5 Avoidable Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Round

Kit Alexander is joined by Top 50 coach Adam Harnett to run through the 5 biggest mistakes amateur golfers make when it comes to their strategy, proven by data from Shot Scope to be costing them shots.

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Video Transcript

There are things you're doing right now that are making you shoot higher scores than you need to.

It's so simple to fall into bad habits and make bad decisions, but Shot Scope has identified five mistakes that are costing you shots and ruining your rounds.

The good news is they're super easy to fix, and we are going to reveal exactly how.

We've come down to Blackmore Golf Club, and Adam Harnett, top 50 coach, is gonna show us the way.

Mistake number one is taking too much loft when we're chipping around the greens.

If you take the average 15 handicapper, the Shot Scope data tells us they look for some sort of wedge 70% of the time when they're chipping around the greens.

And with that, you have a one in five chance of getting up and down.

Take a bit less loft, and that becomes a one in four chance.

And if you can reach for putter, which in a lot of situations you can, that stacks the odds in your favor even more.

So here we are, Adam.

Yeah.

We're just a little bit too far possibly to hit putter here.

So why is it, in this situation, that too much loft is a bad thing?

So two main things really here with too much loft.

Number one, we don't have the window to land the ball in like we do with a lesser lofted club.

So the ball's gonna be flying higher, landing softer, and not releasing.

So if we don't land it right on our spot, we're not gonna be able to get it released into the hole.

Mm-hmm.

The second thing is gonna be far more about the, the quality of strike and the length of swing that we need- Mm-hmm when we've got a lofted club in our hand.

Obviously, the more loft we've got, the bigger the swing we need, and we really don't wanna be making big swings when we're this close to the, to the green.

It's basically just giving yourself an easier shot and a larger margin for error.

So when it comes to deciding, you've got a 9-iron in your hand for this little shot in front of us.

Yep.

What's the typical setup you would like to do for just a nice basic chip and run?

Yeah, so setup here would be ball position slightly back in my stance, handle slightly forward, and I wanna have a very narrow stance here.

So feet kind of one club head width apart.

And from that position there, standing a little bit closer to the ball than normal as well, I'm just looking to take the wrists kind of out of this shot, and finish kind of here with the same shape, if you like, in my arms and club as I have at address.

So we're not looking for too much hinge or too much release.

Of course, we're gonna have different situations on the course.

We're gonna need different amounts of carry to run.

You've got a handy little system you use as percentage to carry to run with different clubs.

So what's that?

Yeah, so 9-iron we're looking at 20 to 25% in the air, and then 75, 80% roll.

So if we can kind of have that little system with a few different clubs, it really helps us to judge distance, control around the green.

And we just have to slightly adjust a little bit if we're uphill, downhill- slower greens or faster greens.

But if we've got that system to start with and a nice benchmark- Yep we can then move up and down from there.

And rule of thumb, I imagine, is just get it running as quickly as possible.

So take the one within that ratio that carries it a few yards onto the green, and the rest is run.

I think so.

I'm not fully on board with like a, you know, a 5-iron or something, you know?

Because you're gonna get almost too much forward projection.

It's hard to then stop the ball.

Sure.

So, so for me, 9-iron, 8-iron is the sweet spot.

Perfect.

We've got the 9-iron, as we've said.

Little bit of left to right on this one.

Yeah, and I think it's important sometimes as well.

The ball's gonna be on the floor more than it's in the air.

Mm-hmm.

So we need to think about that and, and read this a little bit like a putt as well.

Well, that's very nicely judged.

Gives you a great chance to save your par.

So there you go.

Take the loft out of your hand, follow those tips from Adam, and you'll be getting up and down from around the greens much more often.

Mistake number two is not taking enough club and coming up short with your approach shots.

The average 15 handicapper comes up short 54% of the time according to the Shot Scope data.

And well, we've got all we need to find out how far we've got.

Rangefinder gives us the exact to the flag.

We've got GPS, which tells us front, back, middle of the green, all of the hazards around it.

Adam, we've got this info.

How do we use it- Okay to make sure we're not coming up short?

Well, I think one of the biggest issues is a lot of golfers make the mistake of looking at the front yardage.

Mm-hmm.

Okay?

They think, "What can I get?

What club can I get there?"

So they look at the front yardage, and they look at the pin, and they use that window.

