One of the biggest milestones when you're first developing your game is trying to break 50 for 9 holes as ultimately this gives your the confidence to then break 100 for 18! To break 50, you first need to identify what kind of scores you should aim toward per hole. Put simply most golf courses have a Par 36 for 9 holes therefore the aim would be to shoot 13 over or better. This would comprise of trying to have two triple bogeys, two doubles, 2 pars and 3 bogeys.
The key to reducing any scores is always about limiting your bad holes. In this case we are trying to keep your worst score three over or less. To achieve this, our first goal will be to try and hit more fairways. This will often mean leaving the Driver in the bag and choosing a safer option such as a 5 or 7 iron. This is particularly the case if you know that you have an unpredictable slice and that water or Out Of Bounds is all down the right side. If you're going to hit Driver just ensure that the worst that could happen is that you might end up in some trees.
The second is just taking your medicine when in trouble. For example when you're faced with a shot from within the trees, pick a shot that gets you out comfortably even if it means losing distance to the hole. Also when chipping out from the trees, use a low lofted club such as a 5iron and place back in your stance as this will keep the ball flight low. You're primary objective in most trouble situations will be always to keep the ball flight low and play extremely conservative. Once you have significantly reduced your scores and improved your skill, you can then weigh up more higher risk options when playing from trouble.
The last element is choosing a putter with most shots around the green except if it's in long grass. There is often a saying that your worst putt will always be better than your worst chip. This is very true and just have this in the back of your mind whenever you are faced with a chip shot. You could use a putter up to 20-30 metres from the green if you feel comfortable. Also try and aim for a 2 putt average when on the green. This will mean you need to practice your distance putts before you play on the course. I will often step out my putts and then once I know the distance, I can then determine how long and through my putting stroke should be.
If you'd like any further help in developing strategies to reduce your scores, just book a session with myself at David Waters Golf.
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