Golf is a game of managing your misses. Oftentimes, the best players aren’t the ones that hit the highest number of great shots but rather the ones that hit the lowest number of bad shots.
A “perfect” shot — for lack of a better word — can change a par into a birdie or maybe even a bogey into a birdie. A bad shot, on the other hand, can have a more drastic effect.
It can take a par and turn it into a double, a triple, or in some cases, a dreaded snowman (an eight). So if you find you’re having trouble avoiding those big numbers, use some of the tips below.
Know Where Not To Miss
Always know where not to miss before you hit a shot. This doesn’t mean you have to assume you’re going to miss your target but you certainly want to plan for it in the event that it does happen. For instance, if there’s water in front of the green, you know you don’t want to miss it short.
So don’t pull a club out of your bag that even has the slightest chance of not making it to the putting surface. Even if your shot ends up behind the green, you can still get it up and down for par. That’s not something you have the chance to do if your ball is in the middle of a pond. Always identify the trouble and play away from it.
Consider the Risk-Reward
Sometimes taking a big risk is part of the game. However, hitting a risky shot without the prospect of a reward is kind of like making a bet in which the only two options are that you lose or break even.
Sometimes, trying to hit a highly difficult shot can add a lot of excitement to your round but it’s always important to not let your emotions get the best of you. Just because you can carry your drive 250 yards doesn’t mean that you have to try to carry a body of water 240 yards out.
Always ask yourself two questions before deciding whether to take a risky shot:
1) What is there to gain if I pull this shot off?
2) What is there to lose if I don’t pull it off?
If the first answer doesn’t outweigh the second, play it safe.
Stay Patient
18 holes might not seem like a lot but it is. Getting flustered because of a bad hole early in your round isn’t going to do you any good. Even very skilled players tend to push to make birdies early in rounds and more often than not, the results aren’t favorable.
Golf is about taking advantage of opportunities when you have the chance and that means staying patient. Don’t take big risks early in a round. Play one a hole at a time and always remember, par is never a bad score.