7 Ways To Shoot Lower Scores In 2026 (Including A Pro Scoring Shot Strategy)

Putting a score together takes practice and its own strategy – it doesn't just happen of its own accord.

Avoiding the 8 common mistakes plaguing your game can help you cut your handicap in 2026, but as well as technical alterations you also need to think and play smarter.

By utilising a different approach, like the pro scoring shot strategy to calculate the appropriate lay up on a par-5 to ensure you have a shot that you have practiced and feel dialled in on over a risky long-iron into the green, you can lower your scores.

It's all well and good boosting your clubhead speed over the winter, so that you can bomb it off the tee, but on certain holes a more strategic approach will always win.

In this article, Top 50 Coach and PGA professional Keith Wood utilises more than 30 years of coaching experience to help amateur golfers understand how to build a better score on the golf course.

Keith has worked with some of the top names in the game, including Major Champions Seve Ballesteros and Sir Nick Faldo, so he is the perfect person to educate us on what it takes to shoot lower scores.

As well as sharing how Keith would strategically play an example par-5 hole at Salgados Golf Club in Portugal, he also explains how the scoring shot strategy can help amateur golfers immensely to play to their strengths with a wedge in hand...

1. Eliminate Pressure

The hole in the image is a par 5, but I've already decided to use three shots to reach the green.

Why? Well, there's a bunker down the left at 250 yards and, as the hole turns to the left, it narrows with a river running up the left and a lake to the right.

I would be mad to try and thread a driver through the tight section of fairway, bringing the bunker and water into play.

It's great to have a simple formula for hitting long drives, but it's equally as impressive to know when it's appropriate to use that skill (or not).

Most club players will reach for the driver as the hole's par-5 status suggests distance is a must, and therefore they need to try and smash it as far as possible.

In our heads, a 500-yard par 5 is very tempting. You picture yourself hitting a fairway wood in from 240 yards before two-putting for birdie. Be honest, though – how often does that really happen?

Instead, I've taken the pressure off by hitting a safer fairway wood or hybrid off the tee to get me to the largest area of fairway. From here, I then have options...

2. Be Realistic

I'm in a perfect position now, with options to still go for the green in two, if tempted, or to lay up to a perfect wedge distance. The green may just be in reach but the hole continues to narrow in, with the lake close to the right side of the green.

Par-5 greens are often smaller, as here, and don't tend to receive a long club too well.

Therefore, this is a simple decision for me, and one which I made on the tee anyway! I haven't changed my strategy and am hitting a mid- to long-iron into position for an easy wedge into that small green.

I can practice getting dialled in from inside 100 yards with this club on the range, so why not use it?

Think about it – which is your favourite wedge and the distance from which you are confident to play?

Of all the clubs in your bag, there is no excuse for not knowing how far your wedges carry.

We all have a rough idea of how far our 7-iron travels, but you need to be very precise on how far your wedges carry. Knowing your wedge distances will save you lots of shots.

3. Be Smart

Even if I had hit it in the fairway bunker off the tee, all is not lost. There's not much of a lip to clear and you can still play out for position, but choose your club carefully.

Don't just reach for a hybrid to get as much distance as you can or, at the other end of the spectrum, take a sand iron just because you're in a bunker, then leave yourself too far back.

You need to choose a high enough loft to easily clear the lip but a strong enough loft to leave you your desired distance into the green for your next shot.

Practise your fairway bunker shots so you know how they differ from greenside ones and how much the resistance of the sand will take off your distances.

There are other adjustments that you need to factor in, too, such as swinging a little smoother to maintain your footing and balance.

Laying up requires just as much skill and concentration as any other shot. I often see golfers being careless and rushing their lay-ups because it doesn't involve playing to the target of a green, thus costing them the opportunity to save a shot or two.

4. The Scoring Shot Strategy

Can you hit a precise wedge shot? This is what the hole now looks like (below) after playing well within yourself and without attempting any spectacular shots.

If you had taken on the green or just hit it as far down there as possible, the likelihood is that you would leave yourself a fiddly chip or bunker shot or even put one in the water.

Even for the elite player, it's hard to control a shot from 200+ yards. All the trouble on this hole is generally left and right and you've now taken that out of play.

There will be par 5s where you can take it on and give it a go without getting into too much trouble, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't get the driver out, especially if it's a big strength of yours.

But this way, you are giving yourself the best chance to walk off with a par – or maybe even to hole a putt for a four by mastering the scoring zone.

Work your way back from the hole and lay up to the yardage that you prefer with your wedge. Most of us won't want that ‘in between' pitch shot, so think about your favourite wedge and what yardage a full shot with that club looks like.

5. Open Your Eyes

Stop guessing and start paying attention when preparing to putt!

When you're approaching the green, study the contours. You will get a great perspective of the slopes and run-offs as you walk towards the putting surface, which will differ from your view once you're standing on it.

It's amazing how our brains quickly forget, so use your walk wisely to have a look at your putt from both sides and to see where the low point is. You can have a very good idea of what your putt is going to do before you even get your putter out.

This sounds obvious but you can help yourself by paying more attention on your approach shot – don't short-side yourself!

Whatever shot you are playing into the green, there are flags to go for and ones where the middle of the green is the smart play, even if you finish 25ft away from the hole.

You're certainly good enough to get down in two on a 25-30ft putt, but is that the case when you are chipping across three different grades of rough?

6. Refine Your Game

If you play the same course often, stand at the back of the green and look back down the hole. It gives you a completely different perspective and often opens up a clearer visual of hazards, elevations, safe areas, contours etc.

It's not always about playing safe as it's also exciting to pull off shots that you dream of.

There are holes to play safe, tough ones with little margin for error where you need to stop forcing it from 150 yards, and easier ones you can attack.

If you're going to take holes and shots on, you need to know you can pull that shot off, that you've practised it and it's not your first attempt!

And don't obsess over par. If you play off 18, you can add one shot to every hole. Imagine if you started a par 5 and told yourself it's a par 6. The pressure's off and I believe you'll then make more gross pars.

The latest Shot Scope data tells us that anyone from a 15-handicap or higher averages a six or worse on a par-5, so making smarter decisions could help you to rapidly improve your handicap index.

7. Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses

If you took a drone view of your game what would it highlight? What is your consistent shot shape or your favourite fairway-finding club off the tee? What shot do you fear the most? How is your short game? Are there areas of your game where you are strong or weaknesses to build on? How's your strategy? Do you have one?

The best players in the world know their strengths and weaknesses, sometimes playing to them, managing them and, above all, developing and improving those weaknesses.

You can do this too! If you're not a long hitter then you can play smarter, sharpen your short game with the our short game clinic or become a better putter with the ultimate putting improvement guide – there are a multitude of ways you can improve and shoot lower scores if you know your game well.

Next time you play ask yourself over every shot, for the whole round, have I played this shot before and can I pull it off? What's the probability of success? Have I practised this intended shot before?

Be honest with yourself. If you have doubts, then make sure you have a plan B; a safer, more reliable option. It's not negative or boring, it's just smart. Try it next time you're on the course and you might be surprised at the results.

Tips by...

Tips by...

Keith Wood

Keith has worked with Golf Monthly for over 20 years and has been teaching golf for more than three decades. He's Director of Instruction for The Faldo Series and has coached multiple Tour winners, including Sir Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros. His academy, Golfsmart International, can be found in Hitchin, and coaching is still at the forefront of what he does.