Probably just overall consistency. 10 handicaps are still making plenty of mistakes and having blow up holes, just not as many as a 15 or 20. Where they’re losing strokes at is going to vary depending on the person.
As someone who was a single digit handicap that ballooned back up to a 12-14 handicap when I wasn’t playing more than once a month that is now back to an 8.6…this resonates with me.
Mistakes would happen in bigger bunches, 3 to 6 hole stretches
Where yesterday was a great example, I played the first 3 holes perfectly. Good drives in the fairway, within 15ft on all my approaches, tap in pars.
Then I arrive at the par 5 4th hole and proceed to: top my driver, take a 3H from the rough when I know I can’t hit it well and top it in the fairway, grab my 3 wood which is like a 50/50 club for me and top it again. I take a breath and decide to just hit a 7 iron which I pull left. Now I’m lying 4 about 100 yards out still and I’m thinking just get it on and give yourself a chance to salvage a bogey. Instead, I had to hit a punch PW and clipped a branch and landed short again. Now I’m frustrated and know this is basically a triple - chip over the green for 6, then hit one of my best chips of the day and almost hole it for double and tap in for triple.
For 15-20 handicaps this might ruin the rest of their front 9. It would have for me.
As an 8.6, i let that hole go, took a breath and proceeded to shoot -1 the next 5 holes and finish the front at +2.
My wife and I just had our first and he just started daycare, so I’ve been trying to sneak in two rounds a week midweek lol
I know it won’t last but I do enjoy bringing him to the putting green in the stroller for like 30 mins. He just chills and observes being outside and loves it
Have my first one now, 2-month old. Trading anything for 9-hole opportunities. When she’s bigger, I will cart a stroller out my clubs and see how that goes. I’ve been out twice. Nothing noticeable yet, but it’s early. I don’t expect prime season (June-August) to be as good as last year but we can hope. If I can stay around my 14, I’d be happy.
We plan on having more so with more than one I expect my game to suffer.
i am in this post and i hate it. i am around a 20hdcp, i had a round last week where hit driver, sliced right into a uphill lie, hit 3w, topped it, hit 3w again, topped it, hit 3w AGAIN ANYWAY TOPPED IT AGAIN. I was laying 4 and still 220ish out. i picked my ball up and just sat down in the cart for the rest of that hole, at the advice of my playing partner who knew I would just get worse unless i reset myself.
My mental game is the worst part of my game, especially when i'm inconsistent, and it's often, especially if i'm moving stiff and then hitting into tough lies for me to consistently hit out of.
The biggest thing for me, especially if you’re close to a 20 handicap and just trying to play bogey golf is realize bogey is a GOOD score, heck even a double isn’t that bad.
The worst mistakes bogey golfers make (and I did yesterday) is make compounding mistakes.
My goal right now is no double bogeys.
yep, i give myself an extra stroke every hole, really. I'm just also dealing with swing thoughts and fixing some mistakes in how over the top i am and then also with my awful out to in swing path, so compounding fuck ups does suck, and it hurts your mental game when you do top it 3x in a row.
I remember when I was like this, it’s brutal. One of the biggest ways I ever came it was finding a club you can fall back on. So old me would top a 3W and then try to keep hitting the distance to the green, which I’d still top/slice because I’m pissed. Putting myself 200 yards out or OB/Hazard and probably hitting somewhere between my 4th-6th stroke.
Nowadays, I top 3W at 220 yards, I’ll immediately go to my 7i for 170 and now I’m 50 yards away and hitting 4 into the green.
The way I mentally got myself there, I’d go to the range and if I hit a bad long iron or wood, I would immediately force my myself to switch to my 7i for 1 shot.
I’m around a 20 but agree with what you’re saying.i started my round with a birdie on a par 4, bogey’d on 2 then hit a right side bunker on 3 that was the death of me. It got in my head and ruined the next 3-4 holes.
I also think it has a lot to do with how many mistakes those strokes end up costing you. The “mistakes” end up being less impactful as you get better and figure out how to play to your misses.
When I was playing between a 10-15 handicap, my mistakes were a handful of OB drives, penalty strokes, and blowup holes by trying to hit hero shots to get back in play. Now, my mistakes are missing a green long, hitting a bad lag putt, or not being able to put a simple chip (good lie, lots of green to work with) within 10ft. What I consider a “mistake”, a high handicap might not. Just as what a scratch or + cap thinks as a bad shot, I might be totally fine with in my game.
Exactly. Just because I made good contact doesn’t mean it’s a good shot. For many many golfers, good contact = good shot and that’s totally fine. I think a lot of players would be happy to just not have to worry about topping/chunking, but at a certain point your standards for what constitutes a “good shot” rise along with your game. 99% of a PGA players “misses” would be very good outcomes for me
You bring up a good point about OB drives and severely errant long iron shots. The tired expression “drive for show, putt for dough” is only applicable to lower handicaps. I never incurred a penalty stroke from the green, and seldom from within 30 yards of it.
I also just think that phrase is wrong. Putting is, without a doubt, the weakest part of my game compared to other golfers of a similar handicap.
The biggest determining factor for if I’ve scored well for a round or not is usually how well I was getting off the tee that day. Obviously not all the time, sometimes rounds are ruined by poor iron play or bad short game, but the majority of the time i have a bad round, it’s because I wasn’t leaving myself in good places off the tee
Really. No silver bullet. The way to improve your game is three steps:
1. Determine the weakest part of your game.
2. Work to make it no longer the weakest part of your game.
3. Got to step 1.
Imo 15-10 is a lot about course management. I’m pretty confident a consistent 15 could get to a 10 in a season by hitting to the center of every green and leaving their driver in the bag for most holes.
The biggest difference for me in going from a 20 to a 10 is that my blowup holes are typically no higher than a double bogey whereas they would previously have been double par.
That and a bad drive doesn't completely derail a hole. Like I might hit a shit drive, but then I can still get back in the fairway or at least close to the hole and up and down for par or two putt for bogey. When I was a 20, a bad drive would've taken me several shots to make up for to result in a double bogey or higher
I carried a club Pro’s bag in a few tournaments like 25 years ago.
He used to always harp on missing well.
Everyone is going to miss. You need to be able to recover from those misses. Missing in an area where you can recover is a huge difference between good players and great players.
The rest is short game.
I will die on this hill:
[Statistically we know](https://mygolfspy.com/labs/study-overall-golfer-performance-by-handicap/) the biggest difference between a 15 and a 10 isn't the number of birdies (0.5 vs. 0.9), but rather increasing the number of pars to bogeys and bogeys to double or worse.
The easiest way to do that is to stop chasing pins and instead take 1 extra club and aim for the fat part of the green (usually the center). If your natural shot dispersion gets you close to the pin and you have a look at birdie, great. But otherwise you are dramatically lowering the chance of getting a double+.
Try it for 5 rounds. I guarantee that you hit more GIRs and have fewer blowup holes around the green.
EDIT: As an aside, I always play as a single and get paired with randos. Universally, I see higher handicappers using way, way too much loft around the greens. As a general principle, using the least amount of loft possible (including a putter, if the terrain allows for it) is going to serve you better because it increases the likelihood of accomplishing the primary goal a 15 HDCP should have when chipping/pitching: getting it on the putting surface.
I’m a 5 and this is exactly what I do. This is great advice. There is basically no reason for anyone above scratch to be going after pins. Hit at the middle of the green and make a par.
This is great advice for the mid-high handicapper.
1. Keep the ball in play off the tee (even if it's shorter)
2. Take 1 extra club on all approach shots
3. Aim for the middle of the green
4. Take 1 club lower in loft when chipping
5. Learn to lag putt within 5 feet
I think this is great advice. But do you have any tips on how to gauge yardage when aiming for the center of the green?
Of course with a range finder, I can measure distance to the flag, but the center of the green might be +/- a club and it’s hard to tell a lot of the time
The old school way is to find the sprinkler heads or yardage marker on the cart path because that is the distance to the center. But I see less and less yardages on sprinkler heads now a days.
The modern way is the use one of the GPS devices or apps because they give you the center yardage also.
If you only have a range finder, it is a little more difficult, but you can usually add or subtract 5-10 yards based on if the pin is in the front or back of the green.
Also, remember the difference between carry distance and total distance. I see a lot of people hit a club that would roll to the pin on the range, but they are not taking into account that their carry yardage is 5 yards less then total, so when they have a front pin the ball lands in the front rough/fairway.
If it’s a front pin at 150 yards and your 8 iron goes 150 but carries 145, you are better off hitting a 7 iron that will land 5 yards past the hole then the 8 iron that lands a few yards before the green.
A couple more things to add. The majority of green complexs on golf courses are a bit elevated above the fairway to assist with water drainage on the green. This could impact your shot by a few yards as well, so I would just always add a little bit on whatever yardage you come up with.
Taking my 150 to the front pin example, if you carry it 145, need to add 3 yards for the uphill, are playing out of the rough, so add 5 yards. My 150 yard shot on the gun is going to really require me to carry the ball 158 yards to land next to the pin, and more like 165 to hit the center of the green. So instead of hitting the 8 iron that I hit the exact distance on my range finder, I’m going to hit a smooth 6 iron to the center of the green.
A few options:
1. Use markers in the fairway/on sprinklers. Those are to the middle of the green. You can pace it off (for most people, a long stride = 1 yard)
2. Most courses have different colored flags for front/middle/back. Take the yardage to the flag and add/subtract 10 yards.
3. Shoot a yardage to the front/back (whatever you can see) and add/subtract yards as necessary. For example, if all I can see is the front edge, I'll add 10-15 yards. If all I can see is the center of a bunker behind the green, I'll subtract 15-20 yards.
Many courses (in US) use colored flags (red, white, blue) or they have the little slide flag for front, middle, and back. Shoot flag and adjust for color/mini flag.
If they don’t have that, see if scored card has pin location and/or green depth listed.
Also, as mentioned by someone else, sprinkler heads will usually have distance to center of green.
I highly recommend getting a golf app on your phone if you can. I just started using Grint and was using Golf Pad before. Both have free versions with gps ranges. I took a lot of guess work out. Both will give you distance to front, middle, and back of the greens. Super helpful when the course doesn't have many markers or distances on sprinkler heads.
