6 Things All Scratch Golfers Do That You Don't

Stuck with a high handicap? The difference between you and a scratch golfer might be simpler than you think. This guide covers six crucial adjustments, backed by real player data, that can transform your game and help you shoot lower scores.

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Video Transcript

In this video, you will learn the six things that scratch golfers do that you don't.

Now, I'm not a scratch golfer.

I'm very close, so I've enlisted the help of Shot Scope and its vast data set of actual scratch golfers so that you will learn exactly what you need to do to get down to scratch.

Shall we get started?

Well, the first thing that scratch golfers do that you don't is they have an intimate knowledge of how far they hit each club.

They know exactly how far each club sends the ball in terms of carry distance as well as total distance.

They know how much, playing a fade shot will affect the distance versus a draw shot.

And they also know how far they c- can get each club in terms of maximum distance.

They know if they swing as hard as they can, what the maximum yardage they can get out of each club.

And actually, if you look at the Shot Scope data, scratch golfers have only a 20-yard gap between their average, distance with each club and their performance average.

Now, performance average removes things like mishits, poor strikes, chips out from the trees.

So it gives you a better indication of how far you hit each club, and that 20-yard gap is good for a scratch golfer.

It increases to 27 yards for a 15-handicap golfer.

So clearly, getting that gap as small as possible is key.

And actually, if you do use Shot Scope products, you get a really good sense of how far each club goes.

It will tell you what your average is, what your performance average is, and also what your maximum or your longest shot you've ever hit with that club is.

So it's really good, useful information to have on any particular given shot.

Like I've got here, I've got 165 yards to the flag, and there's bunkers short left and short right.

So I know that I need to hit a club that's gonna cover those bunkers, 'cause the most common miss that amateur golfers struggle with is short of the green, obviously because you're misstriking the, the club a lot of the time, and scratch golfers do a better job of striking their iron shots consistently.

And obviously, if you can strike y- your, your clubs more consistently, you're gonna get more consistent distance out of it the other end.

But the most important thing is pick a club that you know is gonna take those hazards out of play.

So I know 7 iron here, I've got 160 yards to cover that bunker.

I know this club is gonna be plenty of club to take those bunkers out of play.

So let's see if we can put that to the test here with this 7 iron.

Pretty happy with that one.

So, definitely invest in some technology, get on a launch monitor, find out exactly how far you hit each club.

And just like a scratch golfer, you're hopefully gonna be finding more greens with your approach shots.

Okay, the second thing that scratch golfers do, which feeds off the first one in terms of knowing their numbers, is they pick smarter targets when they're approaching the green.

And this is a classic example here.

There's a lot going on.

And the three things that scratch golfers do when choosing a target for their approach shot is they veer away from tight flags, they try and leave themselves an uphill putt where possible, and they absolutely know their cover number.

So the cover number, you know, a lot of golfers work off fronts of the greens here.

But as you can see here, the front of the green is here, but then the lip of the bunker is a lot further on the green.

So you really need to know what your cover number is.

So what is the distance you need to carry the ball, take all the trouble out of play?

You can see this bunker here, this bunker here, it's a similar distance up the green.

So if you know you can hit a club that's gonna cover both of those bunkers, that's gonna leave you in a much safer spot than if you hit a club that's bringing the bunkers and other things into play.

So again, this is a really good example.

This pin is tucked super tight to that right side of the green and just over that bunker.

So scratch golfers are picking smart targets.

They're veering away from that pin.

They're aiming at the middle of the green, and they're gonna try and s- leave themselves an uphill putt where possible.

It's not always possible.

On this particular hole, you probably wanna be just past pin high, putting back down this way.

So scratch golfers are hitting seven more greens in regulation on average than a 15 handicapper.

So clearly hitting more greens in regulation is gonna help your scores come down.

So if you can do those three things, you're hopefully gonna leave yourself far fewer sort of nervy chip shots or short game shots around the green that you're not gonna be comfortable with, and you're not gonna get up and down that often.

Scratch golfers don't hit perfect shots all the time.

They mishit shots, but what they do is they allow for that with their aim, with the distance they're trying to hit the ball, and that distance is not always to the pin, it's to the safest spot on the green.

