August 28, 2008 












Tip #25: Overhaul Your Game

Setting goals for your game is an art. The trick is in setting them at the right level -- neither too low nor too high. A good goal should be lofty enough to inspire hard work, yet realistic enough to provide solid hope of attainment.

Norman realized years ago that chipping was his Achilles heel, so he spent hours and hours refining the rough spots

If, for instance, you're a 15-handicapper at the start of the season, there's not much point in setting a year-end goal of a 5-handicap. Unless you're possessed of unusual time and talent, 10 strokes is far too tall an order for one year.

Nor would aspiring to a 14-handicap make sense. That would be like going on a diet to lose one pound. A good compromise would be to shoot for a handicap of nine -- the allure of a single digit next to your name, yet within reasonable reach of your present level.

Basically, every golfer, assuming he is physically able, has two choices: He can make the best of his current game or he can try to overhaul it. Of the two, the first is far less taxing but offers a smaller reward. The second demands much more but yields much more.

Our friend the 15-handicapper could choose the first path and might be able to lower his handicap to nine without making any major changes in his swing and without undue time and trouble. But he wouldn't get much better than a nine.

Alternatively, assuming he were to choose the over-haul route, he might have a chance to get down to a 5-handicap, perhaps even lower, but only after a lot of hard work.

The first option generally requires major attention to the aspects of golf that most influence scoring -- the short game, sand play, putting and trouble shots, plus practice or play at least once a week.

The second option entails thorough study of all aspects of the game, possibly reinforced with lessons from a competent PGA professional, and it certainly involves thousands of practice balls, plus on-course practice or play two or more times per week.

So ask yourself how much desire you really have. Then set your general strategy -- choose one of the two routes -- and begin to set some specific interim goals as part of that strategy.

Set easy ones first. Let's say you chose the first route, to make the best of your current method, and let's say you're that 15-handicapper in search of a nine. Clearly, you'll have to begin working on your short game and putting, but before you do, set yourself an interim handicap target of 12.

If on your home course you usually shoot about 87, reorient yourself to an average score of 84. And if par for your course is 72, or 70 or whatever, forget it. Stop thinking about the course's par and instead focus on your own personal par -- now set at 84.

You can do this by going through the course, hole by hole, and deciding on which holes you should make pars and where you should expect bogeys. This is far more reasonable and motivational than trying to play against 18 pars. A personal par of 84 gives you a reachable goal, say six pars and 12 bogeys. That's something you can pursue with confidence and aggressiveness.

In determining your par and bogey holes, go back to your analysis. If your favorite club is the 7-iron, and if one of the par-three holes calls for a 7-iron tee-shot, surely you'll want to plan for a par on that hole.

If you habitually play a draw, you'll probably want to plan for pars on the right-to-left holes and bogeys on the left-to-rights. If you hit a high ball, you might feel it reasonable to plan a bogey on the into-the-wind holes.

You probably will never shoot your goal score for each of the 18 holes in a single round, but these 18 mini-goals will give you room for compensation and aspiration. A double-bogey six won't get you disgusted, since one of your par-fours may turn out to be a birdie.

It probably won't take you long to start shooting that new par-84. Once you have a couple of 84s or better under your belt, set the second goal -- your new par-- 81. Readjust your scores for the individual holes so that you have 18 comfortably attainable targets totaling 81, and then go to it again. Don't be surprised if it's even easier this second time -- you may even dip down into the 70s.

Now let's say your goal is not tied to your handicap. Let's say you simply want to become a more consistent player. Once again, take a look at your self-analysis. This time, see which areas of your game are the weakest.

If chipping is your Achilles' heel, practice it with a bold "think-sink" attitude. This is, in fact, exactly what I did. A few years back chipping was clearly the worst part of my game. So I marched myself to a practice green and spent hours and hours refining the rough spots.

If that sounds arduous and dull, put some fun into it by charting your progress. Take 20 balls and begin by practicing routine 20-foot chip shots. See how many of the 20 you can knock into the hole. Chances are you won't make any at first, but you should set yourself a goal of sinking at least one.

Once you can sink one out of 20 consistently, try to sink an average of two out of 20, then three, then four. When you can sink four out of 20 from 20 feet, you'll find that chipping is no longer the weakest part of your game!

Or let's take another goal -- you want to win your flight of the club championship. Again, go through your game analysis, and match it to your course. Determine the spots where you want to play aggressively and where you want to play safe. Don't be afraid about consciously avoiding situations where you'd have to play your less-than-favorite shots.

For instance, if you're very accurate with a full pitching wedge but not very good with partial wedge shots, then on holes where you have to lay up short of the green, there's no point in trying to slug your ball up close where you'll have to hit that partial shot. Instead, you should be sure to leave yourself enough room so that you can play that full wedge into the green.

