The difference between a good round of golf and a frustrating one often comes down to reducing mistakes, rather than making more great shots. Learning basic strategies and strokes to help you cut down on errors will reduce your strokes and increase your enjoyment of the game.
Basic Strategies
The axiom, "Drive for show, putt for dough," emphasizes how much more important control is for golf than power. Starting from the tee box to the cup, play conservative to stay in bounds. Instead of using a driver, tee off with a 3 or 5 wood to increase your chance of staying in the fairway. When you hit your second shot, choose a club that leaves you short enough that you can take a full swing to get onto the green. Those extra yards you get from a long iron may not be worth it if you need to make a delicate pitch to get on the green. Use a controlled putt, using the same length backswing and follow through.
Driving
Trying too hit the ball as hard as you can leads to tense muscles, which leads to less club speed. Let the big parts of your body -- your legs, hips and trunk -- do the work by relaxing your grip, teeing the ball slightly higher, pushing the club back with your shoulders and moving it forward with your hips. Use your arms for control, not to take the club -- and drag your large torso -- backward.
Approach Shots
The more often you can use the same swing, the more control you will have. This is why it's a good idea to leave yourself far enough out to use a full swing to get onto the green. Choose perimeter-weighted irons with a larger sole to help you maintain control if you hit the ground. Add a 7 or 9 wood to your bag to give you the distance of irons with more control.
Chipping And Putting
Make your chip similar to a putt. Use a lofted club, and bring it straight back and forward with firm wrists, like a putting stroke. The lofted club face will pop the ball in the air so it can roll to the green. The key to controlled putts is the follow through. Many golfers stop at contact, chopping at the ball, which leads to mishits. Bring your putter back and forward in a one to two rhythm using the same length backswing and follow through.
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