5 Tips To ELIMINATE Blow-Up Holes And Lower Your Scores! 

Our No.1 handicap hole is a par 5. Many players take a driver and lose their ball off the tee, even though the second shot is a lay-up. I recently started playing a 6 iron and then laying up with an 8. No more blow-ups here! Having noted this change, I shot my handicap score (86) yesterday with 2 triples and a double. I have more work to do!

The straightest club in my bag varies from round to round. 😉

I played at my home course this morning. I made the decision to try and follow the advice in your video. I was also using a driver tip from another channel. Both worked far better than i could ever have imagined. I matched my lowest round ever, I refused a couple of hero shots and on a par 3 where i cleared the green by 20 yards I chose to pitch onto the easiest part of the green rather than risk pitching over a bank and catching the down slope. This was the 15th hole so i was trying to avoid a double as to that point I hadn't had any, I holed the putt for my par !. Then went par bogey par for my first ever round without a double bogey or higher. My playing partners said they'd never seen me hit the ball so consistently. Par 72, shot 10 over 82 off my 16 HC. Thanks.

Brilliant advice, I'm 52 and a 3 handicap, i dont hit the ball miles 250-270 off the tee with driver. I always work the hole backwards to play to 150 yards from the green, anything over 400 yards i struggled, so i practiced my long irons and hybrids and look to get anywhere on the green or within chipping distance looking for the best miss. Ego kills scores no doubt

Good advice. Bad golf course management and ego are card killers. I struggle with both and went from a 10 to a 15 since last spring.

Many great concepts; thanks for those practical reality tips that really take off the pressure, supporting a free swing each time. I think my favorite tip for where my game is at right now is the "you play 18 par-3's" with a few of the holes needing some initial shots to get to your primary focus of the par-3. Since you're used to a par-3 every hole, it not only makes the approach plus a 2-putt to get up and down a normal thing, but it also smooths out the nerves for your actual par-3's. Thanks for these mindset tips. After all, the toughest drive for us to conquer is the distance between our ears. Happy to have discovered your channel. 👍👍

I have been trying this for awhile now and what I have found is that if you take 3 shots to get to at least 50 -70 yds to the green, I better be SURE I can get it close to the hole on that 4th stroke, otherwise, I may need 3 putts and still end up with a 7 or 8. So many times lately, I have a great, straight tee shot with the driver and still end up with a 6 or 7. It really comes down to managing our ego, expectations, and not listening or worrying about our partners laughing at us for hitting it 150 off the tee with an iron. Love golfing single because you can play smart, conservative golf without the haters noise all round. Thanks for your video.

Thanks reminding me to take a look of the hole & have plan for each hole knowing my wedge game is my strong point

Outstanding advice.

When I was a young golfer of 12 years old, I couldn’t break 90. My father took all of the clubs out of my bag that were longer than a 6 iron, and said go play 18 holes. I went out and shot an 84. I learned that distance is not necessarily your friend. My dispersion with my longer clubs became problematic and actually hurt my game. I have now been playing for 61 years, and still struggle with my ego. Not hitting a driver on longer par 4’s or par 5’s is the smart shot, not the ego shot. I’m 68 years old and play to a 7 hdcp. I have been as low as a 4, but now my main struggle is not hitting the ball as far as I used to. I started playing with the intention to lay up to 100 yards,even when I’m only 210 yds out on a par five for my second shot . My personal stats showed me that I had a better chance of making a birdie by laying up to 100 yds, than going for the green. It was incredibly difficult to hit a gap wedge to 100 yds and try to score from there. The difficulty was always my ego. Take your ego out of the game, and play like a pro. I started charting my rounds using the USGA hdcp system. My scorecard contains my score on each hole, hit fairways,or an arrow showing the direction of the miss, hit greens or the direction of the miss left, right, long or short. And number of putts, noting the putts that didn’t reach the hole. It showed me my tendency of misses on each shot. The information in this video is pure gold. Listen to this man,and your scores will drop. Keep it in the short grass..

Great video Excellent thoughts an process from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺....Golf Sidekick would love you too I'm sure

For lay-up shots off the tee, I recommend adding a knock-down driver to your quiver. Much more forgiving than long iron, fairway, hybrid or mini-driver. I average 244.5 off the tee, my knock-down driver goes 215 to 230.

