5 Things Amateur Golfers SHOULDN'T Copy From Professionals

There is so much the average amateur can learn from watching the professionals negotiate 18 holes of golf. Much of the possible education is on course management and strategy. The top pros play the percentages and we amateurs often don’t.

Professionals can put bad shots behind them, they don’t exacerbate problems in difficult situations, they don’t consistently under-club, they don’t take their heads up too soon to look where the ball has gone, they don’t drink a can of beer at the halfway house…

There’s plenty for us mere golfing mortals to soak up and attempt to put into practice. But there are certain things the professionals do that most amateurs would do well not to try and emulate. Here are five things that amateur golfers shouldn’t copy from the professionals.

Swing Hard

The top pros practice and train… A lot… They have grooved their swings and honed their bodies to the point where they can properly go after shots and still maintain technique, rhythm and balance. If you look at the average ball speeds on the top pro tours – they are a different league to what an average, Saturday amateur can produce. These guys and girls are athletes, and they can swing hard and in control if and when they need or choose to.

Most amateurs simply can’t do that. Trying to swing hard throws everything out of sync – timing and stability go awry and so, generally, does the ball. As an amateur, always swinging within yourself will deliver more consistent and better results.

Take the Lofted Route

Did I mention the pros practice quite a bit? They will spend hours on, and around the practice greens perfecting their short game technique. They have such confidence in their touch and feel that they can pull of any sort of short shot from close to the putting surface.

Often, they will pull out their most lofted club even when there’s nothing ahead of them. That’s the club they have most control with when it comes to generating spin and getting the distance spot on.

Let’s face it – most of us don’t have that checking high-lofted pitch in our lockers. Amateurs will almost always fare better if they take less loft on a pitch. If in doubt, play a chip and run that rolls out to the target rather than trying to fly it all the way.

Spare No expense on equipment

This is one some of the top-end manufacturers might not like so much, but most mid-high handicap amateurs do not need to spend a small fortune on their golf equipment.

The top pros are at a level where the smallest margins make all the difference so they will leave no stone unturned when it comes to selecting the exact golf equipment to suit them best. The kit they use is top-end and pricey as a result (even if they are not having to pay for it themselves.)

The temptation for amateurs is to think they need the absolute best: the latest driver head, pured shafts, a putter designed by NASA, premium balls etc… Spending thousands on equipment will not make you better.

You need to spend thousands on lessons and then, when you get better, you might start considering how equipment changes could help a bit further. Even then, we don’t need 3D printed clubs and balls developed in the Large Hadron Collider, we will still hit slices and miss two-footers!

Overthink Shots

As mentioned, the smallest margins can be the difference for the pros so they will consider each shot to the nth degree. The courses are often so challenging that being one yard out could spell disaster. They are mentally tough enough to go through various shot options and select the best one. They also have a caddie to help them with their decision making.

Amateurs can tie themselves in knots if they start second-guessing themselves. If we overthink shots, we tend to question whichever option we decide upon. We then don’t commit, and the result is awful. We’ve wasted minutes working out how to make a complete mess of something – what a waste of time… Which leads on nicely to… Don’t… -

Take Five Hours To Get Round

No average amateur golfer should be taking as long to get round 18 holes as the top professionals. Golf is a game that most of us play badly and there are limitations to how much we can affect that. But what we can do is play briskly in a way that’s considerate to those groups behind us.

Slow play is one of the most talked about problems in amateur golf today and one of the main reasons for it is amateur golfers copying the top pros they’ve watched on TV. If you take the same amount of time over each shot as a pro does, then you probably need to re-think your routine.

They are averaging 70 shots a round… Say you’re averaging 90 and each shot takes two minutes to hit – it’s going to take you 40 minutes longer in total! And if there are four of you… Oh man.

Not playing at the pace of a two-toed sloth is probably the number 1 thing amateurs should not copy from the professionals.