Breaking 100, 90, or even 80 often feels like it requires some kind of secret swing move. The reality is much simpler: cutting strokes is less about hitting perfect golf shots and more about eliminating the big, costly mistakes. This guide will walk you through the highest-impact areas where you can immediately shave shots from your score, from your pre-shot foundation to smarter on-course thinking.
Many of the worst shots in golf - the slice that flies two fairways over, the top that barely moves - are baked in before the club even moves. A sloppy setup forces you to make a dozen compensations during your swing just to try and hit the ball solidly. We're going to fix that with a simple, repeatable foundation.
Think of your grip as the steering wheel of a car. If it's pointed a little bit left or right when you think it's straight, you'll be constantly swerving to overcorrect. Your hold on the club has the single biggest influence on where the clubface is pointing at impact. Get it right, and you almost don't have to think about it.
Standing to a golf ball feels strange. There's no other activity where you bend over, stick your butt out, and try to perform an athletic motion. But a good setup puts you in a position to be both powerful *and* balanced. If balance is off, consistency goes out the window.
Get this setup down, and you’ve built a machine for consistency. You’re ready to let your body do the work.
Nothing feels better than a purely struck iron shot, and a day filled with them will see your scores plummet. When you mishit an iron - catching it thin or fat - you lose tremendous distance and control, forcing difficult chips or long putts. The secret to pure contact isn't hitting *down* on the ball, it's rotating properly so the low point of your swing happens just *after* the ball.
Many amateurs overcomplicate the backswing with a dozen different thoughts. Let's simplify it to one core idea: it’s a rotation. Your goal is to turn your shoulders and hips away from the ball while staying centered. Imagine you're standing inside a barrel, you want to turn within the barrel, not sway from side to side.
As you begin the turn with your torso, simply allow your wrists to hinge naturally. By the time the club is parallel to the ground, it should be creating roughly a 90-degree angle with your lead arm. You don't need to force this - a good body turn makes it happen automatically. Just focus on rotating your chest away from the target until your back is facing it. That's a full, powerful turn.
Here’s where most handicap golfers go wrong. From the top of the swing, their instinct is to try and *lift* the ball with their arms and upper body, causing them to fall backward. This moves the bottom of your swing arc behind the ball, resulting in fat and thin shots.
The correct move is far more simple:
Mastering this "shift and unwind" sequence is the fastest way to consistent ball-striking, which is the fastest way to lower scores.
You can have a perfect swing, but poor course management will still keep your scores high. Most pars are ruined not by one bad swing but by a bad decision that compounds the first mistake. Good course management is about taking the big numbers off your card.
The pin is not always the target. Amateurs are obsessed with "flag-hunting," but that's what gets pros in trouble, let alone the rest of us. Look where the flag is. Is it tucked behind a bunker? Is there water on that side?
Your goal on every approach shot is simple: hit the green. The easiest way to do that is to aim for the center of the largest part of the green. Getting on the green with a 30-foot putt is infinitely better than short-siding yourself in a bunker because you got too aggressive.
You've sliced it into the trees. It happens. The hero shot - the low hooded 4-iron that has to slice through a 5-foot gap in the branches to find the green - almost never works. What it usually does is clank off a tree and leave you in even worse shape.
The smart play, the one that saves you from a triple bogey, is to take your medicine. Find the easiest, widest alley back to the fairway. Even if it's sideways. Hitting a simple punch shot back into play costs you one stroke. Trying the miracle shot often costs you two or three. One bogey beats one triple bogey every time.
Cutting strokes isn't about some sudden transformation, it’s about making gradual, smart improvements. By focusing on a solid pre-shot foundation, pure iron contact through proper rotation, smarter course management, and owning your misses, you remove the silly mistakes that inflate your handicap.
Making those smarter decisions on the course, especially when you're under pressure or facing a weird lie you've never seen before, can be tough to do alone. This is where modern technology helps bring an expert perspective right to your pocket. For instance, in those tough spots - stuck in the trees or facing an awkward bunker shot - I can use a tool like Caddie AI by uploading a photo of my lie to get clear, dispassionate advice on the best way to play the shot. It helps you take the emotion out of the decision and focuses you on the clear, high-percentage play to save a stroke.
Thinking about hosting a golf tournament fundraiser is the first swing, executing it successfully is what gets the ball in the hole. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from laying the initial groundwork months in advance to watching your happy golfers tee off. We’ll cover everything from securing sponsors and setting your budget to planning the on-course fun that makes an event unforgettable.
A golf handicap does more than just give you bragging rights (or a reason to demand strokes from your friends) - it’s the game’s great equalizer and the single best way to track your improvement. This guide breaks down what a handicap is, how the supportive math behind a handicap index a is, and exactly how you can get one for yourself. We’ll look at everything from Course Rating to Adjusted Gross Score, helping you feel confident both on the course and in the clubhouse.
The compression of a Pinnacle Rush golf ball is one of its most defining features, engineered specifically to help a huge swath of golfers get more distance and enjoyment from their game. We'll break down exactly what its low compression means, who it's for, and how you can use that knowledge to shoot lower scores.
Figuring out which spikes go into your new (or old) pair of Puma golf shoes can feel like a puzzle, but it’s much simpler than you think. The key isn't the brand of the shoe, but the type of receptacle system they use. This guide will walk you through exactly how to identify your Puma's spike system, choose the perfect replacements for your game, and change them out like a pro.
The Golf Genius app is one of the best tools for managing and participating in competitive golf events, but figuring it out for the first time can feel like reading a new set of greens. This guide cuts through the confusion and shows you exactly how to use the app as a player. We’ll cover everything from logging into your tournament and entering scores to checking the live leaderboard so you can enjoy the competition without any tech headaches.
Walking onto the first tee with sweaty palms, worried you’ll be a good partner to paly wtih...or even asked back again ...We’ve all been there - trust me! The real trick of feeling confortable... is about how you handle you’re ready to plsy. THIS guide explains the simple rules of the rode to show you hnow t play golf while staying calm relaxed and focused... an having much morse fun while you,',re aat it? You'll also play with confidence a dn make fiendsa while you're at i
Just ask a question or share a photo and Caddie gives personalized guidance for every shot - anytime, anywhere.
