11 Things All Golfers Forget

11 Things All Golfers Forget 

We all forget things during a round of golf. Now, we're not talking about leaving a sand wedge over the back of the green or leaving your trolley battery at home - we're taking strategic mistakes. In this video, we're going to take a look at 11 things all golfers forget to do out on course. Consider this video a checklist of things to remember during your next round and hopefully you'll start to see your scores improving. 

11. Give time to practice pre-round

This is definitely something a lot of us forget to give ourselves before a round of golf. Going straight from the car park to the first tee won't give you the chance to go out and play your best golf, so try and give yourself even 10 minutes to have a putt or a chip and gather your thoughts before you tee off. 

10. Chip with less loft

This is a trap a lot of golfers fall in to and, even if you've told this to yourself before, it's easy to just get a sand or lob wedge out without thinking for every chip shot. If there is no physical barrier (a hazard or dodgy bit of grass) to go over, why are you taking so much loft? Using this much loft as a much higher tariff show, whereas using an easy putting stroke with a mid-iron around the green allows you hit an easier shot and get the ball rolling quicker. 

9. Swing slower into wind

Everyone has a tendency to think they need to hit the ball harder when they're hitting into the wind. However, this can affect how well your strike the ball and an easier, slower swing will actually help you hit it further into wind. Don't worry about how far it goes either and you'll find that smoother swing will get you to where you want to be. 

8. Don't attack every pin

Golf courses love to put some sucker pins out there that encourage golfers to attack them directly, only to miss slightly and end up in a horrible position. One thing you should remember out on course is to play for the centre of the green more often and attack easier pins when you see them. Playing for the centre of the green leaves you more margin for error and stops you finding traps or being short sided on the pin.

7. Take every shot seriously

We've all missed a very, very short putt before and that's often down to a lack of concentration over every shot. On the scorecard a 1ft tap in is worth exactly the same as a 275 yard driver, so take both as seriously when you're playing. We can often fall into this trap when we get angry with a shot too, so it's worth reminding yourself on course to take each shot as seriously as the last .   

6. Play for position on short par 4s

It's easy to get the driver out on a short par 4 without really thinking and find yourself in trouble in the rough with an errant shot. Short par 4s should be an easy chance to put yourself in position on the fairway and have no more than a controlled wedge into the green. Next time you find yourself on a short par 4, try using a long iron or rescue club to find the fairway and guarantee yourself an easier shot into the green.

5. Stay calm!

This is pretty self explanatory, right? We've all got angry on the golf course and it can cost heaps of shots in the long run. Keeping calm when something goes awry is the key to saving a couple of shots here and there during a round of golf. Also, check your own anger rather than having to have someone else tell you - there's nothing worse than someone else telling you to calm down!

4. Bogey is your friend

A lot of us can wander off the back of a hole we've just bogeyed and be really angry with the result. While on some occasions it's a less than ideal score, it's certainly not a card killer. Reminding yourself that a bogey is your friend is also very handy when you're in a bit of trouble on a hole. Chasing a par can often lead to compounding errors, so playing for an easy bogey instead might stop you from making a double or worse chasing that par. 

3. Play for position on par 5s

Much like when we discussed clubbing down and playing for position on par 4s, the same can be said for playing your second shot on par 5s. When the green is tantalisingly in reach it's easy to pull out a fairway wood and attack - but this might not suit every time. Take into consideration what you'll gain from attacking the green versus where you could end up if it goes wrong. Often, hitting a mid iron down the fairway will leave you with a small pitch shot and an easier chance at making birdie. 

2. Use more club into wind

Another easy trap for golfers to fall into is not hitting enough club into greens. This can be down to a few factors - wind, temperature, how you're striking the ball on the day - and not enough of us think about this during a round. A good idea is, on the 9th hole, consider where you've been missing the greens on the front nine. If lots has been short, consider using one more club each time to have an approach shot. 

1. Take your medicine

It's a classic phrase that pretty much every golfer has heard before. If you haven't, this basically means that you should hit a recovery when you've made a mistake, rather than trying to hit the glory shot that has very little likelihood of occurring. It's easy to forget this mid way through a round, but it can be a card killer if it goes wrong. So, no matter how well your round is going, remember to take your medicine out on course if you make a mistake.