The Plan for 2012
January 3rd, 2012 | 
Author: 
Luke Donald
I would like to dedicate 2012 to one word - scoring. I am a firm believer that if we went out and played a round of golf in similar fashion to what we already do, yet scored five strokes lower, we would enjoy ourselves a lot more and feel much better about our golf games….no?
At this point you’re asking, “How I can play in a “similar fashion” and somehow magically score better?” Certainly upgrades are required, but we’re talking something fairly simple. I believe a change in approach and practice habits in three areas, driving, wedging and putting has the greatest chance to lower almost any golfer’s score quite substantially.
During the course of a round you hit somewhere in the vicinity of 60 shots just with these three or four clubs. Wouldn’t you like to keep the ball in play off the tee on two more holes than you normally do? Or find a way to gain 10-15 yards? How about getting two more up and downs per round? Or even just making a higher percentage of putts from inside five feet? While none of the above upgrades are “game changers” on their own, when a golfer improves with the clubs they use for sixty shots per round, good things are bound to happen.
Steve Stricker
Here are a few really simple pieces of information pertaining to each of the three scoring components that far too few golfers incorporate into their games:
- I have been able to help so many golfers increase the distance and accuracy of their tee shots simply by showing them how to hit up on the ball. Make it one of your goals this year – get on a launch monitor regularly and learn how to hit up with the big stick. Do you know that golfers who take a lesson TrackMan gain an average of 12-15yards? That effectively makes every golf course they play 200 yards shorter!
- When it comes to pitching are you trying to do more than you should? Course management is huge in pitching and way too many golfers are going for shots that are beyond their handicap level. Learn when to “hold ‘em” and you’ll save at least two strokes per round.
- You cannot buy a wedge without bounce on the sole of the club. Know why? The manufacturers want us to be successful with their equipment and bounce is an important aid to help us all wedge better. Use a set up that maintains some bounce on the sole of the club…it’s not hard once you know how.
- The single greatest putting key is to keep your eyes focused on the spot the ball occupied before it was struck. Sounds easy…no? Is it something you incorporate into your game?
What I’m saying is that I believe I can take multiple strokes off your game simply by teaching you to: hit up on the driver; understand bounce and how to use it; know when to go for certain pitch shots and when to just hit the green; and teaching you to keep your eyes quiet when you putt. How hard is that? If you dedicate your work and practice to the above items I guarantee that you will see progress.
Zach Johnson
Zach Johnson is a perfect example of what I’m referring to. He’s an average size guy who grew up in the golfing mecca of Iowa, yet he’s managed to turn himself into one of the top 20 golfers in the world. He’s an efficient, yet short driver of the ball, a great wedge player and a very handy putter – a proven recipe for success.
In the upcoming months you will notice a change at andrewricegolf.com. The majority of all articles and instructional posts will be directed toward driving, wedging and putting. So whether you need to keep it in play or get longer off the tee, get it on the green or up and down, two putt from 40 feet or stop missing 3 footers – you will learn drills, games, challenges and techniques to get the job done more effectively.
I have been blessed to take numerous overseas trips to play golf and they are always the highlight of my year. My favorite country to play golf in is Ireland as the links courses and locals are simply second to none. If you are planning an international golf trip to either Ireland or South Africa feel free to drop me a line if you need any suggestions. Should you be in the early stages of planning your trip be sure to check out golf holidays abroad – they can certainly offer some excellent advice.
Please do us both a favor and do away with tips and swing fads and band aids – make 2012 the year where you establish a long term plan and commit to really getting better. It can be done…stay tuned.
Posted in 
Tags: 
That makes so much sense, but is still going to require much discipline and concentration. Some of those poor habits, as small as they may be, are not that easy to change.
Will be interesting to hear feedback from your followers after a couple months of attemting to improve the suggested areas.
Yes you’re right the majority of your round is made up of those shots. In recent years I have spent most of my practice time on the short game made up of chipping and putting.
The driving in particular can be also improved to hit on the up by ensuring you have a slight upward tilt in your shoulders at address. In other words your lead shoulder is higher than the back shoulder.
Cheers
It never easy being good Graham. You should know that as well as anyone….?
Quite right Andy, requires a lot of work and when the results don’t come it can be frustrating.
About 5 month’s ago I identified that putting, the inside 6 foot range, was a really weak part of my game. I was consistently leaving 3 to 5 shots per round out there,so started spending a whole lot of time, couple hours a week trying to get this better. Got to a point where I could almost hole most of the short putts on the practice green with my eyes closed, but have not been able to take this to the course. Still missing way too many, and it just does not feel the same out on the course.
Graham.
Two questions Graham….
1. Do have the ability to measure/quantify your putting performance?
2. How do you practice/work on your short putts?
These are two major problems that most golfers do not properly address. I will definitely talk about answers to the two questions I have posed to you in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned….
I realised I was missing way too many short ones, so started recording results.
Was 3 putting 2 to 3 times per round from inside 20ft normally missing a short range second putt.
Was also missing a lot of 6ft and less after chipping or bunker shot etc.
After 8 rounds of recording it turned out I was only making 37% of these putts. So this was how I measured/quantified my performance.
When I miss these short ones it feels like I lack rythm and the sroke is jerky. Would not like to believe it is the YIPS but must be bordering on that.
I know that I have always been a bit “wristy” but this action has served me well over the years, although maybe not technically ideal.
Keeping a steady eye is also a problem – I tend to follow the putter head on the backswing. Not an easy habit to get out of.
So these were the things I set out to rectify.
My practice regime is to go to the green with 6 balls, place them aound the hole from about 3 ft out and slowly increase the distance.
I also establish a straight putt and then snap a chalk line about 10ft long and then practice from points along this line. This takes the guess work out of alignment and helps to show up errors.
Since doing this for the last couple months my strike rate has improved to around 48%.
Would be interested to know what is acceptable, but think it should be at least 60% +
Will watch out for your advice in the coming weeks.
Graham.