Most people have a misconception. They feel the main difference between a PGA or European tour pro and themselves is the ability to crush the ball 300 yards off the tee and shape their irons at will. While this is a significant difference between a tour pro and the average golfer, to their scores, this is not the main difference.
Of course, the ability to hit long drives and shape shots helps. However, it is certainly not the main differentiating factor. After all, I know plenty of single figure handicappers who can hit the ball over 300 yards, and they are not going to be getting on tour any time soon.
So, what is the big difference between amateurs and pros?
There’s a quote that you may have already heard.
“it’s not how good your good shots are; it’s how good your bad shots are”
In other words, the thing tour pros do better than elite amateur golfers is grind out good scores despite not having their best stuff on any given day. Tiger Woods himself said that he would be pleased if he hit one perfect shot per tournament (not even per round)!
So how do I get better at grinding out scores when I don’t have my best game?
The best thing to do is to quickly take stock of the situation. If you can sense something isn’t working well. Identify it and decide if you think it’s something you can fix on the course.
For most amateur golfers, it is doubtful they will be able to fix it on the course. Even for tour professionals, it is not wise to work on your swing mid-round.
Strategy for mid to high handicappers
One approach is particularly useful to mid to high handicappers who have shots to play with and thus don’t need to be hitting every par-five green on their second shot.
Dedicate five or ten balls on the range each session to rehearsing an easily performed “safe shot”. The safe shot should be something you can pull out of the bag when you’re struggling with your tee shots or long approach shots. It might be a knockdown hybrid or a punchy four iron. The best type of shot will depend on what you’re most comfortable hitting.
If you’re unsure, go to the range and play around. Perhaps hit some hybrids or four irons to ¾ swing length and focus on putting a smooth swing on them. It just needs to be something you can use to keep the ball in play and keep the enormous numbers off your scorecard.
Not even tour pros hit a driver on every tee shot. Of course, they have the distance to still score well with hybrids and long irons off the tee. But amateur golfers have handicaps that serve the same purpose.
Strategy for low handicappers
The best approach partially depends on how far you hit the ball and the course length you’re playing. Since low handicappers don’t have the shots to use, they still need to focus on getting on the green in regulation and not leaving themselves massive distances into the green.
However, most low handicappers already know they have a relatively safe shot to pull out the bag to keep the ball in play. I currently play off 2, and I know that my 3-wood will consistently go straight or hit a high draw. If my driver is playing up, I know I can always fall back on hitting a 3-wood off the tee.
However, if things are getting terrible, that draw can turn into a hook. Therefore, my strategy is to play a cut down ¾ length version of my 3-wood, which will still give me enough distance to score well but removes the risk of what Hank Haney used to call ‘The Big Miss’ that ruins a scorecard.
My self-identified problem is one of course strategy. I will often get impatient and end up sacrificing my score on that day to work on fixing the issue on the golf course (when I really should just wait until the round is over and go to the driving range).
Try it yourself
So next time you’re on the driving range, dedicate a small part of your bucket to practising your bail-out shot. Then when you are having a bad day on the course, you can keep the ball in play. Then it’s just a matter of waiting until the round is over and you’re safely back on a driving range before getting to work fixing the underlying issue with your swing.