@thescoringmethod I would be further ahead if I played my 5 iron for most of the game. I often wonder why I torture myself using the other clubs in my bag 😁

The number one way to eliminate blow up holes is to play smart. If you hit into the trees and have a choice between chipping directly onto the fairway or going between trees and advancing the ball much much farther. Most people will opt to advance the ball. After all, you're thinking you need to make up for that bad shot. Hitting through trees is not the way to do it. The same goes for bunker shots. If you're in a fairway bunker, don't try and advance the ball. Just get it back out to the fairway. How many times have people hit into a fairway bunker, then try to advance the ball, only to wind up in the same bunker, another bunker, the rough, or any number of bad locations? All because they're trying to hit the hero shot.

good advice

If you look up the history of the word Bogey it originally ment the word to describe what an ordinary golfer should score on each hole one more than par

Great video

Did you try the shot pattern app to plan your rounds? Shows dispersion very clearly ;)

For the level of people you're talking to here.....getting to 100 yds is not likely to get anyone to score...or rarely. Most will not hit the green from 100 yds. They might get it close....and have to chip on for a possible bogey putt...and a likely dbl bogey. On a par 4, it really does help to get at least within about 50 yds of the green...if one wants to have a decent chance at bogey...and hopefully within about 10 yds to really increase the chance of a par putt going in. If you;re talking to those fine with constant dbl bogeys, then your advice is fine. That amounts to a score of 108, on a regular course.

I've been golfing for three months and my wedge dispersion is about ten to 40 foot circle depending on range.... from 100 yards were talking about a 40 foot circle with the PW.....

I understand the sentiment but this doesn’t help my mid handicap game. My driver goes 270 on the fly. Next club down is a 5 wood that’s getting me 250. Yes the dispersion on my 5wood is a bit tighter than my driver but I’d rather have 1 to 2 clubs less for my approach even if it’s off the fairway. There’s also no guarantee that my “straighter club” flys straight. Let’s say Im on a 420 yard hole. No roll out just carry numbers. Driver will leave me 150 in, which is a hard 9 iron or an easy 8. 5 wood leaves me 170 in. Which is a 7iron. I’m more confident getting the ball within 20 feet with the 8 or 9iron. 7iron will open up the 30ft + range with a smaller chance to get below 20’. Since my problem is on the greens (and most amateurs) proximity to hole is a huge factor in bringing my handicap down. Also, most amateurs will play a lateral drop off the tee for lost balls. Very rarely will they take a provisional. Depending on how bad the shot is, I’d rather take a lateral that’s 20 yards further up with the driver.

Three putts or missed putts from 4 ft and under , i only hit driver 230 ish and hybrid 5 175 but usually can manage to be greenside in two and 4 ft or under in 3 , Breaks my bloody heart .. I can practice them and sink every one but on the green and in play i just miss . Im good from distance too , just not from close in . 17 hcp , hit every fairway ( mostly) hit irons crisp and chip like its nothing at all , putt great from 20 but terrible from 4 🤷🏻‍♂️

Use the eraser!

5:00 ....that's hilarious

I know what I need to do I just can’t stop doing it. Stop topping the ball. Stop the random slice into the woods. Stop swinging so steep you take a 5” deep divot and the ball goes 30 feet. Other than that I’m good.

“You might not be that good.” For real!

I was wondering where that driver that flew through my kitchen window came from.

I feel too much pressure to play conservative in a foursome with better players. Riding in a cart with someone and adding an extra stop to their game every hole, I think they’d look at me sideways. I play on full public courses always with a foursome behind me. Sometimes 2 foursomes on each hole if it’s an outing. I think the pressure and feeling rushed is my main problem, not so much my swing. This kind of play seems better fit for lightly populated areas or private clubs? Happy to be wrong.

My biggest issue is everything inside of that 100 yard range. If I had a nickel for every time I followed up a great tee shot with half a dozen chunks and comically bad putts.

To avoid blow up holes I stop counting strokes after my ball touches the green.

I'm insulted RU-vid recommended this to me. 👀📝

Moore Joseph Gonzalez Mark Young Thomas

My goal is bogey golf.

I do not understand this notion of 'using your handicap'. If you only aim to make bogeys then how are you ever going to lower that handicap? If you lay-up when you didn't really need to, then you now need to play the hole perfectly to avoid a double bogey. I prefer to aim for par, and my shot on the hole is to cover the mistake I'm likely to make. i.e. a chunked approach or a three-putt. Of course I agree with not taking on silly shots that have a low chance of success, but if you *can* reach a long par 4 in two then that should be the aim, surely? And if your tee shot isn't ideal you reassess.

Holy crap, so that means…. With my handicap (I started 3 months ago) that mostly all the holes I’ve played I’ve either par’d or just bogey’d…. I like it - how do I figure out my handicap?

👏👏👍

Hit better shots 😂

Oh Lord, not just a hand talker but a manic hand talker. New record. 32 seconds before stopping the video. ✓ Don't recommend channel