How to Improve Your Handicap and Golf Game

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Shave strokes off your golf score and improve your golf game.

It’s not always about improving your distance off the tee or perfecting your fairway wood shot.

For years, that was my focus.

I’d head to the driving range and start hitting shots with my driver trying to work on gaining power and distance or work on perfecting my fairway woods.

As I started to play more, I wanted to improve and lower my handicap.

Tracking Your Golf Shots and Trouble Areas

A good friend showed me how to track what I was doing on the golf course.

I kind of had an idea but not anything concrete.

Tracking information like how many times I found the fairway, how many strokes it took to get to the green, what hazards I ended up in, number of chips, number of putts.

These are really important stats to know because you can hone in on where you need practice or help.

Golf Tracking Book

I recommend using a book of some sort to track this and your scores. There are some phone apps and GPS watches that do this as well. I am somewhat of a traditional girl and like to use a pen and paper. I also don’t like to keep taking my phone out on the course during my round. This little book is great because it is weatherproof and keeps everything dry and clean. Golf Tracking Journal and Book.

What I noticed as I started to play more and tracked these numbers was that all my extra strokes were not coming from my driving capabilities or in the fairway.

Focus on the Short Game

It was mostly from within 100 yards. Pitching, chipping around the green and extra putts.

When I seriously looked closely at my own game and started to track the information, it was eye-opening.

3 putting? yep, lots.

A poorly hit shanked chip? yep, more often than not.

Thinking I could get over a right greenside sand trap that was located right in front of the pin? Yep. I’ve done that many times only to land right smack in the middle of the bunker.

And I could have easily laid up or aimed to the left side of the green and not ended up in trouble and saved an extra stroke or two.

Just a few of the ideas to help shave strokes off your score and improve your handicap and golf game.

So, this golf season, if you want to improve your golf score, it would be really good to first track where you might be having problems or issues.

Set Small Golf Goals for Motivation and Success

Then, focus on 1 or maybe 2 areas and see how much you can improve your score. It’s actually kind of fun to set small goals for yourself and try to achieve these. And, it helps with motivation and direction when you are out practicing.

How to Avoid Mistakes in Your Golf Game

Read the article here from Golf.com where single-digit golfers provide small tidbits of advice on how to avoid costly mistakes.

If you can think more on the golf course and know where the strokes are adding up, then you’ll be off to a great start in lowering your golf score, improving your handicap and overall golf game.

Good Luck!

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How to Improve Your Handicap and Golf Game