The three big mistakes amateurs often make when trying to get their handicap down

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Trying to lower your handicap is a notoriously difficult thing to do.

The problem for amateur golfers is that they try to force things too often and regularly make the same mistakes.

Golf is an incredibly hard sport to perfect, and amateurs frequently over-complicate matters.

• Read also: The three most common and easily fixable mistakes amateurs make when hitting bunker shots

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Many golfers dream of getting down to a single-digit handicap and by making small changes, that is a real possibility for most of you.

So let’s look at the common mistakes that most amateur golfers make when trying to reduce their handicaps.

*Antony Martin was a plus-four handicap as an amateur and competed on the professional mini-tours out in America, winning three times.

Three mistakes amateurs make when trying to lower their handicaps

Improving your golf game is not rocket science. It’s often all about making things as simple as possible.

Here are the most common mistakes I have noticed amateur golfers make time and time again on their quest to get their handicaps down.

Trying to gain distance off the tee

The only time that attempting to gain speed and distance is a worthwhile exercise is if an already low handicap golfer is trying to reach another level.

Let’s say if your target is to reach a plus-one handicap and you play off two, then another 10 yards off the tee would certainly help.

However, for 95% of the amateur golfing population, distance is the last thing they should be chasing.

The main problem for mid-high handicappers is that they give away far too many shots through hitting their balls into hazards.

This leads to scorecard-wrecking double bogeys, triple bogeys and worse.

If you really want to get your handicap down, the two things to focus on off the tee are accuracy and course management.

Firstly, get your driver fitted with a shaft and a head that suits your swing. Then it’s a case of practicing hard and smart.

Focus on improving the tempo and rhythm of your swing while getting accustomed to what your natural shot shape is and then work with that, whatever it may be!

Secondly, learn how to play more sensibly. Don’t go smashing your driver off every tee. Find out how far potential dangers like bunkers and water hazards are from the tee either with a laser measuring device or a yardage book from the pro shop.

Then hit the club which gives you the best chance of avoiding the trouble.

Attempting the ‘hero shot’

I see this all the time whenever I play with double-digit handicap golfers.

Golfers with a handicap of 10 or higher need to know their limits in order to improve.

We’ve all hit that hero shot once or twice in our lives right? Perhaps it was a second shot into a par five over water or an incredible flop shot over a bunker to tap-in range.

However, if we were all capable of pulling those shots off all the time, we’d been on the PGA Tour.

High handicappers not understanding their limits often leads to big numbers on the scorecard.

If your ball is sitting down in deep rough, pull out your sand wedge and get it back in play. If you’re left with 250 yards into a green, why not pull out your five-iron and lay up?

The same applies to tricky chip shots and pitches.

If you have any form of trouble between your ball and the hole, just play towards the safe side of the green so that you won’t be bringing any kind of danger into play.

Let’s face it, if you’re a mid-high handicap golfer, you don’t need to par every hole anyway. The most common problem amateurs have with lowering their scores is trying to force shots they are capable of pulling off no more than 10% of the time.

Practice with a purpose

Improving your short game is crucial to lowering your scores…

Mindlessly beating balls on the driving range

There is one sure-fire way to lower your handicap instantly and that is to practice your chipping and putting.

Hitting balls on the range is obviously a good thing but it should only take up 25% of your practice time.

The key to lowering your scores is to prevent silly mistakes like three-putts and duffed or bladed chips.

A solid putting stroke and a sound short game are fantastic equalizers for wayward driving and poor iron shots.

However, when you are working on your chipping and putting, you need to practice with a real purpose.

There is no point mindlessly hitting putts and chips without working on a very specific technique or feel.

For instance, work on your lag-putting. Mid-high handicappers three-putt more than three times per round on average.

So when you’re on the practice putting green, set up around 40 feet away from a hole of your choice and place tees at 10-foot intervals between you and the hole. Start by rolling your ball to the first tee marker and once you’re comfortable with the feeling required for that distance, move on to the next one, and so on and so on.

This drill should drastically improve your feel from long range.

Similarly with your chipping practice, pick a hole cut on a fairly flat portion of the practice green around 10-15 yards away from the edge of the surface. Then walk around five yards away from the fringe and practice shots with different clubs.

This way you can learn the feel required for where you need to land your ball. With a nine-iron, you may only need to land your ball one or two yards on the green, while you might need to fly your ball 10-12 yards onto the green with a 56 degree wedge.

The more time you put into short game improvements, the more comfortable you will feel around the greens. There is no question about that.

The key takeaway here is don’t force things. Work on the shots that really can make a difference to you out on the golf course and learn what you are actually capable of and what you aren’t!