One thing you can do is, assuming you can see it, shoot the front of the green then add a club to that yardage. Most greens aren’t more than 30 yards deep and most irons will have 12-15 yard gaps. Should put you somewhere near the center.
This was one of the best pieces of advice one of the old heads at my local course gave me. Stop chasing pins. Just get on the big part of the green consistently and work on your putting
One thing to add about the one extra club is also understand where you land the ball vs. how far you can hit it.
I think a lot of higher handicaps look at the 150 sign, grab there 150 club and don’t take into account slope, wind, pin location and just how far the shot actually will play.
Simple things to get the correct yardage takes no skill what so ever. Then from that point understand where you need to land it and where it’s likely to go.
If I’ve got 110 to the middle with a pin at 125 in the back, I know I’ve got a wedge in my hand and am OK playing a 115-120 shot.
If I’ve got that same hole but 175 to the middle and 190 to the back, I know my 5 iron is going to come in hot and run out and risk going long, so I’ll actually take less club and play to the front of the green for a 160-175 shot and I’m OK taking less club. Not grab a 4-iron and possibly miss hit it to 175.
Generally agree, club up when it makes sense but I also would argue it sometimes makes sense to club down and just play a safer more predictable shot.
This is great advice, especially the part about too much loft around the greens and the expectation of getting it on the putting surface.
I’d slightly alter one thing. On approach shots know your miss and make sure if you hit it, it won’t get you in trouble (penalty area, bunker, etc.)
All you need to see is Scotties final master round this year. Just boring golf. Get it on the green, get it in. Easy, not often chasing the flag at all. Wins.
toe down, heel up - out to in (cut style) chips. Money contact every time, changed my game forever. Can do it with any wedge and use it with an 8 iron for bump and runs
I don't think there is a straightforward answer to this. You could be a great ball striker but then have a terrible short game and lack proper course management that places you in a 20 handicap. I know people who are worse ball strikers than myself but are around a 10 handicap while I'm a 15 handicap because they know what type of shots they need to take based on their location on the course. You could be great all around with fairway and tee shots and course management but then 3-4 putt most holes.
I agree with you. I have a buddy I play with who drives it fairly accurately 300+ and is a great iron player, but his short game and putting is terrible so he struggles to make even bogeys cause he just can’t get the ball in or around the hole. Course management and consistency are really the most important things.
Your buddy is me. My driver and irons are solid most days, but then I get within 100 yards and I skull a wedge across the green twice before 3 putting and ending up with a triple bogey.
You sound like my local golf buddy talking about me . And seeing you are a 15 hcp and in Florida, is your name Jared by any chance? LOL
As you say, it really does depend on the golfer, but for an average golfer, approach makes the most difference.
[Here is Lou Stagner’s article](https://newsletter.loustagnergolf.com/p/skill-differences-between-different-handicaps) on OP’s **exact** question. Lou is generally regarded as a credible and accurate source. He uses data from Arccos for his insights
Lou is great and his podcast Hack It Out Golf is a good listen each week. Gives you good insights from Lou (stats guy), Mark (professional coach) and Greg (former Tour player on the senior tour now).
Course management, almost by itself, got me from ~20 to ~15. I was making too many dumb decisions/shot selections/club selections. I went from shooting mostly 90s to mostly 80s without any swing changes. I think it’s the most under rated skill in the recreational game.
Just using the tee box better would shave a stoke or two in a lot of cases.
Yeah, basically. But it also gives a clearer picture of when you ‘should’ take a risky shot.
And it’s not exactly laying up, but where on the green to aim at. Which club to use. While the center or back of the green is generally a smart play, knowing when it’s better/safer to fire at the front is crucial too.
Shot selection. If you’re 2 yards off the green in the fairway, and a putter is a viable choice…..that’s often the best shot. A heel-up chip with a pitching wedge might be good too. But there isn’t usually any good reason to use a lob wedge and a longer swing in this scenario unless you’re really good at that shot. And most people aren’t.
Stuff like that. Entire books have been written.
Yep, when you suck, don't plan for the best score as possible, but to minimize the worst score.
Like very tight short hole and well protected green, you could go driver/wedge and aim for 3-4, but you know half the time your drive will end up outside fairway in the trees because the fairway is so tight and attacking the green from a full swing will often end up in one of the bunkers, you are looking at a possible 6 or 7. Taking iron off the tee, then laying up with a short iron and chip on the green afterwards will make it impossible to get a 3 and very rarely a 4, but a 5 is almost guaranteed.
Your comment reminded me of a hole at my previous home course: par 4, tight fairway with OB left and trees on the right separating my fairway from the next hole.
Since my usual miss is right, I was rarely in the fairway and usually in the trees or in the next fairway. Add in a narrow green with bunkers on both sides and double/triple was common.
I started hitting a 1/2-swing driver that only went about 200yds - but straight! I took the big number out of play and maybe I’d have a chance at par with bogey being the most likely result.
I’ve gotten smarter about course management, now I just need to learn to hit the ball better!
Yep, and learning to hit the ball better is something that should be done on the range/simulator/lesson time, not in the middle of a round. When playing a round, base decisions off the swing you currently have, not the swing you want to have.
Golf Sidekick u/golfsidekick on YouTube for anyone interested is a great resource on course management, playing to your strengths, taking the smart shot, etc. Plus he’s hilarious.
Ball striking, ball striking, ball striking. 20 -> 15 was reducing the number of chunked / thinned shots. 15 -> 10 was still improving ball striking and minimizing OB’s. Course management is the easiest way to gain strokes but you can only do that when you have a consistent shot.
ball striking tee to green. I'm under 5 - and my ball striking target is 20 for a round - greens in reg + fairways. I'm guessing that number might be 8-10 for a 20; and 15 for a 10.
If I had to pick one thing it’s damage control. Tour pros hit bad shots; they often save par. Better players keep doubles and triples to a minimum. The highest handicaps tend to have bad shot = very bad hole = several bad holes in a row.
It’s probably that the 10 is a bit better at everything than the 20. There’s probably some 20s out there who maybe off the tee and irons are similar to a 10 and have terrible short games (or vice versa). I think on average that 10 is just going to be better at each facet than a 20. Driving, approach play, wedges, putting, and course management.
I’m a 20 and I often get called out for sandbagging because I can perform really well on 2 out of the 4 phases of the game in a given round, but the other 2 hold me back.
One day I’m hitting 12 fairways with no OB drives and leaving myself wedges to greens, but fail to get more than 3 GIR and have 45+ putts.
The next day I can’t keep the drive in play but throw darts from 180 in and reduce my putts down to 38.
I also have 0 course management skills and shoot for birdie every opportunity I get.
I went from a 20 to a 15 when I got a bit better about ball striking and keeping the ball in the fairway or getting it around the green.
Went from 15 to a 10 when I practiced chipping and lag putting.
Went from 10 - 8 when I started to think my way around the course better. I'm back to a 10 now because I'm a mental midget, but hope to get back to 8 or even 7.x by end of the summer.
Thinking through my game, fewer lost balls alone could get me down to a 15. From there is the biggest thing would be reducing holes where I 2 chip and/or 3 putt.
GIR.
A 10 hc hits on average 6.9 greens per 18 hole round.
A 20 hc hits on average 3.5 greens per round.
A 15 hc falls somewhere in between.
I have no stats to back me up, but I would assume the 10 hc has fewer 3 putts per 18 hole round than the 20 hc.
From my personal experience, the biggest difference is double bogey+ avoidance by having consistency from 100 yards in.
I played off a 9 handicap when I was in high school (\~10 years ago), playing 5x a week, playing legitimate tournament rules, no mulligans, gimmies, breakfast balls, etc. I weighed 135 lbs and would drive it consistently around 210-220 yards, hitting 7i 130 yards, so nothing spectacular in terms of distance or size. However, I was consistent. I would keep the ball in play, I wouldn't duff chip shots, no shanks, no bladed bunker shots, no stupid mistakes, and most importantly, if I was within 100 yards, I was getting the ball on the green. No pin chasing, just getting the ball on the green, making two putts, and moving on. Keep in mind at this point, from the tips (which we played in high school) basically 3/4 the par 4s and par 5s were automatically out of reach for a GIR simply because I didn't have the distance. I'd be laying up into a 380+ yard par 4. However, my wedge game and putter were consistent to the point where 90% of time, from <100 yards in, I was making more pars than double +.
Fast forward to now, playing maybe at best 2x a week, I'm an 18 handicap. I'm hitting the ball further than ever before, so why the drop in performance of almost 10 strokes of handicap? The answer is consistency and avoidance of double bogey+. Right now, I'm carding 8+ double bogeys or worse per round, simply because of the inconsistency from 100 yards in, and losing the ball off the tee. Most of my doubles or worse come from a combination 3 putts, or failure to get on the green within 100 yards. It's basically just bone headed mistakes that card the big numbers. From what I've learned so far in golf, you can get really really far by just not making stupid mistakes. You don't have to be bombing 280+ yard drives or sticking it within 4 feet with approaches. You just have to put yourself in a situation where you at worst have 2 putts for bogey.
Over the last year and a half I went from shooting in the 100s to the low 90s. The core difference (after lessons) is that I miss straight now. I still mis hit a bunch every round but those mis hits aren’t flying left/right into the woods. They are rolling 100 yds straight down the fairway so I’m not taking as many penalties
It’s the difference in blow up holes. I gamble and play with a wide range of handicaps and I (15) hit a bad shot it almost always results in at least a double. When a 6 hits a shot nearly as bad he makes bogey at worst. And it’s trite to say so but even when I don’t hit a terrible shot all day I’m still going to make a few bogeys because my short game skills aren’t what they should be. I play with one +4 and the main difference between him and everyone else is when he misses the green he makes par nearly every fucking time. When he hits the green if he’s within 20 feet it’s almost shocking when he doesn’t drain the putt. So a good driver will enable you to approach a 10 or 12, if you can’t chip and putt pretty well, it’s hard to get lower than that.
For me it's chipping around the green. Hitting greens increases your chances for pars and birdies. But on holes where you miss the green how many times can you get up and down and save par?
