Could you run 100m in 10 seconds?
I always ask my students this question before we start a playing lesson.
Everyone of them will either laugh or smile at how impossible this would be.
I’ve never met one golfer who laughs or smiles when they look at the PAR on a scorecard! Instead they frown at the thought of how difficult it is.
For the majority of golfers, trying to play to par is just not possible the same as running 100m in 10 seconds.Yet golfers happily accept the fact that they could never run that fast or even close to it, but they get mad and frustrated when they don’t shoot or get close to par !
A Pro/Scratch golfer is to golf what the 10 second sprinter is to running!!
The quickest way to get your handicap down is to learn to use the one you’ve got !
That means using what I call YOUR PERSONAL PAR.
If your a beginner then the personal par should be two shots higher than the scorecard par or if your handicap is 18 then add one shot to the scorecard par.
The first hole here at Thorpe Wood golf course is a tricky 179 yard par 3 stroke index 12, which means the personal par is 4 for those with a handicap of 13 or above , yet every single golfer (no matter their skill level) who plays it will select a club that will hopefully hit the green ! Often resulting in leaving themselves an impossible situation that doesn’t match their ability to recover.
Just because you can reach the green doesn’t mean you have to go for it ! Take an easier club and play short leaving yourself with a chance of a 3 and no chance of a 5/6 .
No wonder despite all the advancements in equipment and technology the average handicap is not much different to what it was 30 years ago!!
“IF GOLFERS USED THEIR GOLF BRAINS AT WORK THEY WOULDN’T HAVE A JOB FOR LONG”