So they're always erring on that side of short no matter what.

Obviously, that doesn't allow for any poor strikes.

You know, we're not hitting the ball perfectly either.

So what I like to do and encourage my players to do is to, yes, get the flag yardage, but also see what window we've got between the flag and the back of the green.

And with GPS now, we can get the back of the green yardage quite easily.

So if we've got that window there, we can shoot to that window and not the window that's at the front of the green.

Of course, we don't play golf in a vacuum.

We're outside.

We've got the conditions, the weather.

Quite warm today, but there's a fair bit of breeze about helping us now.

But how do you take the conditions into account, whether that be into a wind, a side wind, changes in temperature as well, all of these things?

Yeah, I mean, it's I mean, we can't stand there and, and get all the data for everything and all the exact wind directions, 'cause w- you know, it would take forever.

But couple of simple things.

Here we're downwind.

So if I'm downwind, I've got my normal club for this yardage.

I'm actually not going to change club and allow for the wind.

I'm gonna allow the wind to help me get past the flag.

Mm-hmm.

So downwind obviously is helpful.

Yep.

Into wind, a bit more tricky, because most people think they hit the ball further than they do.

They try and hit the ball harder, which creates more spin, which actually holds the ball up in the air more.

So it's just having the, having the thought to go, "Okay, maybe it's two extra clubs and not one, because I'm not going for the front or the flag.

I'm going for the back."

So it's just taking that extra club.

And in winter as well, especially if you play golf through the winter like lots of people do in the UK, the ball's not going to fly as far.

You're not probably gonna be hitting it as far because you're not as warmed up anyway.

So allow for it even more if the temperature's a bit cooler.

Absolutely.

I- personally for me, I would say there's a two-club difference from the peak of summer into winter, so it's as much as that.

Right.

We've got all the data, Adam.

So you know the number, you know where you're going, you've got the right club in hand.

Let's see you knock one passed that pin.

Safely on the green.

Took the sand trap short out of play, so that is it in action.

Remember, aim for the back of the green rather than the front, and take all of the weather conditions into account, and you'll find yourself with more birdie putts.

Mistake three is reaching for the 3-wood rather than driver for safety off the tee.

The Shot Scope data tells us going for 3-wood, only 1 to 2% more fairways are being hit.

So it's a negligible improvement.

And of course, you're losing distance as well.

So the key is making sure you're hitting fairways, but with the driver, Adam.

Now you are gonna tell us how to set up with that driver, and what we can do to make sure when we do go for the big dog, we are hitting it down the hey diddle diddle.

Absolutely.

Now set up with driver is really, really important, right?

Because we haven't got much loft on this driver, so our impact conditions are really crucial.

There's not much room for error.

Mm-hmm.

So getting set up is super, super key.

So first of all, nice wide stance to build a nice base.

You know, the driver swing is a fast swing.

We need a nice stable base.

Too much of a narrow stance, and we- there's gonna be a lot of sway in there.

So nice wide stance to begin with.

Okay, so we want our ball position to be just inside the left heel.

This is gonna encourage us to have a nice upward hit on the ball.

And one mistake I see golfers make with their setup position, there's a lot of talk about tilting, making sure our spine is tilting away from the target.

Before you grip the club, just hover your hands together and then just slide your trail hand down the club.

This is gonna help make sure that your shoulders and forearms stay nice and square, rather than gripping the club first and then leaning and throwing everything off kilter.

Brilliant stuff.

Is there anything you're thinking about in the swing in terms of rhythm, timing?

'Cause often amateurs, we wanna hit this club far, and we can get a bit quick with it.

Yeah, I think definitely rhythm and tempo with the driver's really important.

A lot of golfers are putting in effort, and they think effort equals speed.

Yeah.

But we want speed down at the bottom.

So what I'm thinking about is a nice smooth transition, and then really putting the speed in at the bottom of the swing.

Brilliant stuff.

Right, you've talked the talk.

Let's see you walk the walk.

Absolute beauty.

So there you go.

The key is not to drop down to 3-wood for safety, but to make sure you are hitting the driver more accurately.

Those great setup tips from Adam will help you do exactly that.

Mistake number four is not knowing your yardages.

Now that can cost you in many, many ways all the way through the bag.

