Top 5 Tips to Become a Single-Digit Golfer
By Mike Bailey, Content Contributor
If you have a single-digit handicap, you’re better than most.
In the USGA’s GHIN (Golf Handicap and Information Network), you would be in the top 20 percent of golfers who carry official handicaps.
But in reality, if you have a single-digit handicap index (9.9 or less), you’re really among the top 3 to 5 percent of all golfers, because most recreational golfers don’t even have an official handicap.
Generally speaking, golfers who don’t have handicaps are not shooting in the 70s on a regular or even semi-regular basis, so again, if your handicap is single figures, you are part of an exclusive club
Of course, even among golfers with single-digit handicaps, the differences can be great. Tour pros, for example, have plus handicaps (because they routinely shoot under par), usually around +6. That means a decent player with a 9 handicap would be getting 15 shots from a tour pro in a match — theoretically.
Becoming a Single Digit Handicapper is a Realistic Goal
We bring this up to point out that getting to single digits doesn’t mean you have to be anywhere near the skill level of a professional or a scratch golfer whose handicap is 0. In fact, the lower your handicap, the harder it is to improve it. A 25 handicap becoming a 20 is far easier than a 9 handicap getting to a 4.
Also, if you are a single-digit handicapper, it doesn’t mean that your average score is under 10-over par. The GHIN formula calculates your potential, generally based on the differential of your best eight of your last 20 scores. So it’s not uncommon for a 9-handicapper to play golf one day and shoot 77, score in the low 80s most of the time, and balloon to an occasional 90-something that usually gets thrown out when calculating one’s handicap.
What that means is that many golfers can achieve single-digit status if they work on their games with a smart plan.
Hiring an instructor can certainly help, but it isn’t just about improving your swing mechanics. After all, the scorecard doesn’t care how pretty your swing is; it’s just about getting it in the hole in the fewest number of strokes.
Naturally, if you’re a 30 handicap, it’s much tougher to get to single digits. You’ll first have to get your handicap down to the 20s and then the teens. But if you’re, say, a 12-19 handicapper, this goal is probably in reach.
To achieve this, we’ve identified five key areas on which to focus so you can break through. You may already be good in one or two of these, but if you can be competent in all five, your scores should be pretty consistent and not much above par.
1. Become a Better Putter
There’s no quicker way to shave strokes off your game than improving your putting. It’s the one area of golf where an amateur can get almost as good (and sometimes better) than the pros. For some who average 36 putts a round, going to 30 or less isn’t that difficult if they’ve never worked on their putting.
Practicing drills and increasing feel can do wonders, as long as your technique is reasonable. One way to get good at putting is to practice lag putting, which is putting from longer distances to get it to “gimme” range for the second putt. Three-putt avoidance is critical to improving one’s scoring. And so is making nearly all those 3- and 4-footers. Improve in those two areas, and you are well on your way.
Finding the right putter is also crucial. While individual preferences are just that – some players simply can’t look at anything that isn’t a blade, while others insist on a mallet – some putters can make putting easier by design. Well-balanced putters with high MOIs are examples. The L.A.B. putters, which became very popular as of late and are used extensively on the tours, seem to swing by themselves because of these characteristics.
Without fully endorsing L.A.B. putters, it’s been my observation that amateurs who use them seem to putt very well without exception.
And yes, improving your technique certainly can pay dividends, so don’t discount the idea of a putting lesson. But feel is just as important, so spend time practicing on the putting green, and not just before you play a round.
2. Figure Out How to Make Solid Contact
I once heard a tour pro advise that his amateur playing partners should always take an extra club into par 3s. That notion should only apply to players who mis-hit the majority of their shots.
Good players don’t often hit their shots fat or thin. Good players almost always make solid contact. And that’s a big key to playing consistent golf because it means you should have good distance control. It also means that if you need to hit a ball over water or a bunker, you will be able to do that with confidence. And good players never choose clubs based on a mis-hit.
So how do you ensure solid contact? It usually comes with a good setup, nice rhythm, great balance, and having your hands slightly in front of the ball at impact with irons. Most higher handicappers don’t pay nearly enough attention to these fundamentals. If you’re swaying in your golf swing, solid contact will become an issue, but there are lots of other things that can go wrong, too. You don’t have a beautiful swing to make solid contact, but you do have to be consistent in your motion and timing.
And when it comes to solid contact, we’re not just talking about hitting your irons or the driver near the sweet spot. It’s especially important around the greens, with your wedge game, and even the putter. It’s all about hitting the ball first, whether your swing is steep or shallow, and finding the good part of the clubface. If your swing is steep, you should hit the ball, then the turf, taking a divot with your irons. If you come in shallow (more from the inside), you still want to contact the ball first, even if there is little or no divot in front of the ball.
