Lowering Your Handicap

We’ve discussed this topic before, but it’s worth revisiting every chance we get.

If you’re serious about lowering your handicap, you must improve your short game. From 100 yards and in is the make-or-break area for scoring your best rounds. Pitching, chipping, bunker play, and putting account for as much as 75% of your total strokes.

Yet most golfers remain far too focused on improving their full swings. Consider the following averages for greens in regulation (GIR) by handicap level:

• 25 Handicap: 2–3 GIRs
• 20 Handicap: 3 GIRs
• 15 Handicap: 4 GIRs
• 10 Handicap: 6 GIRs
• 5 Handicap: 8 GIRs
• Scratch Player: 11–12 GIRs

Let’s break that down:

A 10-handicap golfer—by national standards, a good player—misses the green on roughly 12 of 18 holes. That means about 65–70% of the round is spent hitting a chip, pitch, or bunker shot in an effort to save par or bogey. Sixty-five percent of the round! Where, then, do you think that golfer most needs improvement and practice?

Now imagine that same golfer takes quality full-swing lessons and improves by, say, 20% (which is a lot). He or she might now miss the green 10 or 11 times instead of 12. Even with a significant swing improvement, the majority of shots still come from inside 100 yards.

All of this is supported by verifiable data—yet about 95% of the lessons I teach are focused on the full swing. Not by my design, but by request. When I ask students, “How’s your short game?” the most common answer I hear is, “Oh, it’s good. It’s what saves me!”

The truth is, most golfers simply don’t understand the real value of improving their game from 100 yards—and especially from 50 yards and in.

So, the next time you head out to practice, remember the words of an old pro:

Head to the short game area!