But one obvious example that Shot Scope tells us, beautiful par 3 here, bunker short.

If you find that bunker off the tee, that's likely to cost you half a shot extra right there.

So Adam, first of all, the obvious question, why do we need to know our yardages?

How does that help, and what can we do to make sure we do?

Yeah, super important to know our carry distances.

Carrying it up onto greens like this, bunkers, making sure we're carrying over any obstacles.

Most golfers are coming up short.

So knowing your carry distance is, is probably the most important thing you can do when you're playing golf.

The way we work it out, well, we can use things like the LM1 here we've got from Shot Scope that helps give us all that information.

Mm-hmm.

But there's no excuse nowadays.

Almost every driving range has some kind of measuring device, whether it's a Top Tracer or whatever.

So that's definitely something we should be doing, is practicing recording our yardages when we're practicing, and recording them when we play as well.

Mm-hmm.

When we're hitting shots on the golf course, making a little note of the shots that we hit and the distances they go.

That really helps us when we're on the golf course.

Absolutely.

It builds into your strategy, of course, as well, for every shot that you hit.

Well, you've picked the right club here.

Yep.

We think.

I know my carry distance.

And now we're gonna put it to the test.

Right into the heart of the green, and safely over the bunker.

So there you go.

It's important to know what's ahead of you with things like this beautiful Shot Scope GPS, but also use bits of equipment like the LM1 so you know how far your clubs are going, so you can hit the middle of the green just like that.

Mistake number five is playing it too safe with your second shot on par 5s.

A lot of us think, "Well, maybe I'll lay up to a good number."

But the data tells us the closer you get to the green, the better you are going to score.

In fact, for the average 15 handicapper, the difference between being 60 yards from the green and 20 yards from the green is nearly a full shot in what you are going to score on that hole.

So the simple matter is, if there's no danger down there, and I've got my Shot Scope GPS, so I've had a little look, and there's nothing too bad like water or out of bounds, you wanna go for it.

Hit as long a club as possible, and get it down there, Adam.

Yep.

But fairway woods, hybrids, sometimes a bit intimidating for some people.

So how do we make sure we're hitting them solidly?

Absolutely.

I think a fairway wood is one of the hardest shots because it's a long club, there's not that much loft, you know, compared to our irons .

And we're hitting off the ground.

Usually with our long clubs, we're hitting them off tees, you know, with our driver.

So it's a difficult shot.

So the thing that's most important with this is getting a good angle of attack at the golf ball.

So really, really key to make sure when we're setting up to a ball with our fairway wood- That the ball position isn't quite as far forward as a driver.

Mm-hmm.

So if the driver ball position is, say, one inch inside our heel, the fairway woods is gonna be two inches inside, so slightly further back.

And then really key as well, don't adopt this tilt like we might do- Mm-hmm with a driver, because we still need a slight downward angle with a fairway wood to get this ball going.

If you watch the great fairway wood, strikers of the ball, like a Sergio Garcia, there's a tiny little divot in there, sometimes a bit more than a tiny divot.

But it's a, it's a downward angle of attack.

So we've gotta make sure we're making some contact with the ground.

Now, what the fairway wood does help us with is it's got a nice wide sole.

So it's not gonna dig into the ground, so we shouldn't be afraid of it.

So I like golfers to make a practice swing next to the ball, and really try and feel like they're making some contact with the ground slightly forward- Mm-hmm of the golf ball, and that's gonna really make sure that they are transferring their weight forward, and not hanging back to try and help the ball in the air, which is a real common mistake for most golfers.

Yeah, get the set up right, and that weight transfer is absolutely vital as well.

Right.

Let's see you hit one down to that green.

Okay.

High tariff shot, this one.

You're certainly gonna be inside that 20 yards.

That really helps us score better.

So there you go, that's the setup with a fairway wood that Adam has given you.

Make sure you get it down as close as you can on these par fives, and remember, if you've not got much loft in your hand, get that weight through it.

So there you have it.

Thanks to Shot Scope, those are the five big mistakes ruining your rounds of golf and scoring, and now you know how to fix them.

So our thanks to Adam for his brilliant insights and tips, for Blackmore Golf Club for being a wonderful venue, and of course, for Shot Scope for shining a light on ways we can improve.

If you've enjoyed the video, keep an eye on the channel, because there's lots more headed your way.

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