Written by Lou Stagner on Thursday 9 March 2023
The Arccos shot-tracking system has captured almost two-thirds of a billion shots, hit by golfers just like you. Here, Arccos stat expert Lou Stagner crunches the numbers to reveal five strategies that will change the way you approach a round of golf… What do 650,000,000 amateur golf shots tell us about the way we play golf? Pretty much everything. I could...
Thursday 15 August 2019
Want to work out how best to play Par 5s? Start your process by thinking of the hole from green to tee. In his famous book How To Play Your Best Golf All The Time, Tommy Armour documented his experience of playing a round of golf with an amateur during which he would advise on decision-making. Armour had two golden rules for...
Thursday 7 February 2019
Play Smart: How to decide whether to lay up or take a shot on In almost every round of golf, we find ourselves in a position where we can either take on a risky shot or play safe. Of course, if we are just knocking about with mates the temptation to pull off a ‘worldie’ is generally too strong. But with...
Friday 12 October 2018
Play Smart: The Uphill Approach Shot At every course you will face an approach where the green is raised above you. These shots rank as some of the most intimidating, partly because you can’t see the green and partly because you know upslopes sap distance. This is why the way to gain confidence and success with these shots is to have a...
Wednesday 22 August 2018
Play Smarter: Five tactics on how to master the short par three The first thing you have to guard against on short par 3s is complacency. On the scorecard they can look like breather holes, especially after a run of long par 4s and par 5s, and the sight of the close green and nice, level tee does little to dispel...
Tuesday 30 January 2018
Bubba Watson: “On tough par 4s, find your safe places” In this tip, Bubba Watson talks through applying strategy to a par-4 by using the example of the 5th hole at Augusta National. Despite the fact, you don’t always get to see it on TV, the 455-yard, par-4 5th hole at Augusta National is one of the toughest on the course. My...
Tuesday 17 October 2017
Fringe benefits: Five questions to ask when you’re on the apron Whether it’s through the common error of under clubbing or simply a sight mishit, the club golfer often ends up short of the putting surface. Typically that means a chip up the green from the apron. It always seems like a simple shot, but without some strategy in place and a clear...
Thursday 28 September 2017
Make sure your strategy matches how you’re swinging, and use this guide to plan your shots better Improving your technique is one thing – but it counts for nothing if you don’t have an effective plan for the shot. Focus on these five areas to ensure your strategy matches your swing Take Your Time When you’re faced with a tough shot, the huge...
Tuesday 25 July 2017
Make the right decision after a good drive on a par 5 by asking yourself these five questions before pulling the trigger Fault: Finding trouble on a par 5 through loose thinking Fix: Build a plan with five key questions So you’ve hit a good drive on a par 5, and are assessing your second shot. At this stage, the club golfer’s strategy...
Written by Karl Morris, mind coach to Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen on Friday 12 February 2016
So, you’re playing golf this morning. You get up and look outside. It’s rainy, windy and cold. So very, very cold. Yes, it’s going to be a battle today – slow, bumpy greens, good shots blown off-course, miserable waits on the tees; and you never play well in the rain… Hopefully you’re a bit more upbeat than that. But the above...
Written by Karl Morris, mind coach to Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen on Thursday 3 December 2015
The golf season may be drawing to a close, but this time of year offers you a unique opportunity to make progress with your game. Let me explain. For most club golfers, the competitive year ends around October 31. They’ll either cut down how much they play, or even stop altogether. Then, in late February, when the new season is around...
Sunday 25 October 2015
Fault: You get nervous when faced with an approach over a hazard. Fix: It’s the one that makes every amateur – and plenty of pros – weak at the knees: the approach shot over water. The first step to being successful here is your state of mind. If the hazard wasn’t there this would be a straightforward approach of around 150...
Friday 23 October 2015
If you are serious about improving your game then there’s no-one better to advise you than the man who coached Tiger Woods to Major success. You’ve really got to know your stuff for the world’s best golfers to trust you with improving their games. Hank Haney experienced that trust while guiding both Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara to Major Championships.
Friday 16 October 2015
Fault: Failing to remove the ball from thick rough at the first attempt. Fix: It was an error to get yourself in this position but you’re here now so let’s deal with it. You’re in range of the green but there is no chance of getting any control from this lie so forget about the flag. The only objective...
Thursday 17 September 2015
Fault: Indecision and fear when faced with a chip over a bunker. Fix: ‘You’d rather be in the bunker.’ It’s a line you will have heard trotted out countless times by television commentators in this situation. Those who struggle to control their bunker shots will laugh at that but, trust me, it’s much easier to get up and down...
Wednesday 26 August 2015
Fault: Being too greedy after hitting into trouble and compounding the error. Fix: Whether it’s a short par 4 that you’ve taken on with the driver or a long par 5 that you’ve tried to hit in two, we all misjudge things and put ourselves in trouble. With your head spinning, the most important thing is not to do the same...
Monday 24 August 2015
Anyone who enjoys a punt on golf tournaments knows that a wager on Matt Kuchar is likely to keep you interested all the way to Sunday evening. Kuchar has 71 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, with over 50 coming in the past five years. The game’s most consistent player might have only five PGA Tour titles since 2010, but one...
Wednesday 4 February 2015
Jonathan Wallett is a European Tour coach and director of the Elite Coaching Golf Academy. Whatever your handicap, everyone thinks more practice is the key to success. However, as a golf coach for more than 25 years, I’d say that, of those who practise regularly, 70 per cent do so in a way that hurts their game, and 20 per cent...
Written by Adrian Fryer on Monday 29 July 2013
In this video TG Elite Teaching Professional Adrian Fryer is faced with a risk-reward approach from 150 yards. He has to decide whether to go for the fat of the green, or to take on the flag which is protected by a deep front bunker. Watch the video above to see which he chooses and why, and what you can learn to...
Written by Adrian Fryer on Wednesday 24 July 2013
In this video TG Elite Teaching Professional Adrian Fryer is 200-yards from the green on the stunning 18th at The Belfry’s Brabazon course. In this strategy special, he explains why sometimes it is better to play safe and lay-up of tricky hazards than risk taking them on. Watch the video to see how it is done.