Now, the third thing that scratch golfers do that you don't is avoid those blow-up holes, those holes that you compound errors.

You go from making a bogey to double bogey, maybe a triple bogey.

And if you look at the Shot Scope data, you can see there's a big difference in the number of double bogeys that 15 handicappers make per se versus a scratch golfer.

Scratch golfers are only making 0.2 double bogeys per round, so clearly they're managing their misses a lot better.

'Cause if you look at the driving accuracy data from Shot Scope, you can see actually scratch golfers are not hitting many more fairways than a 15 handicap, only 3% more.

So clearly, it's not about finding more fairways, it's about minimizing the risk with where they hit their tee shots and not finding those, that big, the big troublesome hazards that you get on the course, fairway bunkers, trees, or penalty areas.

Scratch golfers, as you can see from the data, are much better at hitting fewer tee shots that land in those situations.

So there's a few things that I think you can do when it comes to your aim and your strategy on a hole like this particular one here.

We've got here on the 17th hole at Fulford Heath Golf Club, it's very tight.

There's trees either side, but there's also a penalty area down the left.

So clearly right is the favored side that you want to be on.

And obviously with your strategy and how you're aiming, you can try and mitigate that as best you can.

And one way is obviously to aim down the right and favor that side.

And you know, if you hit a draw shape, allow for that, aim a little bit further right, or you could really try and curve the ball away from the trouble.

That's something that's worked for me, in the past, is having a shot shape that you know is gonna go one way, and you can allow for that with your aim.

And move the ball away from the trouble.

That's gonna ensure your ball hopefully stays in play.

If you do get in the trees, you're not trying to take on that miracle shot.

You're taking your medicine, chipping it out, knocking it on the green, making a bogey at worst, and you're not making those really penal double bogeys.

So, this particular hole, I know there's more trouble down the left, so I'm gonna aim down that left side.

I'm gonna make a really exaggerated move to make sure the ball curves away from that trouble, and therefore we should be able to keep the ball in play and avoid those blow-up holes.

There you go.

A little gentle fade.

Started down the left side of the fairway, cut back to the middle of the fairway.

I'm absolutely delighted with that, and do very well to make a double bogey or worse from there.

Now, another area where scratch golfers are especially good is on the greens, and that is in particular avoiding three-putts.

Three-putts are the silent killers on your scorecard.

And if you look at the data from Shot Scope, you can see you can save yourself four shots a round just by avoiding three-putts through far better distance control from long range.

Obviously, it helps to be pretty solid from that inside six-foot range as well, but lag putting is the key to reducing three-putts.

And there's a few things that golfers can do to, improve your lag putting.

Obviously, the, one of them comes down to reading greens.

But when it comes to reading greens from distance, really focus on that final third of the putt.

When the ball's slowing down, it's gonna break a lot more than at the start of the putt where it's moving faster.

So really focus on the, the final third of the putt.

Look at the slope around the hole and see what the ball's gonna do when it's slowing down.

The other thing you could do is have a little bit of a system for controlling your distance.

So I like to use the stroke length, to adjust my distance versus things like s- you know, speeding up my, my tempo.

I think having a, a system whereby you just change distance by how far you move the putter is gonna give you more consistency in the long run.

So I know that if I move the putter back about 12 inches, that's gonna send the ball 10 foot.

And if I move it back another 10%, that's gonna sh- roll the ball 20 foot, and another 10% is 30 foot.

So if you've got a system in place for controlling distance, that's certainly gonna help.

But the last thing that I think is gonna probably help golfers the most is just that consistency of strike.

Scratch golfers don't miss the middle of the putter all that often.

Obviously, it helps if maybe you've got like a mallet putter, a more forgiving putter.

That's gonna mitigate, the strike pattern moving around if you do miss the middle.

But, striking the ball out of the middle of the putter face is gonna give you more consistent distance at the other end.

So a drill that I would thoroughly recommend to all golfers out there watching is this tee peg drill.

So I've put, two tee pegs just outside the width of my putter here, and obviously the goal is to swing the putter through the tee, through the gate, and not hit the tee pegs.