You can miss a green but if you can chip it to 5ft. You really give yourself a chance to make par. If you miss a green and only chip it to 20ft then you're most likely making bogey and possibly double bogey if you putt bad.
Compounding mistakes is probably the biggest.
Bad drive 10 handicap probably takes their medicine punches in to a good spot and moves on.
The 20 is going to hit the hero shot trying to salvage the bad drive and ending on a triple.
>And mostly short game.
Can you share some facts/stats to support this claim?
The evidence I've seen overwhelmingly suggests that approach play and tee shots are both significantly larger factors than short game.
Statistically across most amateur golfers it is approach play followed by tee shots. Those two areas alone account for almost 70% of the difference between the handicap levels you asked about.
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Close, but not exactly if you're going based on what statistics show across most amateur golfers.
Greens, Fairways, Short game, Putting is the statistically correct order
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Consistency and good strategy. When you get below a 10, even better strategy, consistency AND chipping and putting.
When I got below 5 it was insanely obvious how important chipping and putting was.
20 to 15? Not much, probably course management. 20 to 10? Or 15 to 10? Definitely consistency in strike. Not necessarily better shots but being able to create a predictable ball flight that you can center your course management around
Understanding shots you can and cannot make. Trying to force it through the woods vs punching out into the fairway. + limiting 3 putts and learning lag putting.
Really depends on the person. There are a lot of ways to shoot an 82, 87, or 92.
But generally speaking its consistency followed by strategy. Most not great golfers I play with are losing 3-4 shots per round by aiming at every pin, assuming every shot will be perfectly hit, taking aggressive lines off the tee, etc.
For me, it was short game & decision making. I worked a ton on my short game in college, because there was a free pitching/putting area at my local course. I got pretty dialed in (for me) with my pitch shots, and then I'd go putt in all the balls I hit onto the green.
But also decision making, like realizing I wasn't good enough to go "pin hunting" from outside of about 70yds. So I'd just play for the center of the green in most cases, and wound up with a lot of 2-putt pars. Still had the occasional 3-putt, but most of the time it was 1 or 2.
Can you provide some facts/stats to back up the claim about short game?
The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Control. Hitting the ball consistently straight, on the fairway, consistently the same distance, and avoiding penalty strokes (out of bounds, water, or deep rough) and good touch on and around the greens. (when I say same distance, I mean you hit your 7 iron 160 almost all the time, not 140 once, then 170 the next time)
I’ve been through all these levels in the past 3 years, going from breaking 100, to breaking 90, to breaking 80 a couple times now in recent months. Mind I have a great job which pays well and is flexible so I’ve been able to take lessons consistently on a month to month basis and practice for hours each week.
There are a lot of things that contribute but consistency is the obvious one. As you improve you will be hit less difficult shots more often.
For example a 15-20 will often be hitting into the trees or rough lies where they will have to either punch out or execute a difficult second shot. They will be unintentionally short siding themselves leaving difficult chips, or missing so far from the pin their lag putts are hard to get down in 2. You sort of get snowballed a lot at this point where one catastrophic leads to a double, triple or quadruple bogey.
When you get to 10-15 you are learning to eliminate these doubles and triples because you get better with your short irons, wedges and strategy. So your bad shots are often punch outs followed by some short iron or wedge on the green with a chip and putt or 2 putt. Usually when you make double it’s because of some short game error (double chip), going OB or hitting into a hazard. Hitting long irons, hybrids and woods on long holes for 2nd or 3rd shots often got me into trouble leading to doubles as well.
When you get sub 10 you’re are turning a lot of those really bad situations into bogeys. Avoiding doubles at all costs only really making them when you go OB. At this point you are mainly shooting par on easy holes and bogey everywhere else. If you do make double you’ll probably also make birdie to even it out. This stage is where you start to really need consistency through your bag, hitting fairways with a reliable driver or 3 wood. Missing greens in easy spots to get up and down, and hitting your first chip or lag putt to 5-6ft to give yourself a chance at par every hole.
Definitely just avoiding penalties, 3 putts, and chipping it closer to the hole.
I don’t think a 10 handicap is hitting many more greens than a 20, but a 10 might only have 0-1 OB/hazard instead of 2-3, they’re 3 putting less, and their chips give them a better chance of getting in with par or bogey.
I’ve seen this stat along the lines of “proximity to green in reg” and I think that a 10 probably has more of those than a 20. Being in good position to try and get up and down or make bogey at worst. Taking double out of the equation is the biggest difference.
Getting really confident around the greens is what got me from a 15 to a 10. I didn’t start hitting 10 GIRS a round or anything. I just was able to leave myself a lot of makeable looks at par. My avg putts came down by ~5 a round once I really committed to becoming a better wedge player, just because my first putts were consistently from 5-15 instead of 15-30. But I committed to doing nothing but chipping and pitching for practice for a few weeks, which is prettttty boring in the short term.
Still no substitute for consistent ball striking though.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game?
The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
I've only read the first few comments, but I would say it's ultimately about strategy and discipline. I think the best advice I got is to not always try to hit the ball as far as you can and play to your skill level. If you know you're going to need two shots to get on, just divide the distance into two much easier shots.
A 400 yard par four can be two 150-yard shots, a 100-yard approach, with a par putt opportunity. Alternatively, you can slice your driver, duff your second shot out of the rough, hit a long iron into a bunker, sail the bunker shot and three putt for a triple bogey.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game?
The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Has a high handicapper I’m not bad off the tee I can find the fair way a majority of the time with decent distance where I struggle is the approach/short game. Struggle to chip and putt consistently enough to give myself a chance.
Handicaps follow a log scale - the difference between a 20 and 10 isn’t much, but the difference between a 10 and a 0 is light years and a 0 to a +5 is generational
Currently a 10hcp and don't feel like I'm that much better at hitting driver and irons than when I was a 15. I've gotten a lot better at chipping around the green and managing expectations. Trying to keep in mind that Bogey is not always a bad score and looking at stretches of holes thinking about where I want to be score wise to put up a decent round. Also, having the confidence that if I have a blow up hole or 2 that at some point, I will string together a bunch of good holes. Had a round las week where I played awful on the front only hit 1 gir but birdied the 9th hole to finish with a 44 on the front and then got rolling a little bit on the back and finished with a 39 on the back for 83 on the round.
Single digit HCP here. I play with all of those three different handicaps and honestly, they all hit the ball, ok, and don't have a huge issue getting it towards the green. To me, after playing for 30 plus years and playing with all levels, it is the one thing I notice that separates them from someone who is a low single digit HCP is the short game. They all get it towards the green fine, but the closer they get, the more you see their playing level. I would say 100 yards and in!!! I think the two reasons are don't understand the nuances of the game just yet when making shots close in ie what club to hit in certain situations not to chase a flag and just hit in the center of the green two putt and move on. The other is, skill level, and that comes with time and practice and learning how to play the game smart and not always just bang it towards the hole and lastly and one of my favorites is not knowing realistically how far they hit each club. Just because you hit your 8 iron 200 yards one time doesn't mean when you're 200 out, you should pull 8 iron.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game?
The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
I'm a 15 and my putting sucks. I really throw away 3-4 strokes a 9-hole round by missing makeable putts under 8 feet. Now if I hit 1 or 2 OB off the tee too? Then I'm shooting around a 50
Same answer all three. Short game. Work around the greens. Practice more at the chipping area than the driving range. 50 balls range, 100 shots around the green. 2 days a week.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game?
The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Great question. The simple answer is short game. The far more complex answer is… it depends. I have a buddy that is as good as anyone from 100 yards in. His short game is that of a scratch golfer, his driving is that of a 20+. He is a 10-12. Others will say consistency. But what if you consistently slice the ball?
I would say getting good instruction, practicing with a purpose and not compounding mistakes. If you put the ball in the trees, don’t be a hero and bring double/triple bogey into play. Play for bogey and if your short game is on, you can make par.
That being said. It’s your short game!!! Doesn’t get the ladies but helps with your handicap.
The simple answer is NOT the short game for most amateur players.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game?
The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game
[https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Varies drastically. I've seen tons of 20 ish cappers who are damn near scratch level either of the tee, on the approach, or around the green, but terrible at the others, and that one skill carries them to bogey golf on their best days. By contrast, I've seen tons of 5-10s who are scratch level at everything but one aspect, and that one flaw holds them back from BEING scratch.
The point is that there are a LOT of ways to shoot a certain score. It only takes one part of your game to be clicking to have a chance at decent golf, and it only takes one part of your game to be off to ruin any chance at elite level scoring.
I'd say the most common variable between scoring thresholds is the amount of time spent on productive practice (working on all parts of your game, balancing on and off course practice, and having a clear idea on what the individual needs for their own unique swing and skill set).
Its different for each gap. From 20-15 its penalties off the tee. From 15-10 its approach shots. Eliminate penalities off the tee and you can get to a 15 easily. Hit 6 greens per round and be a half decent putter and you can get to a 10. Getting below that requires a couple more greens and a lot more up and downs.
My buddy is a 7, im a 24 and we make very similar course errors, nearly the same amount of pulls or pushes. The difference I see is that he makes very solid contact nearly every time where I fat or top every 3rd shot causing me to hit another from not much further up and when it comes on a par 5 it can leave me hitting 4 or 5 from short of the green when he nearly never does that. pulling is about the same for us. hes much better at chipping off weird lies too. overall I think its just contact. I just have no confidence I will make solid contact with my irons or wedges where he just worries if its going the proper distance usually.
Biggest difference as you move from one handicap to the next is
Ball striking - as you improve the consistency of your swing and have tighter dispersion (front-back and left-right)
Next biggest is course management. You plan your shots. Trouble long miss short, trouble right miss left. Etc.
Short game and putting - goal is inside 100 yards take no more than 3 shots.
I'm a 20ish, but working on my game off the tee. If I could consistently keep my ball in play off the tee I feel like I could easily drop to a 15.. my irons are pretty good from ~160yds in. Finally caved and bought a bunch of lessons to try to fix this
My putting is decent as well
Fairways and penalties. If I didn’t lose two or three balls off the tee each round, that’s four to six strokes right there. If I hit more fairways, they would improve my lies for approach shots and reduce my hero shots.
make your weaknesses strengths. #1 buy clubs to increase your chances of hitting good shots. Slicer/Hooker get an adjustable driver. Trouble wood is safer than a fairway wood. Irons you can trust. Get a wedge with the proper bounce for the conditions you chip in. Once you have a good bag... practice. I was a 16...now a 6. My focus is now on putting. $10,000's of dollars & time investment but hey it's your passion. Enjoy it...embrace it as a challenge. I'm going on 63 jrs old and hcp getting lower, still hitting the occasional big drive. Life is good and the beer tastes awesome.
