10 Ways To Improve Your Game Without Changing Your Golf Swing

Having great technique and skill certainly can lead to good golf, but often the golfers who score the lowest don’t look like they are doing anything amazing and, therefore, make low scoring rounds seem very ordinary.

Low scores often come from golfers who play the smartest and know how to get the best result out of the skill they have, and that’s something we can all improve on.

Here’s how…

1. Keep the ball on the ground around the greens

One of the quickest ways to lower your score without improving your technique is to be diligent in choosing the short game shot with the least risk. Typically, the less time the ball spends in the air or the smaller the stroke or swing you take, the less the chance for error. Reaching for your highest-lofted club every time can can translate into higher scores very quickly.

Your short game shot selection should go in the following order:

1. Putt2. Chip3. Pitch/Flop

Putt whenever you can. Chip when you cannot putt, using whichever club will allow you to keep your stroke small while also carrying the trouble. Pitching requires a larger swinging motion and therefore carries the greatest risk. Consider it a last resort.

By using this order you give yourself lots of room for error, so your mistakes will go unnoticed by your playing partners or your scorecard.

2. Know when to play defense

We all make mistakes during a round of golf. There is an art to knowing when to be aggressive and when to back off and play safer. When you find yourself in a location on the golf course that would require you to hit a “hero” shot to save your score, you’re better off simply taking your medicine instead, and playing your ball into a spot that leaves an easier next shot.

Trying to hit the hero shot is fun, but its often what leads to big blemishes on the scorecard — which aren’t fun at all.

3. Have a favorite club (and use it)

What happens when you aren’t hitting the ball like you want to? Or what about when you are struggling with contact altogether?

My advice is simple: Go back to using your favorite club as often as you can, from tee-to-green. Practice all different kinds of shots with it in advance — from bump and runs to half-club shots — so you’re prepared for when things go south. But by leaning on your favorite club, you’ll help boost your confidence and give yourself an option when things aren’t going as planned.

4. Always hit diagonally into wind

When it’s windy, teeing off on the side of the tee opposite where the wind is coming can make a huge difference in your ball curving less. For example, if the wind is left-to-right and you tee off on the far right side of the tee box, you would automatically aim more left. Aiming more left would angle you more directly into the wind and the wind would be less of a curving influence on your golf ball.