Three infuriating mistakes I see amateur golfers always make and how to fix them

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Golf is an incredibly difficult sport to master but the thing is, amateurs make it a lot tougher and more complicated than it needs to be.

With some golf tips from The Golfing Gazette writer Antony Martin, we aim to help you become a better golfer and, more importantly, make the game more fun.

• Read also: 3 key tips to help amateurs improve their wedge games from 100 yards

While there is a lot of advice out there pertaining to the technique of the golf swing, sometimes it’s actually more valuable to know where you’re going wrong concerning things like pre-shot routines or course management.

Why should Brooks Koepka be allowed back on the PGA Tour?

He made his bed, now he should have to lie in it…right?

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In this series, we have identified three key mistakes that amateurs make which can be fixed instantly in order to help you shoot better scores.

* Antony Martin is a former professional golfer who competed on the mini-tours in America. He got down to a plus four handicap before turning pro and represented England at schoolboy level in 2002 and 2003.

Three avoidable mistakes I see amateurs make and how to fix them

The great news is that the three most ridiculous mistakes I regularly see amateurs make out on the golf course are all easily fixable.

Here are the standout mistakes which are so common amongst amateurs and more importantly, how to fix them.

Reading putts and then lining up incorrectly

This one is arguably the most common mistake that mid-high handicappers make out on the golf course.

Most people line up their putts from behind their ball, while some even take a look from behind the hole as well.

That’s all well and good but it means absolutely nothing if you don’t align yourself correctly to the target.

The best way to address the issue of poor alignment when putting is to pick a blade of grass roughly an inch or so in front of your golf ball.

Ensure that the spot you have picked is between your ball and your initial start line of the putt.

This is a much easier way of ensuring that you’re correctly aligned to your target than purely just trusting your eyes.

Not hitting enough club

Perhaps the easiest mistake to fix out of the lot.

The vast majority of amateur golfers come up short with their approach shots. The reason for that?

Firstly, amateurs do not know exactly how far they carry their irons and secondly, they usually take their longest ever distance as the norm.

They may hit a 7-iron 175 yards one day and just presume that’s how far they hit that particular club.

However, it’s all about carry distances. Find out how far you carry each and every club by using a driving range that has TrackMan on offer.

Then put that information into practice out on the golf course.

The other point to make here is that approach play is not a one-size-fits-all policy. The wind, air temperature and your lie will all contribute to how far you will be able to carry your ball through the air.

Get your distances dialled in and then simply hit one more club than you think you need unless the pin is cut right at the back of the green, because missing long would be a really bad mistake in that scenario.

Bunker play – the scorecard-wrecker

Most amateur golfers will have endured their fair shares of absolute disasters in the sand.

Here’s how to cut those silly mistakes out of your game completely.

Trying to ‘lift’ the ball out of the sand

Only bad things come from players trying to lift their ball out of bunkers.

I see so many mid-high handicappers attempting bunker shots with all their weight on their trail side and their shoulders tilted upwards.

The fact of the matter is that when playing bunker shots, your setup should be the complete opposite of that.

Your weight needs to be on your lead side, perhaps split somewhere around the 70/30 mark.

You then need to hit down into the sand around 1.5 inches behind your ball with as much speed and aggression as possible, while maintaining the loft on your clubface.

The more you practice this motion, the more you will trust that your ball will simply pop up out of the sand and land softly on the green.

Golf is not as hard as some people make out. By making those three small adjustments listed above, lower scores could well be lying in wait for you!