Any golfer will tell you that on virtually any round they added strokes to their final score. They will tell you with frustration because they can examine their decision and shot making after the fact. When they do, they come to the realization that multiple mistakes were made. I have ventured down this path many times during my golfing journey and sometimes there was a great deal on the line. After much introspection, I have narrowed down two reasons why we add strokes to score in one easy way. These errors are preventable and today I will try to examine how to avoid these score killers.
To provide a bit of perspective, I am not talking about a mishit. This happens to every player and cannot be avoided. You can limit these poor swings through practice and consistent effort. Most single digit handicappers understand that and work on all aspects of their game in order to develop a whole game approach to golf. With this in mind, lets move on to why strokes are added to our score before we realize we made the mistake.
The first mistake most amateurs make is fairly straight forward. Our decision making is base in the emotional quadrant vice the logical one. We become frustrated or upset with a poor shot or decision. Then we compound our first mistake by making another by deciding on the hero shot instead of the smart one. Many times I have tried to make up my first mistake only to add one or two extra strokes to the my scorecard because the percentage of success was very low. I made emotional decisions vice logical ones. Another situation is trying to make a shot that is not routinely in our repertoire. We see a high risk shot thinking it is a high reward shot, but in reality it is just a high risk shot. Good example is trying to carry the your ball 205 yards over water when your max distance on the fly is 215 yards. It seems makeable, however 90% your ball will be swimming. Making emotional decisions vice logical ones is an easy way to add strokes to our game.
The second consistent mistake amateurs make deals with always trying to hit their ball as far as they can all the time. There is no decision making in this approach to golf, just hit your ball as far as possible without thinking. This approach causes more problems for players than they think. Walking to your ball and whacking it regardless of what lies down the fairway is a challenge. Instead of thinking about how to manage the hole, you let your ball fly and let the chips fall where they may. I experience this situation every round and learned to select the club that leaves an easier next shot instead of hoping for a good leave. Such as the image on the left where I finished close to the reeds instead of staying back 15 yards with an open shot to the pin.
Many players believe that it is critical to hit the ball as far as possible as often as possible. This approach is folly for amateurs as they never develop a strong hole management strategy or learn how hit the proper club to limit extra strokes to their score. This second issue is more of a knowledge based approach, but the mishaps will add many strokes to your score in a blink of an eye.
Golf is a simple game and a difficult one at the same time. Experience shows that by managing our emotions and shot selection, we can lower our golf score significantly. Without managing these two challenges, we will add strokes to final tally very quickly. It is easy to fall in to the trap trying to chase a score and just as easy to avoid it. The choice is yours.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!