Most Common Golf Mistakes, Scoring Faults, Tips

Golf Tactics, Golf Course Decision Making, Poor Golf Club Selection

Apr 30, 2009 John Hoskison

Poor decision making is the most common fault on the golf course and can cost you many shots. Improve your tactics and stop common mistakes to knock shots off your score.

Tactics and clear thinking on the golf course are just as important as how well you hit the ball. If you make poor decisions, your mistakes mount up, and so does your golf score. Save shots by making the right choices and stop those unnecessary errors that are so costly. Lower your scores by not making the most common faults in golf.

MOst Common Faults - Poor Club Selection

There is nothing more unnecessary than poor club selection, but it is the most common fault of a club golfer. It is so frustrating to take too little club at a par three hole, hit a beautiful shot, only to watch it plummet into the trap short of the green.

Although it is the most common fault, and one of the most expensive, it is the easiest to correct. Next time you play a round of golf make a promise to yourself, every time you reach for an iron, take one more club. Once or twice you may go over the back of the green, but you will come up short much less often than normal.

Try to commit to it for the whole round and then compare your score.

Golf Tactics - Not Getting Out of Trouble

No matter how well you swing the club, at some stage during the round you will get into trouble. There is one major difference between you and a professional in these circumstances – a pro has a caddie who will keep calm and know what to do.

Unfortunately, making cool calm decisions is difficult when your ball is under a bush or in thick rough, but your number one rule must be to get the ball back in play as soon as possible, and not compound the mistake with another bad shot.

So many times a golfer ends up with an eight on their card because they were not careful ,or sensible enough, getting the ball back in play. Don’t gamble, take your medicine and hit the ball back onto the fairway as soon as you can.

Leaving Putts Short

A similar fault to poor club selection is leaving putts short. Several times during a round, a golfer will leave the putt on line but a few inches short of the hole. Set yourself a goal and see if you can hit every putt past the hole for a round.

You might have one or two more putts from behind the hole, but in all probability you will also hole one or two that ordinarily would have finished short.

Stop Common Golf Mistakes - Poor Preparation

It may not be your daily job, but taking some time to make sure you have everything ready for golf will save you shots. If it looks like rain make sure you have the necessary equipment; take out a can of drink and a nutrition bar; have the right golf ball for your swing.

These may seem small datails, but most club golfers waste shots by not being prepared properly. As for the first tee shot, make sure you turn up on time!

See also: Practice Slow Motion Swing to Groove the Basics or Body Language Stay Positive to Lower Scores - PGA Tip

If you have any friends who are struggling with their golf perhaps you'd like to read How to Teach Golf to a Beginner and if you have enjoyed this lesson please leave your comments with suggestions for further articles.

The copyright of the article Most Common Golf Mistakes, Scoring Faults, Tips in Golf is owned by John Hoskison. Permission to republish Most Common Golf Mistakes, Scoring Faults, Tips in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Most Common Golf Scoring Faults

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