If you’re like many players with high golf handicaps, you try to hit bombs from the tee box every time up. That’s understandable. There’s no better feeling than hitting one long and straight.
But that doesn’t always happen. More often than not, you find the rough with your drive. It’s hard making birdies and pars from the rough—even when you crush your tee shot.
Finding the short grass off the tee boosts your chances of making pars and birdies. Good drives set you up for easier approach shots. Easier approach shots increase your chances of hitting the green in regulation.
That, in turn, boosts your chances of making pars and birdies—the key to breaking 80. It’s also the key to lowering your golf handicap. So instead of trying to hit bombs off the tee every time up throttle back.
Two Keys to Lowering Your Golf Handicap
Smart golfers play position golf off the tee. They try to find the best spot on the fairway to land their drives. That keeps them out of trouble, which cuts strokes from their scores. Below are three simple ways to throttle back:
• Use Your 3-Wood More
Use your 3-wood off the tee more and reserve your driver for really wide open holes. You can also tee off with the 3-wood on many par 5s, since it will take you three shots to get to the green. Using the 3-wood on these holes can help you tame them without costing you strokes. Plus, it’s better hitting a 5 hybrid or 5-iron from the fairway, than trying to hit a wedge back to safety from the thick stuff.
• Choke Up on the Driver
Not everyone is comfortable hitting the 3-wood off the tee, preferring instead the driver’s larger clubface. If that’s the case, choke down on your driver an inch or two before swinging. Choking down makes the club shorter, temporarily turning it into a 3-w ood. More importantly, choking down gives you more control of the club while providing more forgiveness on mishits, thanks to the larger clubhead. Of course, choking down may cost you 10 yards or so off the tee.
• Stop Overswinging
Some of us are so concerned with generating distance from the tee that we take the club way past parallel on our backswing s, like John Daly does. Overswinging is a death move. It encourages you to move your lower body excessively while trying to crush the shot. That makes it hard to hit the ball far or straight. Instead, focus on keeping your lower body stable and turning your upper body against it. Done correctly, this move boosts accuracy.
Find A Solid Position at the Top
Another key to boosting accuracy is your position at the top of the swing. You need to create a solid position at the top and make a smooth transition to your downswing. Doing so will help you groove an on-plane swing that’s powerful and repeatable. Here’s a drill that will help you create the right position at the top.
Address a ball with a 7-iron in your hand. Now make your backswing. As you get to the top stop, then slide your right hand down to the point where the grip meets the shaft. This causes your right elbow to fold naturally and your left arm to straighten and stretch across your chest—the perfect position for your hands at the top of the swing. Repeat this exercise several times. Then make several swings using your normal grip. Keep alternating swings until they feel similar.
This drill helps you develop a solid position at the top that can help you groove a repeatable on-plane swing—one that produces straighter, longer shots. You might even see your shot shape change from a slice to a draw after a while.
Hitting bombs off the tee is great when they find the fairway. When they don’t, you find yourself in trouble. Hitting out of trouble adds strokes to your scores and your golf handicap.
Instead, bomb one, throttle back. It will set you up for easier, safer approach shots and increase the number of pars and birdies you make per round. Doing that will help you break 80 and lower your golf handicap.