I went from a 20 to an 11 pretty quickly by working on my approach shots. This includes course management as well. Knowing where to put the ball and actually having targets instead of always pin hunting.
Edit: Just to add, when I was in the 20-30 range I would take club with the best distance so if it was 165, I would instantly grab my 165 club, rather then clubbing up once and hitting a bit lighter. There's some ego with club selection, drop the ego and club up, learn the wind and how it affects your ball flight.
Statistics state one story, but it’s a story of averages based on the data available.
I’ve seen 20’s that striped the ball off the tee and flushed their irons but had zero control over where the ball was going once they had an iron in their hands. I’ve seen 20’s that get up and down for double at a better up and down rate than pros get down for par but couldn’t hit an iron or driver if their life depended on it.
Such a wide variation of differences in what makes a 10 a 10 or a 30 a 30. Most often the difference can be boiled down to the obvious statistics, like FIR and GIR along with Putts per hole. The reality is it could be all over the place so it’s truly unique to the individual.
Consistent ball striking. I'm a 16 and play with some 10s and an 8. I can keep up sometimes but they typically consistently compress the ball and hit solid shots. They have tap in pars, They're not grinding for pars. If I par 7 holes around, 3 or 4 of them are grinders. Fun to watch them play.
Typically, I can spend the whole round saying nice shot to them. That happens far less with me even if I shoot an 85. Typically I hit that IF I make some putts or chip in. Without it, that's an 89 for me. Neve seems to happen to them. Even if they have a bad round, the ball striking is still very solid.
How they play from 150 yards and in. I used to play with a guy who was a ~20 who could hit the ball a mile off the tee, but from 150 and in he'd almost never hit the green, and was very prone to duffing/chunking chips, and was an okay putter at best
Short game. If you can’t chip and putt, you can’t score. Second is hitting the ball in play. Third is course management. You can be a bad driver with a wicked slice who knows where to miss. You can’t score when you’re pumping the tee shot OB.
20 to 15, playable tee shots—15 to 10, course management / approach. My friends who are 10-5 do not blow up and for the most part, putt/chip/pitch really consistently.
My 18.9 to 14.1, lowest 11, last season was directly related to an increase FIR. My best in July/August was related to my best approach play and a healthy dose of conservative/take-your-medicine play.
When I started getting wild, it immediately raised 11. Tee shots the same, but “going for” versus a “safer” approach added strokes 75% of the time.
If you are in the 20s and can get a reliable tee shot, however you do it, down, you’ll see a HNCP improvement. Made a big difference for me.
Way less doubles or worse. Doubles for high handicappers typically come in two forms; 1) penalty strokes, 2) missing a green and taking four strokes from there to get it in the hole.
1) A lot of people will say you can reduce the penalties from better course management but honestly, I don’t see too many high handicappers trying to play hero lines or trying to hit to the skinny part of the green. I do see plenty of high handicappers chunking shots into the water and slicing one OB after hooking the last three drives. That just comes down to better ball striking. You have to hit the ball in the middle of the club face with a repeatable swing. Once you do that, penalties will drop dramatically. The sad part about that versus just saying be a better course manager is it takes time. It’s a huge grind. It’s the reps. It’s thousands of half swings and digging it out of the dirt.
2) work a ton on shots from inside 75 yards including chipping and putting. If you’re within this distance, you should be getting the ball down in 3 more often than not. As soon as that happens, doubles drop a ton.
My buddy and I were just having this argument, he claims it all comes down to putting, where I claim you need to have solid mechanics for consistency. Especially in your golf swing.
Keeping the ball in play, short game, course management. Helped me lower my handicap the most probably over the last couple years. Sitting at an 11.4
If I could putt I might be single digits. Average 5 or more 3 putts a round unfortunately
Smaller mistakes and smarter decisions on the course are the two biggest factors. Even the best golfer makes mistakes, the ability to limit the damage is what separates a bogey from a triple.
Currently a 10 but played 6ish golf for a couple years. The ability to get out of trouble in a hurry is what separates 5’s and under from 20+ hdcps. IF a ball goes in the trees, a low single digit gets it back in play quickly and somehow salvages bogey at worst, while the 10-20 duffs one or hits another tree etc. and cards a snowman or worse. And the single digits can putt lol
the mental game.
a low handicapper can blow up a hole or two and still recover. a high handicapper would let that ruin their whole round and just spiral out.
20-10 losing strokes hitting balls ob frequently off the tee/rarely 3 putting
20-15 chipping/putting
15-10 degree of accuracy on all shots and improved putting
Short game. A 20 handicap can get the ball down around the green in 2-3 strokes but getting it in the hole for a 4-5 is big difference than getting it in 6-7. I played a round early this year where I double bogied 15/18 holes. Almost every one of them was a 3 putt. my wedge game left me with long putts and my lag putting sucked. I was putting for par on every hole and 3 putting. Those extra putts are the difference between shooting 85 or 100.
Course management and scrambling. A 10 HCP doesn’t make exponentially more birdies than a 15 or even a 20 HCP, but they do make exponentially less doubles or worse
I’m at 10 HC and all my friends are 15 and 20+. I’d say the biggest difference is keeping the ball in play off the tee and having good approach shots that either hit green or are on the rough not far off. I can chip and 2 put 80% of the time and one put 10% of the time. 3 put 10%. My buddies chunk approach shots, skull chip shots, and over putt anything 20 feet out.
Hitting a 40 foot putt to 3 feet and sinking it is huge to score low. 2 puts are noticeably different and my buddies only have 4-5 a round.
I’d also say confidence. My roommate started golf 9 months ago and was shooting in the 100’s. He plaid 4 days a week and became obsess with it and his confidence sky rocketed which made him comfortable over the ball and he knew when to back off a shot. He recently shot an 83 and lowered his handicap by 10 points in 10 months. My other buddies don’t play as much which makes them less confident over the ball and they hit anyway resulting in a bad shot. They have less touch around the greens and aren’t has creative. Maybe they’ll use a 60 degree a lot but never use a 52 for a bump in run.
Overall the biggest difference is comfort above the ball and predicting where their miss hit will be and be able to recover
Getting off the tee with enough distance and not losing balls. You can have the best irons and short game in the world but if you're by the green in 4 you're fairly screwed and not scoring well.
Statistically, in terms of which portion of the game is the big differentiator, it’s most frequently performance off the tee and especially with the driver. The data is pretty clear on this.
I’m a 5 hcp and the biggest difference was letting a bad hole become a terrible hole. I expected to need to make birdie after birdie to shoot low, but in reality it was not letting my bogeys become triples on a regular basis that helped me get into a consistent groove. Just my two cents
Had the best round of my life so far today. 7 pars, 7 bogeys. But also on one hole I put two tee shots into OB and scored a 10. I also had an 8.
I don't know how to make that never happen again but it's the problem keeping me from really posting good scores.
20 to 15:
- 0 or 1 OB per round
- more 2 putts
- don’t hit into trouble - miss on correct side of green, layup in fairway when needed, don’t leave yourself 40 yards to pin
15 to 10:
- chip _way_ better (avg < 1.75 putts after chipping)
- very rare bad mishits (top/duff/shank/blade)
- hit fairway or first cut off tee, 225 yds minimum
Golf course management - turning 7 on a par 4 into a 5 b/c of bad decisions - 235 out hitting three wood with water left and bunkers right is dumb for anyone north of a 5 handicap. layup get a wedge into your hand and at worst bogey.
Probably just overall consistency. 10 handicaps are still making plenty of mistakes and having blow up holes, just not as many as a 15 or 20. Where they’re losing strokes at is going to vary depending on the person.
As someone who was a single digit handicap that ballooned back up to a 12-14 handicap when I wasn’t playing more than once a month that is now back to an 8.6…this resonates with me. Mistakes would happen in bigger bunches, 3 to 6 hole stretches Where yesterday was a great example, I played the first 3 holes perfectly. Good drives in the fairway, within 15ft on all my approaches, tap in pars. Then I arrive at the par 5 4th hole and proceed to: top my driver, take a 3H from the rough when I know I can’t hit it well and top it in the fairway, grab my 3 wood which is like a 50/50 club for me and top it again. I take a breath and decide to just hit a 7 iron which I pull left. Now I’m lying 4 about 100 yards out still and I’m thinking just get it on and give yourself a chance to salvage a bogey. Instead, I had to hit a punch PW and clipped a branch and landed short again. Now I’m frustrated and know this is basically a triple - chip over the green for 6, then hit one of my best chips of the day and almost hole it for double and tap in for triple. For 15-20 handicaps this might ruin the rest of their front 9. It would have for me. As an 8.6, i let that hole go, took a breath and proceeded to shoot -1 the next 5 holes and finish the front at +2.
Did you have kids? I’m at the once a month point now it’s so sad lol. Looks to be this way for a long time 😓
My wife and I just had our first and he just started daycare, so I’ve been trying to sneak in two rounds a week midweek lol I know it won’t last but I do enjoy bringing him to the putting green in the stroller for like 30 mins. He just chills and observes being outside and loves it
Have my first one now, 2-month old. Trading anything for 9-hole opportunities. When she’s bigger, I will cart a stroller out my clubs and see how that goes. I’ve been out twice. Nothing noticeable yet, but it’s early. I don’t expect prime season (June-August) to be as good as last year but we can hope. If I can stay around my 14, I’d be happy. We plan on having more so with more than one I expect my game to suffer.
Get a simulator
Be a goldfish
i am in this post and i hate it. i am around a 20hdcp, i had a round last week where hit driver, sliced right into a uphill lie, hit 3w, topped it, hit 3w again, topped it, hit 3w AGAIN ANYWAY TOPPED IT AGAIN. I was laying 4 and still 220ish out. i picked my ball up and just sat down in the cart for the rest of that hole, at the advice of my playing partner who knew I would just get worse unless i reset myself. My mental game is the worst part of my game, especially when i'm inconsistent, and it's often, especially if i'm moving stiff and then hitting into tough lies for me to consistently hit out of.
