Common mistakes for amateur golfers.

I spent some time at the end of last week talking with and listening to Hank Haney and Peter Kostis in Scottsdale AZ. These are two of the most recognizable names in golf instruction over the past 20 plus years. They are both very pleasant to be around and have strong opinions about how golf should be taught. One of the big takeaways is not how to interpret data from a trakman or pressure plates. What they and most instructors can agree upon is bad players make a lot of the same mistakes. Hank has told thousands in his presentations about 3-putts and chipping goals. Here is a compilation of common mistakes according to these great teachers with a couple from me.

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Don’t three put – Most amatuers three or four putt at least once every round. If you don’t three putt you will lower your scores
Chip only once- Most amatuers are very bad at chipping and pitching. Try to get the ball in a 5′ circle 80% of the time and don’t ever chip twice on the same hole.
Bunker shots- Make sure you get it out first and then on the green. If you get the ball out of the bunker and two putt you are better than average.
Direction misses – Learn to be able to control the curve of your ball. If you hook it or slice it make sure you know which way you are going to curve it.
Distance– These days if you want to be a good player you have to hit it far. There are very few amateurs that hit the ball over 220 yards and and very few pros that hit it less than 290 yards.
Don’t slice the ball – Learn to curve the ball left. Go get help from a PGA Pro and learn how to curve the ball left. Very few players have ever become very good slicing the ball.
Know your distances Stop hitting 7-iron from 155 and coming up short. Learn what your average shot distance is not your best shot. If you hit 7-iron from 110 yards on the green that is better than leaving it 25 yards short from 150 yards with the same club.
Make good decisions – Don’t try to hit shots you’re not capable of hitting. If you hit your last shot 70 yards off line don’t expect your next shot to travel 200 yards between the tree limbs.