall into the shooting-in-the-100s category of player, what’s the best way to shave those all-important strokes?
According to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Sarah Stone, the best thing you can do is practice mid-range chips and wedges.
“Learn how to hit a 30-50-yard golf shot,” Stone says. “That is the range that all levels of players can benefit from, but especially high-handicappers.”
Shots in the 30-50 yard range crop up all the time during a round, Stone says, which is why devoting some time to honing your skills from these distances will pay dividends.
“That distance represents a recovery punch-out, the third shot you’ve topped in a row, the shot you don’t think you have a club for. Now, you have a bail-out,” Stone says. “So even if you do get yourself in trouble, if you leave yourself that distance, you can get yourself to the green.”
It’s a shot that can be missed, Stone says, because players don’t often think to practice from that distance.
“For scoring purposes, learning how to hit a 30-50-yard shot will be super helpful,” she says.
Want more tips from Sarah Stone? Click here.
