How a High Golf Handicap Makes You a Better Player

I really love the game of golf--even though my skill level doesn't allow me to compete with the better players, there's nothing like getting out on a beautiful golf course on a glorious morning and chasing the ball for four hours or so. I'm presently playing to a 17 handicap, but before some recent surgeries I was down to a 14, and trending lower. Even though my handicap is towards the high end these days, I love to compete, and I've found that if I set a few goals to reach during my match, I generally have more focus and can usually give most of the guys in my group a good game. I would like to share a few of these goals that I try to reach, and if you're a high handicapper, you might try this approach.

The biggest overall goal I always keep in mind first and foremost is trying to beat my number and shoot below my handicap. As I said before, I'm currently playing to a 17 handicap, so my first goal is to shoot 89 or lower. If I can string together a few sub-89 rounds, my handicap will began to drop and hopefully I'll be down and back around the number that I was shooting prior to my surgeries. To get my handicap to begin trending in that direction again, I've got to avoid certain things, and that's where my real goals kick in.

Avoid penalty strokes--these are just wasted strokes that can cause your score in a round to balloon. Many times, penalty strokes just involve adding a stroke to your score, but if your hit the ball out of bounds, you lose a stroke and your distance, causing additional headaches and exposing you to taking a really big number on one hole. The mental condition of most high handicappers is pretty fragile, and there's nothing like penalty strokes to destroy the delicate psyche of a hacker.

Avoid three putts--if you're a high handicapper like myself, you're going to be relying on your short game to shave strokes off of your score. There's nothing like a couple of frustrating three putts in a round to mess up your scorecard and put you in 90 plus territory. I try to work on my chipping and putting, because that's where I save strokes, and if you can chip the ball fairly close to the hole, your risk of three putting can be virtually eliminated.

Avoid double bogeys, and most of all, the dreaded triple bogey--there's nothing that will wreck a scorecard quicker than a triple bogey, but if you have 4 or 5 double bogeys in a round, that will pretty much do you in too. Avoiding double and triple bogeys usually involves playing smart and within your limitations--take what the course will give you, and know where to miss when you approach the green. I know that sounds funny, but high handicappers will not hit many greens, and knowing where to miss can make a big difference in whether you get up and down, or simply get up and two putt for a bogey, which is acceptable for me on a lot of holes.

I'm sure that many high handicappers have other goals that they try to meet during a round. This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but my goals are simply some things I try to meet to shave strokes off my score. These goals might help you too.

Thanks for reading.