Say you are a high handicap golfer. How would you like to knock anywhere from 4 to 10 strokes off your game? Well, who wouldn’t?
Bubba Pulley, a PGA Golf Professional who taught at the elegant Keswick Club, says there are two ways to accomplish that goal.
“First,” he said. “We can spend three months or more on the practice range correcting your swing. Or we can do it instantly by playing 9 holes together while we improve your course management skills.”
Course management, Bubba explains, means playing to your strengths, using your head and having a plan.
High handicap golfers are forever complaining about what they are not good at, but rarely admit they may have parts of their games that are better than others. Some may be good off the box, for example, and get their tee shots out in the fairway on a consistent basis. Others may be reasonably good with their approaches, their iron shots. Some high handicappers are strong in their short games while putting may be a strong point for others. And believe it or not, some may be quite proficient at getting up and down out of greenside bunkers.
“Play to your strengths, not your weaknesses, and don’t let the hole dictate your play,” Bubba advises. “For example, just because it’s a long par 5, you don’t have to pull the driver. If you have been hitting your 5-wood well, or a 3-iron, use that. Play the clubs that are working for you at the time. Avoid the clubs that are not working well.”
Using your head can save countless strokes for a high handicap golfer during a single round. Bubba says he uses “The Thinking Line” approach when he plays. Standing behind the ball on the tee box, you visualize your shot and concentrate on what you want to do, not what you don’t want to do.
“Some golfers will look at a shot and think, “I don’t want to hit that trap to the right, and I certainly don’t want to be short and in the rough. And there’s a creek to the left I don’t want to get in.” That golfer has just planted three negative thoughts in his or her mind. Once you visualize your shot and cross that Thinking Line, simply approach the ball and execute your shot.
Plan ahead is advice any player can use.
“The tour players always have a plan,” he states. “Before every round in every tournament the player and caddy decide which holes to attack for birdie chances and which holes may be dangerous, and therefore to play safe. Why shouldn’t a 24-handicapper also develop a game plan?”
At the old Keswick layout, for example, all the greens are back to front in elevation and the greens are fast. That means the player who hits his shots short of the pin and putts or chips uphill will score better than if he hits it long. The golfer who hits his ball short of the green, chips up and taps in will score much better off than the golfer who lands on the upper level of a three-tier green hitting downhill and then four putts. Plan your approaches and chips so you will be putting uphill.
“When putting, concentrate on speed rather than direction,” Bubba advises his students. “Get your putt within that 3-foot zone.”
Bubba says that when he practices putting, he tosses his balls on the green and putts for the fringe, not to a particular hole. He tries to put the ball right on the edge of the fringe, not too far, and not too short. That helps him get a feel for the speed. Then he practices putting at holes.
A final word of advice: Enjoy yourself when you’re on the course.
“If you are enjoying your day on the golf course, you’re more likely to have a good round,” he says. “The place to make drastic changes in your game is on the range, not on the course. Play golf and have fun. And remember, it can take a year or more to make a major change in your swing. But you can change your mind – and your game – in an instant.”