5 Golf Tips For Amateurs (From A Tour Coach): What You Can Copy From McIlroy, Scheffler And Others

Sometimes as amateur golfers we feel like the best players in the world are totally unrelatable, with little chance of us replicating their elite talent on the golf course.

While elements of that might be true, there are certain realistic lessons that amateur golfers can learn from the best players in the world - you just need the help of an expert tour coach to break it down for you.

Whether it’s avoiding one of the 7 things you should never do at the driving range or understanding how to achieve a centred strike with driver, finding the invaluable teachings in the games of top tour professionals (that you can actually use as an amateur) is not an impossible task.

So, in order to help you find 5 ways to cut your handicap in 2026, we reached out to tour coach Nick Bradley for his expert guidance on the matter.

Nick Bradley has worked with some true legends of the game, like Justin Rose and Sir Nick Faldo, but has also supported countless amateurs to play better golf in his decades long career.

Below, Nick analyses five modern day giants in the game of golf and shares one thing that he loves about each of their games.

He doesn't just stop there, however, as he also explains how any amateur golfer can learn from that specific example - improving your chances of shooting lower scores and improving on the course…

1. Scottie Scheffler

There is no mystery behind why Scottie Scheffler is so dominant. His club face stability through the golf swing is exemplary.

His swing is very up and down, so his face is going to be so stable for much of the golf swing and avoiding the deviation that can creep in with a swing that is more around the body.

You see him on the driving range with his grip training aid, making sure the left and right hand fit together for the perfect golf grip which leads to the face being in a good position.

We know based on the latest data that 85% of the golf ball’s orientation is determined by the face position at impact, so it would make sense for amateur golfers to spend the majority of their practice time working on controlling the clubface and improving the quality of their ball striking to achieve a centred strike with irons.

Scheffler is so good because he works diligently on the fundamentals - something amateur golfers can sometimes neglect.

2. Rory McIlroy

The first thing I like about Rory McIlroy is that he is incredibly mobile and flexible, almost hyper-mobile in fact.

For most amateurs, improving flexibility and mobility is a great way to preserve your golf swing over time. If they are sitting at their desk in the office all week or aren’t particularly mindful of flexibility and mobility, they can tend to lock up a bit which doesn’t actually help the golf swing.

Secondly, I believe McIlroy to be a better driver of the golf ball than a wedge player, which in my opinion is down to his grip and the way he sets the club on the way back relative to plane.

If amateurs wanted to drive the ball better, they would do well to look at McIlroy’s position at the top of the backswing.

His radius bone, his forearm and his wrist are in a straight line. If amateur golfers could match that 45 degree angle, all of a sudden they will say goodbye to that weak club face and start to square the driver better at impact.

3. Jason Day

Jason Day is playing some really nice golf this year, but it’s his pitching action that I really love - It’s a ‘no fuss’ technique.

Jason Day’s setup when pitching really embodies that ‘less is more’ attitude. If you add too many variables, like too long of a backswing, too much wrist set or steepness in the plane, most amateurs sadly don’t have the skills to make that work.

Instead, copying Jason’s example, amateurs would benefit from placing pressure on the left side, not allowing too much shaft lean and using their torso as the engine.

What I mean by this is that the torso moves back and through, with the arms just going along for the ride.

This helps to promote a shallow strike through the ball, an increased spin rate and much better short game shots as a result.

4. Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood isn’t an incredibly big guy but his efficiency of club movement is excellent.

His swing sets beautifully on plane, which is not coincidence as he is an incredibly hard worker on the range and in practice. He always has the sticks in the ground representing plane when working on his swing.

But, many amateurs make a common mistake when setting up this type of practice drill because they don’t create the right angle for the alignment stick.

The correct angle is representative of the lie angle of the club you are practicing with. So, if you are using a club that is 61 degrees, you need to mirror that with the training aid.

Tommy’s action is a small, fast circle - bang, bang. But, that comes from repetitive and disciplined practice and amateur golfers could take a leaf out of his book in that regard.

5. Bryson DeChambeau

We’ve already covered a number of technical elements above, but the thing I love most about Bryson’s game is actually psychological - his sheer optimism.

Nick Faldo told me that when he was competing, his only contract that he held with himself was that no matter what happened with the last shot he would just keep visualising great shots for the next one.

In my teaching, I have something called counter imaging.

We are all guilty of being on the golf course and seeing a bad picture. If short right is a water hazard we obsess over that, but instead you should be seeing long and left as the goal with a re-framed positive attitude.

When you look at Bryson DeChambeau, the bottle isn’t half full - it’s positively brimming.

His optimism is a great example in a game where we fail far more than we win, even at the top level. Your mindset is something you can control and Bryson’s attitude is a good one to replicate.