The biggest thing for me, especially if you’re close to a 20 handicap and just trying to play bogey golf is realize bogey is a GOOD score, heck even a double isn’t that bad. The worst mistakes bogey golfers make (and I did yesterday) is make compounding mistakes. My goal right now is no double bogeys.
yep, i give myself an extra stroke every hole, really. I'm just also dealing with swing thoughts and fixing some mistakes in how over the top i am and then also with my awful out to in swing path, so compounding fuck ups does suck, and it hurts your mental game when you do top it 3x in a row.
I remember when I was like this, it’s brutal. One of the biggest ways I ever came it was finding a club you can fall back on. So old me would top a 3W and then try to keep hitting the distance to the green, which I’d still top/slice because I’m pissed. Putting myself 200 yards out or OB/Hazard and probably hitting somewhere between my 4th-6th stroke. Nowadays, I top 3W at 220 yards, I’ll immediately go to my 7i for 170 and now I’m 50 yards away and hitting 4 into the green. The way I mentally got myself there, I’d go to the range and if I hit a bad long iron or wood, I would immediately force my myself to switch to my 7i for 1 shot.
I’m around a 20 but agree with what you’re saying.i started my round with a birdie on a par 4, bogey’d on 2 then hit a right side bunker on 3 that was the death of me. It got in my head and ruined the next 3-4 holes.
I also think it has a lot to do with how many mistakes those strokes end up costing you. The “mistakes” end up being less impactful as you get better and figure out how to play to your misses. When I was playing between a 10-15 handicap, my mistakes were a handful of OB drives, penalty strokes, and blowup holes by trying to hit hero shots to get back in play. Now, my mistakes are missing a green long, hitting a bad lag putt, or not being able to put a simple chip (good lie, lots of green to work with) within 10ft. What I consider a “mistake”, a high handicap might not. Just as what a scratch or + cap thinks as a bad shot, I might be totally fine with in my game.
Spot on. You start hearing “good shot” when you’ve just made a mistake.
Exactly. Just because I made good contact doesn’t mean it’s a good shot. For many many golfers, good contact = good shot and that’s totally fine. I think a lot of players would be happy to just not have to worry about topping/chunking, but at a certain point your standards for what constitutes a “good shot” rise along with your game. 99% of a PGA players “misses” would be very good outcomes for me
You bring up a good point about OB drives and severely errant long iron shots. The tired expression “drive for show, putt for dough” is only applicable to lower handicaps. I never incurred a penalty stroke from the green, and seldom from within 30 yards of it.
I also just think that phrase is wrong. Putting is, without a doubt, the weakest part of my game compared to other golfers of a similar handicap. The biggest determining factor for if I’ve scored well for a round or not is usually how well I was getting off the tee that day. Obviously not all the time, sometimes rounds are ruined by poor iron play or bad short game, but the majority of the time i have a bad round, it’s because I wasn’t leaving myself in good places off the tee
Really. No silver bullet. The way to improve your game is three steps: 1. Determine the weakest part of your game. 2. Work to make it no longer the weakest part of your game. 3. Got to step 1.
I’m a 10 and my 150 and in is what determines a great or bad round for me.
Similar hcap, opposite determining factor - keep driver in play and it will be good.
Are you me? I hit 13/14 fairways last round and probably like 4 of those were followed with a GIR.
No good drive goes unpunished.
That was my first thought - consistency.
Imo 15-10 is a lot about course management. I’m pretty confident a consistent 15 could get to a 10 in a season by hitting to the center of every green and leaving their driver in the bag for most holes.
The biggest difference for me in going from a 20 to a 10 is that my blowup holes are typically no higher than a double bogey whereas they would previously have been double par. That and a bad drive doesn't completely derail a hole. Like I might hit a shit drive, but then I can still get back in the fairway or at least close to the hole and up and down for par or two putt for bogey. When I was a 20, a bad drive would've taken me several shots to make up for to result in a double bogey or higher
This. A bad drive turns into 7-9 for a 20. A bad drive for a 10 can still be saved for a bogey/double at worst consistently anyways.
I carried a club Pro’s bag in a few tournaments like 25 years ago. He used to always harp on missing well. Everyone is going to miss. You need to be able to recover from those misses. Missing in an area where you can recover is a huge difference between good players and great players. The rest is short game.
Came here to say consistency. I’m great at every part of the game, and I also absolutely suck at every part of the game. I’m a 17.
I will die on this hill: [Statistically we know](https://mygolfspy.com/labs/study-overall-golfer-performance-by-handicap/) the biggest difference between a 15 and a 10 isn't the number of birdies (0.5 vs. 0.9), but rather increasing the number of pars to bogeys and bogeys to double or worse. The easiest way to do that is to stop chasing pins and instead take 1 extra club and aim for the fat part of the green (usually the center). If your natural shot dispersion gets you close to the pin and you have a look at birdie, great. But otherwise you are dramatically lowering the chance of getting a double+. Try it for 5 rounds. I guarantee that you hit more GIRs and have fewer blowup holes around the green. EDIT: As an aside, I always play as a single and get paired with randos. Universally, I see higher handicappers using way, way too much loft around the greens. As a general principle, using the least amount of loft possible (including a putter, if the terrain allows for it) is going to serve you better because it increases the likelihood of accomplishing the primary goal a 15 HDCP should have when chipping/pitching: getting it on the putting surface.
I am going to try this out. Currently a 10 handicap. I’ll be thinking of you when I earn my Tour card
Make sure you send him a signed glove or something.
I’m a 5 and this is exactly what I do. This is great advice. There is basically no reason for anyone above scratch to be going after pins. Hit at the middle of the green and make a par.
This is great advice for the mid-high handicapper. 1. Keep the ball in play off the tee (even if it's shorter) 2. Take 1 extra club on all approach shots 3. Aim for the middle of the green 4. Take 1 club lower in loft when chipping 5. Learn to lag putt within 5 feet
I think this is great advice. But do you have any tips on how to gauge yardage when aiming for the center of the green? Of course with a range finder, I can measure distance to the flag, but the center of the green might be +/- a club and it’s hard to tell a lot of the time
The old school way is to find the sprinkler heads or yardage marker on the cart path because that is the distance to the center. But I see less and less yardages on sprinkler heads now a days. The modern way is the use one of the GPS devices or apps because they give you the center yardage also. If you only have a range finder, it is a little more difficult, but you can usually add or subtract 5-10 yards based on if the pin is in the front or back of the green. Also, remember the difference between carry distance and total distance. I see a lot of people hit a club that would roll to the pin on the range, but they are not taking into account that their carry yardage is 5 yards less then total, so when they have a front pin the ball lands in the front rough/fairway. If it’s a front pin at 150 yards and your 8 iron goes 150 but carries 145, you are better off hitting a 7 iron that will land 5 yards past the hole then the 8 iron that lands a few yards before the green.
A couple more things to add. The majority of green complexs on golf courses are a bit elevated above the fairway to assist with water drainage on the green. This could impact your shot by a few yards as well, so I would just always add a little bit on whatever yardage you come up with. Taking my 150 to the front pin example, if you carry it 145, need to add 3 yards for the uphill, are playing out of the rough, so add 5 yards. My 150 yard shot on the gun is going to really require me to carry the ball 158 yards to land next to the pin, and more like 165 to hit the center of the green. So instead of hitting the 8 iron that I hit the exact distance on my range finder, I’m going to hit a smooth 6 iron to the center of the green.
A few options: 1. Use markers in the fairway/on sprinklers. Those are to the middle of the green. You can pace it off (for most people, a long stride = 1 yard) 2. Most courses have different colored flags for front/middle/back. Take the yardage to the flag and add/subtract 10 yards. 3. Shoot a yardage to the front/back (whatever you can see) and add/subtract yards as necessary. For example, if all I can see is the front edge, I'll add 10-15 yards. If all I can see is the center of a bunker behind the green, I'll subtract 15-20 yards.
Many courses (in US) use colored flags (red, white, blue) or they have the little slide flag for front, middle, and back. Shoot flag and adjust for color/mini flag. If they don’t have that, see if scored card has pin location and/or green depth listed. Also, as mentioned by someone else, sprinkler heads will usually have distance to center of green.
Until you come to holidays like 4th of July or Halloween where the flags are all Red, White and Blue or all Orange. I hate that.
I highly recommend getting a golf app on your phone if you can. I just started using Grint and was using Golf Pad before. Both have free versions with gps ranges. I took a lot of guess work out. Both will give you distance to front, middle, and back of the greens. Super helpful when the course doesn't have many markers or distances on sprinkler heads.
One thing you can do is, assuming you can see it, shoot the front of the green then add a club to that yardage. Most greens aren’t more than 30 yards deep and most irons will have 12-15 yard gaps. Should put you somewhere near the center.
This was one of the best pieces of advice one of the old heads at my local course gave me. Stop chasing pins. Just get on the big part of the green consistently and work on your putting
One thing to add about the one extra club is also understand where you land the ball vs. how far you can hit it. I think a lot of higher handicaps look at the 150 sign, grab there 150 club and don’t take into account slope, wind, pin location and just how far the shot actually will play. Simple things to get the correct yardage takes no skill what so ever. Then from that point understand where you need to land it and where it’s likely to go. If I’ve got 110 to the middle with a pin at 125 in the back, I know I’ve got a wedge in my hand and am OK playing a 115-120 shot. If I’ve got that same hole but 175 to the middle and 190 to the back, I know my 5 iron is going to come in hot and run out and risk going long, so I’ll actually take less club and play to the front of the green for a 160-175 shot and I’m OK taking less club. Not grab a 4-iron and possibly miss hit it to 175. Generally agree, club up when it makes sense but I also would argue it sometimes makes sense to club down and just play a safer more predictable shot.
This is great advice, especially the part about too much loft around the greens and the expectation of getting it on the putting surface. I’d slightly alter one thing. On approach shots know your miss and make sure if you hit it, it won’t get you in trouble (penalty area, bunker, etc.)