3. Learn from Lietzke; Be Predictable
While great players can usually work the ball both ways, a lot of professionals prefer one shot shape to another. If you tend to hit fades, you should probably hit that shot almost all the time. If you like to draw the ball, try to play that shot.
In his famous book, Golf My Way, Jack Nicklaus talks about why he almost always played the fade and usually aimed 10 feet left of the pin. “If you hit the ball straight, you will have a 10-foot putt. If you slice it 20 feet, you still only have a 10-foot putt,” he said.
Nicklaus could predict with near certainty that his ball would move left to right. Unless he intentionally tried to hook the ball, his ball would rarely move left.
If you slice the ball (and it’s not a ridiculous slice), you can play effective golf, especially if you can do it pretty much every time. One of the most consistent players ever on the PGA Tour was Bruce Lietzke, who learned early on to play one shot shape — a high left-to-right fade that sometimes bordered on a slice.
He could predict his shots so well that he rarely practiced. He would rather go fishing. Yet, he made the cut in 80 percent of the events he entered and never finished worse than seventh on the money list during a PGA Tour career that lasted more than two decades.
So while you might want to get rid of a slice, as long as you are making solid contact and can predict your shot, you can play some pretty consistent golf. It’s the golfers with the unpredictable two-way miss that can get into a lot of trouble. Play your tendency as often as you can.
4. Develop a Consistent Short Game
A typical 9-handicap player probably only averages seven or eight greens in regulation during a round. I’ve had rounds where I’ve only hit five or six greens and still broke 80 because my short game felt good that day, and I was able to get up and down at a high percentage.
Professionals, of course, do this very well. Scottie Scheffler, the no. 1 player in the world, gets up and down around the green nearly 70 percent of the time, which is a result of his skills in bunker play, chipping, short pitches, and putting. The average PGA Tour player does this nearly 60 percent of the time. (Many times, they are getting up and down on their third and fourth shots on par 5s to make birdies.)
You don’t need to have an outstanding short game to be a 9-handicap, but it does need to be serviceable. Maybe you can’t hit a flop shot, but you need to be fairly good at chipping. And yes, you’ll need to be able to hit decent bunker shots, too.
Most golfers rarely practice their short game, opting instead for pounding thousands of balls for countless hours on the driving range. Good players practice their short game as much or more than they do their long game. And they always make short game practice part of their pre-round routine when they can.
Short game can’t be underestimated. I’ve played with many players who aren’t that impressive tee to green, but when they finish the round, they’ve shot a 74 or 75 because their short games are so consistent.
5. Employ a Better Strategy, Mental Game, and Physical fitness
Ah, yes, the decisions you make on the course are crucial. Some of the above have alluded to this very topic. If your natural shot is a fade, play it as often as you can.
Of course, you’ve probably heard that you should take your medicine when faced with a low percentage shot after a wayward drive or such. You have to avoid big numbers if you want to achieve a single-figure handicap truly. Your goal should be to avoid anything larger than a bogey.
However, sometimes that’s not possible, so it’s essential to always work to minimize the damage. For example, if you hit a ball in the water, don’t compound your problems by trying to hit a 1-in-10 hero shot. They usually lead to disaster holes.
Most golfers also don’t think enough about course strategy. For example, if you can drive the ball 250 yards, and you’re on a 310-yard par-4 with trees on the right and fairway bunkers that come into play around 240 yards off the tee, wouldn’t it make more sense to lay up to the fat part of the fairway that’s 100 yards from the green, leaving a full wedge shot of some sort instead of an awkward 60 yarder even if you hit your drive perfectly? Then again, maybe you’re exceptionally good at partial wedge shots, so maybe it would make sense for you to hit driver there. The point is that you should plan a strategy for each hole.
Which brings us to another item. Don’t go flag hunting unless you have total confidence you can work the ball toward the hole without much risk. Many golfers, even skilled ones, are better off aiming toward the center or fat part of the green. For example, if you have a front pin with a bit of a false front, trying to get it close on a 150-yard approach is pretty risky. Aim for the center of the green, and if you hit it a little short, you’ve got a real birdie opportunity. Hit it where you intended, and you still have a birdie putt.
Additionally, the mental game is much about confidence. Play the shots you’re comfortable with, and that will help you play with confidence. Commit to each shot, and when it’s over, forget about it, and commit to the next one.
Good players generally stay positive, and as the old cliche goes, one shot at a time. Don’t get ahead of yourself, and most of all, enjoy the process.
And finally, don’t ignore your body. There are programs designed to specifically help golfers with their physical fitness, which can result in more distance and accuracy. And proper nutrition can play a big role in your stamina as well as your mental attitude and concentration.
Focus on these above strategies, and good things will happen.