Rules 1-5 were about shotmaking. These rules concern thinking about your game and supporting your game.<\/p>\n
Rule Six: figure out what score you expect to make on the hole you\u2019re playing, given your skills, and play to get that score. If you\u2019re not good enough to get a par, but a bogey isn\u2019t a problem, play for bogey and get pars when they come. Depending on your skill level, even playing for double bogey might be the best strategy. Playing for par on a hole that is too much for you leads to high scores. As you improve, you can re-evaluate certain holes, but never overreach. That\u2019s how you throw away strokes needlessly.<\/p>\n
Rule Seven: have go-to clubs and use them constantly. I have a 24\u00b0 hybrid iron that is my ticket to good scoring. It hit it as my second shot on par 5s and long par 4s. I don\u2019t care if it leaves me short sometimes. The ball is always in an ideal position for the next shot. Around the green, I love my sand wedge. Not because it makes me look cool, but because I\u2019ve practiced a lot with it and I know what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n
Rule Eight: identify the one error that\u2019s hurting you most and fix it. I played with a guy who hit marvelous irons, putted well, and had a decent short game, but could not hit the fairway with a driver to save his life. Every drive careened to the right, in the rough, in the trees. He shoots in the high 90s, and if he could just get the ball in the fairway, he\u2019d be shooting 85 and under. We could all improve in every phase of the game, but I\u2019ll bet there\u2019s one flaw that when corrected will turn you loose. <\/p>\n
Rule Nine: be happy. I play much better when I\u2019m having fun with the people I\u2019m playing with. Other players have told me they, too, started playing better when they stopped being so intense out there, and just lightened up. The problem is that we have an overinflated opinion of how good we are because of the good shots we hit. We hit bad shots, too, and they are as much a part of our game as the good ones. So just take what you get and have fun. That\u2019s what the rest of us are doing.<\/p>\n
Rule Ten: get lessons. (1) Go to the range and watch people beat balls. Based on the results you wonder why they even bother. If they would get a few lessons they would be hitting the ball the way they imagine they can. (2) I played with a guy once who was pretty good, but was terrible in that 20-40 yard in-between range. He said, \u201cI just can\u2019t hit these shots.\u201d I thought, \u201cSo why don\u2019t you get a lesson??!!\u201d (3) How many of you get around in 32 putts or less consistently? But a teaching pro I know says he gives a thousand lessons in a year and maybe fifty of them are putting lessons. If you want to play better, GET LESSONS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rules 1-5 were about shotmaking. These rules concern thinking about your game and supporting your game. Rule Six: figure out what score you expect to make on the hole you\u2019re playing, given your skills, and play to get that score. If you\u2019re not good enough to get a par, but a bogey isn\u2019t a problem, … Continue reading Ten Rules For Playing Better Golf – Part 2<\/span>