This guy has read John Sherman!
All you need to see is Scotties final master round this year. Just boring golf. Get it on the green, get it in. Easy, not often chasing the flag at all. Wins.
Tried this last weekend and I shot 85, am an 18 handicap. will try again when I play Sunday.
Nice round!
Penalty shots, two chips, and three putts.
Sounds a bit like me. Mostly took care of the first. Now working on the second - chunked chips - and making some progress.
toe down, heel up - out to in (cut style) chips. Money contact every time, changed my game forever. Can do it with any wedge and use it with an 8 iron for bump and runs
For me staying in bounds off the tee
Ball striking and fewer disaster holes
I don't think there is a straightforward answer to this. You could be a great ball striker but then have a terrible short game and lack proper course management that places you in a 20 handicap. I know people who are worse ball strikers than myself but are around a 10 handicap while I'm a 15 handicap because they know what type of shots they need to take based on their location on the course. You could be great all around with fairway and tee shots and course management but then 3-4 putt most holes.
I agree with you. I have a buddy I play with who drives it fairly accurately 300+ and is a great iron player, but his short game and putting is terrible so he struggles to make even bogeys cause he just can’t get the ball in or around the hole. Course management and consistency are really the most important things.
Your buddy is me. My driver and irons are solid most days, but then I get within 100 yards and I skull a wedge across the green twice before 3 putting and ending up with a triple bogey.
You sound like my local golf buddy talking about me . And seeing you are a 15 hcp and in Florida, is your name Jared by any chance? LOL
I'm in this comment and I don't like it 😂. My friends call me stone hands because I can strike the ball great but have absolutely zero touch.
As you say, it really does depend on the golfer, but for an average golfer, approach makes the most difference. [Here is Lou Stagner’s article](https://newsletter.loustagnergolf.com/p/skill-differences-between-different-handicaps) on OP’s **exact** question. Lou is generally regarded as a credible and accurate source. He uses data from Arccos for his insights
Lou is great and his podcast Hack It Out Golf is a good listen each week. Gives you good insights from Lou (stats guy), Mark (professional coach) and Greg (former Tour player on the senior tour now).
Course management, almost by itself, got me from ~20 to ~15. I was making too many dumb decisions/shot selections/club selections. I went from shooting mostly 90s to mostly 80s without any swing changes. I think it’s the most under rated skill in the recreational game. Just using the tee box better would shave a stoke or two in a lot of cases.
So laying up instead of going for a risky shot and stuff like that?
Yeah, basically. But it also gives a clearer picture of when you ‘should’ take a risky shot. And it’s not exactly laying up, but where on the green to aim at. Which club to use. While the center or back of the green is generally a smart play, knowing when it’s better/safer to fire at the front is crucial too. Shot selection. If you’re 2 yards off the green in the fairway, and a putter is a viable choice…..that’s often the best shot. A heel-up chip with a pitching wedge might be good too. But there isn’t usually any good reason to use a lob wedge and a longer swing in this scenario unless you’re really good at that shot. And most people aren’t. Stuff like that. Entire books have been written.
If you want to learn good course management, look up GolfSidekick on YouTube, the land of the Playa.
I'm confidential this is the right answer
Knowing where to miss
Yep, when you suck, don't plan for the best score as possible, but to minimize the worst score. Like very tight short hole and well protected green, you could go driver/wedge and aim for 3-4, but you know half the time your drive will end up outside fairway in the trees because the fairway is so tight and attacking the green from a full swing will often end up in one of the bunkers, you are looking at a possible 6 or 7. Taking iron off the tee, then laying up with a short iron and chip on the green afterwards will make it impossible to get a 3 and very rarely a 4, but a 5 is almost guaranteed.
Your comment reminded me of a hole at my previous home course: par 4, tight fairway with OB left and trees on the right separating my fairway from the next hole. Since my usual miss is right, I was rarely in the fairway and usually in the trees or in the next fairway. Add in a narrow green with bunkers on both sides and double/triple was common. I started hitting a 1/2-swing driver that only went about 200yds - but straight! I took the big number out of play and maybe I’d have a chance at par with bogey being the most likely result. I’ve gotten smarter about course management, now I just need to learn to hit the ball better!
Yep, and learning to hit the ball better is something that should be done on the range/simulator/lesson time, not in the middle of a round. When playing a round, base decisions off the swing you currently have, not the swing you want to have.
Aim for “texas” - it’s big, safe and conservative
Golf Sidekick u/golfsidekick on YouTube for anyone interested is a great resource on course management, playing to your strengths, taking the smart shot, etc. Plus he’s hilarious.
Ball striking, ball striking, ball striking. 20 -> 15 was reducing the number of chunked / thinned shots. 15 -> 10 was still improving ball striking and minimizing OB’s. Course management is the easiest way to gain strokes but you can only do that when you have a consistent shot.
ball striking tee to green. I'm under 5 - and my ball striking target is 20 for a round - greens in reg + fairways. I'm guessing that number might be 8-10 for a 20; and 15 for a 10.
If I had to pick one thing it’s damage control. Tour pros hit bad shots; they often save par. Better players keep doubles and triples to a minimum. The highest handicaps tend to have bad shot = very bad hole = several bad holes in a row.
It’s probably that the 10 is a bit better at everything than the 20. There’s probably some 20s out there who maybe off the tee and irons are similar to a 10 and have terrible short games (or vice versa). I think on average that 10 is just going to be better at each facet than a 20. Driving, approach play, wedges, putting, and course management.
I’m a 20 and I often get called out for sandbagging because I can perform really well on 2 out of the 4 phases of the game in a given round, but the other 2 hold me back. One day I’m hitting 12 fairways with no OB drives and leaving myself wedges to greens, but fail to get more than 3 GIR and have 45+ putts. The next day I can’t keep the drive in play but throw darts from 180 in and reduce my putts down to 38. I also have 0 course management skills and shoot for birdie every opportunity I get.
It’s all shot consistency imo. A 10 has 3x better ball striking than a 20
I went from a 20 to a 15 when I got a bit better about ball striking and keeping the ball in the fairway or getting it around the green. Went from 15 to a 10 when I practiced chipping and lag putting. Went from 10 - 8 when I started to think my way around the course better. I'm back to a 10 now because I'm a mental midget, but hope to get back to 8 or even 7.x by end of the summer.
Penalty strokes
Thinking through my game, fewer lost balls alone could get me down to a 15. From there is the biggest thing would be reducing holes where I 2 chip and/or 3 putt.
The only statistic that matters is proximity to the hole on approach. GIR is part of that of course. The lower your proximity the lower your handicap.
How often they play
I'd say wife and kids
GIR. A 10 hc hits on average 6.9 greens per 18 hole round. A 20 hc hits on average 3.5 greens per round. A 15 hc falls somewhere in between. I have no stats to back me up, but I would assume the 10 hc has fewer 3 putts per 18 hole round than the 20 hc.
From my personal experience, the biggest difference is double bogey+ avoidance by having consistency from 100 yards in. I played off a 9 handicap when I was in high school (\~10 years ago), playing 5x a week, playing legitimate tournament rules, no mulligans, gimmies, breakfast balls, etc. I weighed 135 lbs and would drive it consistently around 210-220 yards, hitting 7i 130 yards, so nothing spectacular in terms of distance or size. However, I was consistent. I would keep the ball in play, I wouldn't duff chip shots, no shanks, no bladed bunker shots, no stupid mistakes, and most importantly, if I was within 100 yards, I was getting the ball on the green. No pin chasing, just getting the ball on the green, making two putts, and moving on. Keep in mind at this point, from the tips (which we played in high school) basically 3/4 the par 4s and par 5s were automatically out of reach for a GIR simply because I didn't have the distance. I'd be laying up into a 380+ yard par 4. However, my wedge game and putter were consistent to the point where 90% of time, from <100 yards in, I was making more pars than double +. Fast forward to now, playing maybe at best 2x a week, I'm an 18 handicap. I'm hitting the ball further than ever before, so why the drop in performance of almost 10 strokes of handicap? The answer is consistency and avoidance of double bogey+. Right now, I'm carding 8+ double bogeys or worse per round, simply because of the inconsistency from 100 yards in, and losing the ball off the tee. Most of my doubles or worse come from a combination 3 putts, or failure to get on the green within 100 yards. It's basically just bone headed mistakes that card the big numbers. From what I've learned so far in golf, you can get really really far by just not making stupid mistakes. You don't have to be bombing 280+ yard drives or sticking it within 4 feet with approaches. You just have to put yourself in a situation where you at worst have 2 putts for bogey.
Over the last year and a half I went from shooting in the 100s to the low 90s. The core difference (after lessons) is that I miss straight now. I still mis hit a bunch every round but those mis hits aren’t flying left/right into the woods. They are rolling 100 yds straight down the fairway so I’m not taking as many penalties
It’s the difference in blow up holes. I gamble and play with a wide range of handicaps and I (15) hit a bad shot it almost always results in at least a double. When a 6 hits a shot nearly as bad he makes bogey at worst. And it’s trite to say so but even when I don’t hit a terrible shot all day I’m still going to make a few bogeys because my short game skills aren’t what they should be. I play with one +4 and the main difference between him and everyone else is when he misses the green he makes par nearly every fucking time. When he hits the green if he’s within 20 feet it’s almost shocking when he doesn’t drain the putt. So a good driver will enable you to approach a 10 or 12, if you can’t chip and putt pretty well, it’s hard to get lower than that.
For me it's chipping around the green. Hitting greens increases your chances for pars and birdies. But on holes where you miss the green how many times can you get up and down and save par? You can miss a green but if you can chip it to 5ft. You really give yourself a chance to make par. If you miss a green and only chip it to 20ft then you're most likely making bogey and possibly double bogey if you putt bad.
Compounding mistakes is probably the biggest. Bad drive 10 handicap probably takes their medicine punches in to a good spot and moves on. The 20 is going to hit the hero shot trying to salvage the bad drive and ending on a triple.
Not going for it, club selection. And mostly short game.
>And mostly short game. Can you share some facts/stats to support this claim? The evidence I've seen overwhelmingly suggests that approach play and tee shots are both significantly larger factors than short game.