That means I know I'm gonna be hitting the putt out of the middle of the putter, and that's gonna improve my, my distance consistency.

So try those few things.

It should definitely help you improve your lag putting from distance.

If you're rolling the ball close to the hole from distance, that should reduce the number of three-putts you have.

Now, another thing that scratch golfers do that you probably don't is they treat shots from within 70 yards as a scoring opportunity.

If you look at the data from Shot Scope, you can see 20 handicappers and above averaging 5.6 holes where they have to take multiple shots to reach the green from inside 70 yards, whereas a scratch golfer is down at 1.6.

So they very much see, as I said, shots from within 70 yards as a scoring opportunity.

They're getting on the green first time most of the time, but also when they're getting on the green from that distance, they're getting it pretty close to the hole, so they're gonna give themselves, a chance for a birdie or a par.

So I think there's a few things that I've taken away from this data.

The first is that you really need to practice your pitch shots.

Like n- not a lot of golfers actually practice pitch shots from between 40 yards and 80 yards.

You see a lot of golfers practicing their putting and chipping before they tee off, and obviously their long game on the range, but those in-between distances are actually really important.

So it's important, A, you practice them, but B, if you can practice them, try and practice off grass, because when you're hitting off a mat, it can really mask your errors in your ball striking.

If you do catch the, the ground slightly heavy on a mat, the b- the, the club just glides along it and you strike the ball pretty cleanly, whereas if you're striking the ball fat on the grass, you're gonna chunk the ball 10, 20 yards in front of you.

So try and practice on the grass where possible.

And the other thing you really need to do when you're pitching is have a system for controlling distance, right?

So for me, choose your favorite club to pitch with.

For me, it's my 54-degree wedge, and I like to make three swings to control dist- So I know with my 54-degree wedge, if I swing my hands to sort of hip height, that's my 50-yard shot.

If I swing it to sort of belly height, that's my 70-yard shot.

If I swing my hands to shoulder height, that's my 90-yard shot, and then the full swing goes about 105 yards with a, with a 54-degree wedge.

So have a system that controls distance for you, and obviously practice that on the grass where you can.

That should hopefully improve your s- pitching performance and your scoring ability from this distance.

Nipped that one nicely.

Okay, and the last thing that scratch golfers do, and by no means the least important, is they l- really lean into their strengths, whether that's playing to their favorite yardages, trusting a certain shape off the tee.

They know what they do well, and they build a strategy around that.

And no such example is better here than, this particular shot.

They've missed the green.

They've really short-sided themself.

And you know, probably a scratch golfer, a good golfer could pull a flop shot off here from a tight lie more, on more occasions than most abilities of golfer.

But the percentage play is to play a pretty standard chip shot past the pin and give themselves a putt for the par.

Scratch golfers, they don't hit perfect shots a lot of the time, and the reason they're scratch golfers is they don't compound errors, which they clearly have made here by missing the green, with another error by duffing it in the bunker or blading it over the back of the green.

They play the percentages and give themselves the opportunities to make par and take the double bogeys off the card.

So in this particular situation, we're not gonna go for that and make a high flop shot.

We're gonna play it safe.

Just play a pretty standard elevated pitch shot.

Take our medicine.

Give ourselves a pu- coming back the other way, which we might make for a par, but at worst, a bogey.

So there you go.

Play it safe.

Take your medicine.

Keep those big numbers off the card, and more importantly, play a shot you're comfortable with.

Under pressure, you know that you can pull it off.

That's gonna help your scores come down.

So that concludes our look at the six things scratch golfers do that you don't.

If you're already doing some of these already, well done you.

You're already on your journey down to scratch.

And if you don't, definitely worth giving some of these a try.

It's gonna help you lower your handicap hopefully over the next few weeks and months.

If you're interested in trying out any of the Shot Scope products that we've featured in this video, I've put some links in the description so you can get your hands on those, whether it's rangefinders, golf watches, anything that's gonna help you get more insights on your play and accurate distances to the hole, which we've talked about how important that is.

And don't forget to check out all the other videos on the Golf Monthly YouTube channel.

There's definitely gonna be something there that's gonna help your game.

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