The pros do this all the time, and Johnny Miller was one of the best at it. He knew that he was as precise as anyone in the world at hitting a golf ball 110 yards -- exactly 110 yards. He figures that from that distance he can put his shot within six feet of the pin more often than not.

So, on long par-5s, when Johnny knew after his drive he couldn't get home in two, he simply asked his caddie, "What's the yardage to the 110 point?" Then he'd hit whatever club he needed to get to that distance. He may have hit as little as a 6- or 7-iron, secure in the confidence that the next shot would give him a short birdie putt.

That's aggressive golf -- using your strongest tools as often and as effectively as possible.

- Greg Norman


Golf Tip Archive
Tip #61Gamesmanship - Posted Dec. 31, 2003
Tip #60The Seven-Fingered Shot - Posted Dec. 24, 2003
Tip #59Slice An 8-iron On Long Bunker Shots - Posted Dec. 17, 2003
Tip #58Reading The Green - Posted Dec. 10, 2003
Tip #57Handling Heavy Grass - Posted Dec. 3, 2003
Tip #56The Pitch Shot - Posted Nov. 26, 2003
Tip #55Post Impact - Posted Nov. 19, 2003
Tip #54Three Trick Shots - Posted Nov. 12, 2003
Tip #53Getting Out Of The Trees - Posted Nov. 5, 2003
Tip #52Fades and Draws - Posted Oct. 29, 2003
Tip #51Sixth Sense In The Sand - Posted Oct. 22, 2003
Tip #50The Downswing - Posted Oct. 15, 2003
Tip #49Low Shots - Posted Oct. 8, 2003
Tip #48The Right Club On The Tee - Posted Oct. 1, 2003
Tip #47Reinforce On The Course - Posted Sept. 24, 2003
Tip #46The Lob - Posted Sept. 17, 2003
Tip #45Brave And Bold Putts - Posted Sept. 10, 2003
Tip #44Club Selection - Posted Sept. 3, 2003
Tip #43Meaningful Practice - Posted Aug. 27, 2003
Tip #42Tackling Trouble Shots - Posted Aug. 20, 2003
Tip #41Adapt To Different Sands - Posted Aug. 13, 2003
Tip #40Difficult Lies - Posted Aug. 6, 2003
Tip #39The Takeaway - Posted July 30, 2003
Tip #38The Chip Shot - Posted July 23, 2003
Tip #37The Punch - Posted July 16, 2003
Tip #36Shotmaking Strategies - Posted July 9, 2003
Tip #35Metal Readiness - Posted July 2, 2003
Tip #34Aptitude Starts with Attitude - Posted June 25, 2003
Tip #33Perfect Your Putting Position - Posted June 18, 2003
Tip #32Take the Right Position - Posted June 11, 2003
Tip #31Learn to Read the Green - Posted June 4, 2003
Tip #30Dig it out of the Rough - Posted May 28, 2003
Tip #29Get the Stiffest Shaft You Can Handle - Posted May 21, 2003
Tip #28Get Hungry around the Green - Posted May 14, 2003
Tip #27Blast it Out of the Water - Posted May 7, 2003
Tip #26Think Your Way Out of Trouble - Posted April 30, 2003
Tip #25Overhaul Your Game - Posted April 23, 2003
Tip #24Become a Sand Expert - Posted April 16, 2003
Tip #23Know When to Pick Your Shots - Posted April 9, 2003
Tip #22Learn to Work Your Shots - Posted April 2, 2003
Tip #21Countdown to Takeoff - Posted March 26, 2003
Tip #20Perfect Your Alignment - Posted March 19, 2003
Tip #19Learn the Basics of Sand Play - Posted March 12, 2003
Tip #18Playing in the Rain - Posted March 5, 2003
Tip #17Should You Swing the Same? - Posted Feb. 26, 2003
Tip #16Finish Your Swing Strong - Posted Feb. 19, 2003
Tip #15Hit it Through the Wind - Posted Feb. 12, 2003
Tip #14Put Horsepower in Your Swing - Posted Feb. 5, 2003
Tip #13Hit the Right Club - Posted Jan. 29, 2003
Tip #12You Can Spin the Ball Back - Posted Jan. 22, 2003
Tip #11Don't be a Sucker - Posted Jan. 15, 2003
Tip #10Make Your Practice Meaningful - Posted Jan. 8, 2003
Tip #9Hit it Deep - Posted Jan. 1, 2003
Tip #8Learn to Love The Sand - Posted Dec. 25, 2002
Tip #7Get Inside Their Head - Posted Dec. 18, 2002
Tip #6Get a Handle on Flyer Lies - Posted Dec. 11, 2002
Tip #5Hitting it High - Posted Dec. 5, 2002
Tip #4Swing a Knockout Punch - Posted Nov. 28, 2002
Tip #3Spin it Out of the Sand - Posted Nov. 21, 2002
Tip #2Hit off the Deck - Posted Nov. 14, 2002
Tip #1Attack Every Putt - Posted Nov. 7, 2002

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