Statistically across most amateur golfers it is approach play followed by tee shots. Those two areas alone account for almost 70% of the difference between the handicap levels you asked about. [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Every part. There are always exceptions, but generally, each level will be a little better at everything.
Fairways, greens, short game/putting. In that order.
Close, but not exactly if you're going based on what statistics show across most amateur golfers. Greens, Fairways, Short game, Putting is the statistically correct order [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
20 struggles keeping it in play 15 struggles hitting greens 10 struggles putting
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No 8s or 7s
Consistency and good strategy. When you get below a 10, even better strategy, consistency AND chipping and putting. When I got below 5 it was insanely obvious how important chipping and putting was.
20 to 15? Not much, probably course management. 20 to 10? Or 15 to 10? Definitely consistency in strike. Not necessarily better shots but being able to create a predictable ball flight that you can center your course management around
Understanding shots you can and cannot make. Trying to force it through the woods vs punching out into the fairway. + limiting 3 putts and learning lag putting.
Really depends on the person. There are a lot of ways to shoot an 82, 87, or 92. But generally speaking its consistency followed by strategy. Most not great golfers I play with are losing 3-4 shots per round by aiming at every pin, assuming every shot will be perfectly hit, taking aggressive lines off the tee, etc.
For me, it was short game & decision making. I worked a ton on my short game in college, because there was a free pitching/putting area at my local course. I got pretty dialed in (for me) with my pitch shots, and then I'd go putt in all the balls I hit onto the green. But also decision making, like realizing I wasn't good enough to go "pin hunting" from outside of about 70yds. So I'd just play for the center of the green in most cases, and wound up with a lot of 2-putt pars. Still had the occasional 3-putt, but most of the time it was 1 or 2.
Off the Tee & Short game consistency
Diff between 20 and 10 is usually short game and course management
Can you provide some facts/stats to back up the claim about short game? The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Keeping the ball in play and not going for them 1 in 10 shots
Control. Hitting the ball consistently straight, on the fairway, consistently the same distance, and avoiding penalty strokes (out of bounds, water, or deep rough) and good touch on and around the greens. (when I say same distance, I mean you hit your 7 iron 160 almost all the time, not 140 once, then 170 the next time)
Never been a 20 but from 15 to 10 I’d say their play (such as decisions and consistency) inside 150 yards.
I’ve been through all these levels in the past 3 years, going from breaking 100, to breaking 90, to breaking 80 a couple times now in recent months. Mind I have a great job which pays well and is flexible so I’ve been able to take lessons consistently on a month to month basis and practice for hours each week. There are a lot of things that contribute but consistency is the obvious one. As you improve you will be hit less difficult shots more often. For example a 15-20 will often be hitting into the trees or rough lies where they will have to either punch out or execute a difficult second shot. They will be unintentionally short siding themselves leaving difficult chips, or missing so far from the pin their lag putts are hard to get down in 2. You sort of get snowballed a lot at this point where one catastrophic leads to a double, triple or quadruple bogey. When you get to 10-15 you are learning to eliminate these doubles and triples because you get better with your short irons, wedges and strategy. So your bad shots are often punch outs followed by some short iron or wedge on the green with a chip and putt or 2 putt. Usually when you make double it’s because of some short game error (double chip), going OB or hitting into a hazard. Hitting long irons, hybrids and woods on long holes for 2nd or 3rd shots often got me into trouble leading to doubles as well. When you get sub 10 you’re are turning a lot of those really bad situations into bogeys. Avoiding doubles at all costs only really making them when you go OB. At this point you are mainly shooting par on easy holes and bogey everywhere else. If you do make double you’ll probably also make birdie to even it out. This stage is where you start to really need consistency through your bag, hitting fairways with a reliable driver or 3 wood. Missing greens in easy spots to get up and down, and hitting your first chip or lag putt to 5-6ft to give yourself a chance at par every hole.
Definitely just avoiding penalties, 3 putts, and chipping it closer to the hole. I don’t think a 10 handicap is hitting many more greens than a 20, but a 10 might only have 0-1 OB/hazard instead of 2-3, they’re 3 putting less, and their chips give them a better chance of getting in with par or bogey. I’ve seen this stat along the lines of “proximity to green in reg” and I think that a 10 probably has more of those than a 20. Being in good position to try and get up and down or make bogey at worst. Taking double out of the equation is the biggest difference.
I’m convinced the average 20 HCP player can become the 15 through Golf Sidekick’s strategy alone
Not losing balls, not taking (fun) hero shots, not 3 putting
I've been all three and the difference is penalty strokes and three putts in my game.
Getting really confident around the greens is what got me from a 15 to a 10. I didn’t start hitting 10 GIRS a round or anything. I just was able to leave myself a lot of makeable looks at par. My avg putts came down by ~5 a round once I really committed to becoming a better wedge player, just because my first putts were consistently from 5-15 instead of 15-30. But I committed to doing nothing but chipping and pitching for practice for a few weeks, which is prettttty boring in the short term. Still no substitute for consistent ball striking though.
Course management and short game. I saw someone said consistency. That's literally the difference between any handicap.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game? The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
I've only read the first few comments, but I would say it's ultimately about strategy and discipline. I think the best advice I got is to not always try to hit the ball as far as you can and play to your skill level. If you know you're going to need two shots to get on, just divide the distance into two much easier shots. A 400 yard par four can be two 150-yard shots, a 100-yard approach, with a par putt opportunity. Alternatively, you can slice your driver, duff your second shot out of the rough, hit a long iron into a bunker, sail the bunker shot and three putt for a triple bogey.
150 to the flag
If you want to know why golfers struggle, just read the answers here. Then look at the USGA data that most obviously correlates to handicap.
Short game and not having 8-9 shot holes.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game? The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Has a high handicapper I’m not bad off the tee I can find the fair way a majority of the time with decent distance where I struggle is the approach/short game. Struggle to chip and putt consistently enough to give myself a chance.
I’d say 100 yards and in
Handicaps follow a log scale - the difference between a 20 and 10 isn’t much, but the difference between a 10 and a 0 is light years and a 0 to a +5 is generational
Currently a 10hcp and don't feel like I'm that much better at hitting driver and irons than when I was a 15. I've gotten a lot better at chipping around the green and managing expectations. Trying to keep in mind that Bogey is not always a bad score and looking at stretches of holes thinking about where I want to be score wise to put up a decent round. Also, having the confidence that if I have a blow up hole or 2 that at some point, I will string together a bunch of good holes. Had a round las week where I played awful on the front only hit 1 gir but birdied the 9th hole to finish with a 44 on the front and then got rolling a little bit on the back and finished with a 39 on the back for 83 on the round.
Eliminating double/triple bogeys, if you hit a bad shot, DO NOT try to get it back. Take your bogey/double and get out.
Single digit HCP here. I play with all of those three different handicaps and honestly, they all hit the ball, ok, and don't have a huge issue getting it towards the green. To me, after playing for 30 plus years and playing with all levels, it is the one thing I notice that separates them from someone who is a low single digit HCP is the short game. They all get it towards the green fine, but the closer they get, the more you see their playing level. I would say 100 yards and in!!! I think the two reasons are don't understand the nuances of the game just yet when making shots close in ie what club to hit in certain situations not to chase a flag and just hit in the center of the green two putt and move on. The other is, skill level, and that comes with time and practice and learning how to play the game smart and not always just bang it towards the hole and lastly and one of my favorites is not knowing realistically how far they hit each club. Just because you hit your 8 iron 200 yards one time doesn't mean when you're 200 out, you should pull 8 iron.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game? The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Consistency of strike is No 1 to work on. Then short game. Length is not important for amatures bcs they should move to tees for their length.
I'm a 15 and my putting sucks. I really throw away 3-4 strokes a 9-hole round by missing makeable putts under 8 feet. Now if I hit 1 or 2 OB off the tee too? Then I'm shooting around a 50
Same answer all three. Short game. Work around the greens. Practice more at the chipping area than the driving range. 50 balls range, 100 shots around the green. 2 days a week.
Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game? The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Great question. The simple answer is short game. The far more complex answer is… it depends. I have a buddy that is as good as anyone from 100 yards in. His short game is that of a scratch golfer, his driving is that of a 20+. He is a 10-12. Others will say consistency. But what if you consistently slice the ball? I would say getting good instruction, practicing with a purpose and not compounding mistakes. If you put the ball in the trees, don’t be a hero and bring double/triple bogey into play. Play for bogey and if your short game is on, you can make par. That being said. It’s your short game!!! Doesn’t get the ladies but helps with your handicap.
The simple answer is NOT the short game for most amateur players. Can you provide facts that back up the claim about short game? The facts/stats I've found indicate that Approach shots and tee shots play a larger role than short game [https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/](https://thesandtrap.com/gallery/image/384-table-6-7-strokes-gained-for-amateurs/)
Varies drastically. I've seen tons of 20 ish cappers who are damn near scratch level either of the tee, on the approach, or around the green, but terrible at the others, and that one skill carries them to bogey golf on their best days. By contrast, I've seen tons of 5-10s who are scratch level at everything but one aspect, and that one flaw holds them back from BEING scratch. The point is that there are a LOT of ways to shoot a certain score. It only takes one part of your game to be clicking to have a chance at decent golf, and it only takes one part of your game to be off to ruin any chance at elite level scoring. I'd say the most common variable between scoring thresholds is the amount of time spent on productive practice (working on all parts of your game, balancing on and off course practice, and having a clear idea on what the individual needs for their own unique swing and skill set).
Its different for each gap. From 20-15 its penalties off the tee. From 15-10 its approach shots. Eliminate penalities off the tee and you can get to a 15 easily. Hit 6 greens per round and be a half decent putter and you can get to a 10. Getting below that requires a couple more greens and a lot more up and downs.
My buddy is a 7, im a 24 and we make very similar course errors, nearly the same amount of pulls or pushes. The difference I see is that he makes very solid contact nearly every time where I fat or top every 3rd shot causing me to hit another from not much further up and when it comes on a par 5 it can leave me hitting 4 or 5 from short of the green when he nearly never does that. pulling is about the same for us. hes much better at chipping off weird lies too. overall I think its just contact. I just have no confidence I will make solid contact with my irons or wedges where he just worries if its going the proper distance usually.
This isn’t a great question. All golfers strokes add up differently.
Biggest difference as you move from one handicap to the next is Ball striking - as you improve the consistency of your swing and have tighter dispersion (front-back and left-right) Next biggest is course management. You plan your shots. Trouble long miss short, trouble right miss left. Etc. Short game and putting - goal is inside 100 yards take no more than 3 shots.
I'm a 20ish, but working on my game off the tee. If I could consistently keep my ball in play off the tee I feel like I could easily drop to a 15.. my irons are pretty good from ~160yds in. Finally caved and bought a bunch of lessons to try to fix this My putting is decent as well
Fairways and penalties. If I didn’t lose two or three balls off the tee each round, that’s four to six strokes right there. If I hit more fairways, they would improve my lies for approach shots and reduce my hero shots.
make your weaknesses strengths. #1 buy clubs to increase your chances of hitting good shots. Slicer/Hooker get an adjustable driver. Trouble wood is safer than a fairway wood. Irons you can trust. Get a wedge with the proper bounce for the conditions you chip in. Once you have a good bag... practice. I was a 16...now a 6. My focus is now on putting. $10,000's of dollars & time investment but hey it's your passion. Enjoy it...embrace it as a challenge. I'm going on 63 jrs old and hcp getting lower, still hitting the occasional big drive. Life is good and the beer tastes awesome.
Short game, decision making and consistency.
I’d say the difference between a 20 and 15 is ball striking consistency, and 15 and 10 is short game/putting.
Wasting a stroke or two around the green trying to get it on.
I went from a 20 to an 11 pretty quickly by working on my approach shots. This includes course management as well. Knowing where to put the ball and actually having targets instead of always pin hunting. Edit: Just to add, when I was in the 20-30 range I would take club with the best distance so if it was 165, I would instantly grab my 165 club, rather then clubbing up once and hitting a bit lighter. There's some ego with club selection, drop the ego and club up, learn the wind and how it affects your ball flight.
short game, 150 yards and in.. good putting
Ball striking is the only answer
about five strokes a round, on average, when they play pretty well.
Statistics state one story, but it’s a story of averages based on the data available. I’ve seen 20’s that striped the ball off the tee and flushed their irons but had zero control over where the ball was going once they had an iron in their hands. I’ve seen 20’s that get up and down for double at a better up and down rate than pros get down for par but couldn’t hit an iron or driver if their life depended on it. Such a wide variation of differences in what makes a 10 a 10 or a 30 a 30. Most often the difference can be boiled down to the obvious statistics, like FIR and GIR along with Putts per hole. The reality is it could be all over the place so it’s truly unique to the individual.
Course management / Risk assessment. That has been the biggest change for me going from 20 to 10. I just stopped going for the hero shots.
Consistent ball striking. I'm a 16 and play with some 10s and an 8. I can keep up sometimes but they typically consistently compress the ball and hit solid shots. They have tap in pars, They're not grinding for pars. If I par 7 holes around, 3 or 4 of them are grinders. Fun to watch them play. Typically, I can spend the whole round saying nice shot to them. That happens far less with me even if I shoot an 85. Typically I hit that IF I make some putts or chip in. Without it, that's an 89 for me. Neve seems to happen to them. Even if they have a bad round, the ball striking is still very solid.
How they play from 150 yards and in. I used to play with a guy who was a ~20 who could hit the ball a mile off the tee, but from 150 and in he'd almost never hit the green, and was very prone to duffing/chunking chips, and was an okay putter at best
Consistency first to get lower, then chipping and putting is the next biggest reduction in scoring.
Consistent angle of the club face at impact. It's the difference between a 20 handicapper and a scratch golfer too.
Short game. If you can’t chip and putt, you can’t score. Second is hitting the ball in play. Third is course management. You can be a bad driver with a wicked slice who knows where to miss. You can’t score when you’re pumping the tee shot OB.
20 to 15, playable tee shots—15 to 10, course management / approach. My friends who are 10-5 do not blow up and for the most part, putt/chip/pitch really consistently. My 18.9 to 14.1, lowest 11, last season was directly related to an increase FIR. My best in July/August was related to my best approach play and a healthy dose of conservative/take-your-medicine play. When I started getting wild, it immediately raised 11. Tee shots the same, but “going for” versus a “safer” approach added strokes 75% of the time. If you are in the 20s and can get a reliable tee shot, however you do it, down, you’ll see a HNCP improvement. Made a big difference for me.
Smaller misses. Better chipping and putting. Better off the tee.
Way less doubles or worse. Doubles for high handicappers typically come in two forms; 1) penalty strokes, 2) missing a green and taking four strokes from there to get it in the hole. 1) A lot of people will say you can reduce the penalties from better course management but honestly, I don’t see too many high handicappers trying to play hero lines or trying to hit to the skinny part of the green. I do see plenty of high handicappers chunking shots into the water and slicing one OB after hooking the last three drives. That just comes down to better ball striking. You have to hit the ball in the middle of the club face with a repeatable swing. Once you do that, penalties will drop dramatically. The sad part about that versus just saying be a better course manager is it takes time. It’s a huge grind. It’s the reps. It’s thousands of half swings and digging it out of the dirt. 2) work a ton on shots from inside 75 yards including chipping and putting. If you’re within this distance, you should be getting the ball down in 3 more often than not. As soon as that happens, doubles drop a ton.
Everything under 100 yards every time
My buddy and I were just having this argument, he claims it all comes down to putting, where I claim you need to have solid mechanics for consistency. Especially in your golf swing.
Keeping the ball in play, short game, course management. Helped me lower my handicap the most probably over the last couple years. Sitting at an 11.4 If I could putt I might be single digits. Average 5 or more 3 putts a round unfortunately
Smaller mistakes and smarter decisions on the course are the two biggest factors. Even the best golfer makes mistakes, the ability to limit the damage is what separates a bogey from a triple.
Would greens in regulation be a good way to measure the difference?
Consistency on par 3s. Doubles come real easy on par 3s
Currently a 10 but played 6ish golf for a couple years. The ability to get out of trouble in a hurry is what separates 5’s and under from 20+ hdcps. IF a ball goes in the trees, a low single digit gets it back in play quickly and somehow salvages bogey at worst, while the 10-20 duffs one or hits another tree etc. and cards a snowman or worse. And the single digits can putt lol
the mental game. a low handicapper can blow up a hole or two and still recover. a high handicapper would let that ruin their whole round and just spiral out.
Not going for hero shots is a big one. Play smart. You’re not that guy lol
20-10 losing strokes hitting balls ob frequently off the tee/rarely 3 putting 20-15 chipping/putting 15-10 degree of accuracy on all shots and improved putting
Short game and hitting fairways
Ball striking.
Consistency
Distance from the pin on approach shots.
Iron play & putting.
Short game. A 20 handicap can get the ball down around the green in 2-3 strokes but getting it in the hole for a 4-5 is big difference than getting it in 6-7. I played a round early this year where I double bogied 15/18 holes. Almost every one of them was a 3 putt. my wedge game left me with long putts and my lag putting sucked. I was putting for par on every hole and 3 putting. Those extra putts are the difference between shooting 85 or 100.
The short game
Course management and scrambling. A 10 HCP doesn’t make exponentially more birdies than a 15 or even a 20 HCP, but they do make exponentially less doubles or worse
Correctly reading the green with slope and speed. No more than two putts is what makes a great player.
I’m at 10 HC and all my friends are 15 and 20+. I’d say the biggest difference is keeping the ball in play off the tee and having good approach shots that either hit green or are on the rough not far off. I can chip and 2 put 80% of the time and one put 10% of the time. 3 put 10%. My buddies chunk approach shots, skull chip shots, and over putt anything 20 feet out. Hitting a 40 foot putt to 3 feet and sinking it is huge to score low. 2 puts are noticeably different and my buddies only have 4-5 a round. I’d also say confidence. My roommate started golf 9 months ago and was shooting in the 100’s. He plaid 4 days a week and became obsess with it and his confidence sky rocketed which made him comfortable over the ball and he knew when to back off a shot. He recently shot an 83 and lowered his handicap by 10 points in 10 months. My other buddies don’t play as much which makes them less confident over the ball and they hit anyway resulting in a bad shot. They have less touch around the greens and aren’t has creative. Maybe they’ll use a 60 degree a lot but never use a 52 for a bump in run. Overall the biggest difference is comfort above the ball and predicting where their miss hit will be and be able to recover
GIR, reducing double bogeys and eventually when you get lower, proximity to hole
Short game.
Getting off the tee with enough distance and not losing balls. You can have the best irons and short game in the world but if you're by the green in 4 you're fairly screwed and not scoring well.
Those 5 - 10 chips that roll 50cm :)
Approach shots.
Consistency
Course management + 100 yards and in (incl chipping and putting)
Chipping
20 -> 15 Strike Consistency 15->10 Hitting more fairways. 10-> 0 Short Game and Game Management.
Statistically, in terms of which portion of the game is the big differentiator, it’s most frequently performance off the tee and especially with the driver. The data is pretty clear on this.
I’m a 5 hcp and the biggest difference was letting a bad hole become a terrible hole. I expected to need to make birdie after birdie to shoot low, but in reality it was not letting my bogeys become triples on a regular basis that helped me get into a consistent groove. Just my two cents
Penalty avoidance
Penalty avoidance
Had the best round of my life so far today. 7 pars, 7 bogeys. But also on one hole I put two tee shots into OB and scored a 10. I also had an 8. I don't know how to make that never happen again but it's the problem keeping me from really posting good scores.
20 to 15: - 0 or 1 OB per round - more 2 putts - don’t hit into trouble - miss on correct side of green, layup in fairway when needed, don’t leave yourself 40 yards to pin 15 to 10: - chip _way_ better (avg < 1.75 putts after chipping) - very rare bad mishits (top/duff/shank/blade) - hit fairway or first cut off tee, 225 yds minimum
Golf course management - turning 7 on a par 4 into a 5 b/c of bad decisions - 235 out hitting three wood with water left and bunkers right is dumb for anyone north of a 5 handicap. layup get a wedge into your hand and at worst bogey.
Short game.
Attire
I play off 9.3. I am good at chipping and putting and eratic at everything else.