Do you want to get good at golf, improve your game, and lower your score? In this guide, I’ll show you 25 practical ways on how to get better at golf fast.
I outline golf tips below that you can try out TODAY to improve your score.
We’ll look at everything from:
- Ways to improve your swing in order to hit the ball straighter
- Golf accessories you can buy that can measure how well you golf
- Practice drills and outdoor golf games you can play
- Signs you should recognize if you need new equipment
- How to play golf with a clear head
- How to improve your golf game today
My goal is that when we are done, you’ll have a few ideas on how you can lower your golf score.
Let’s take a look!
The Best Ways to Improve Your Golf Game
Track Your Golf Handicap
A golf handicap is an adjusted numerical value that tells you how many shots over par you are expected to hit in a round of golf. It takes into account a few different variables:
- Your most recent scores
- The difficulty of the courses you play at
- The relative difficulty of a course between a scratch golfer and a bogey golfer
The handicap score is designed to allow an average golfer and a professional golfer to play on an even playing field, by allowing the average golfer to adjust their score for their handicap.
How do you figure out your golf handicap?
We have a free golf handicap calculator here that will help you out. Write and keep track of your recent scores, slope, and course rating and the calculator will tell you what your current handicap is. You will be able to track improvement in your handicap as you get better at golf using the tips in this guide!
Pick the Right Golf Ball
Golf balls have a number of features that are designed to match the type of golfer you are and what swing speed you have.
Some important golf ball features are:
- The compression rating
- Feel
- Dimple design and pattern
- Number of layers
We have a golf ball compression chart which lists all of these important details for every single golf ball and explains more in detail. At the very least, by a golf ball with a compression rating that matches your swing speed.
Which leads us to our next golf tip..
Learn and Understand Your Swing Speed
Knowing your swing speed is important because it will tell you how far you should be able to hit the golf ball with each club in your hand. There are a few different ways you can learn your swing speed:
- Buy a launch monitor and take it out to the driving range with you
- Go to an indoor golf simulator business and play a round
- Make an appointment to get fitted with clubs at a golf retailer
Once you know your swing speed, use our swing speed distance calculator to calculate the distance you should be able to hit each club. This will help you pick the right club on the course and get better at golf.
Buy a Launch Monitor
In addition to swing speed, a launch monitor can track other data points and analytics after every swing. These small portable devices are set on the ground at the level of the ball and use radar and sensors to measure various parameters of the golf swing and hit, including:
- Ball speed
- Angle of Attack
- Smash Factor
- Club Path
- Spin
- Loft
and more!
The information is either displayed on the device itself, or sent to your smartphone for review and storage.
A launch monitor can also be hooked up to golf simulation software, so that you can play real life courses virtually from your own hole.
Click here to check out the best launch monitors available today.
Get Fitted For Clubs
If you choose to get fitted for clubs in order to learn your swing speed, you’ll also learn a ton of other golf tips and information here as well. When you get fitted, a professional will make sure you have the proper equipment to play and will determine the best
- Golf ball to play with
- Golf shaft to use
- The proper loft for your wedges
- New technology that can help your swing
- What equipment matches your playing style
- The right equipment for your body measurements
A lot of people say that they instantly golfed better after seeing a professional club fitter.
Clean Your Grooves
Your golf clubs, especially your irons and wedges, take a real beating out of the course. Over time, your grooves can get clogged up with mud, dirt, and grass.
Your golf club grooves are important because they add spin to your ball and help you control your shots around the green. When they are dirty, you can lose a lot of consistency in your shot.
I recommend buying a good groove sharpening kit and taking the time to clean your golf clubs a few times per year. The one from GrooveMaster below is highly rated.
Set In-Round Goals
Golf is a mental game and some players thrive off of goals and competition. If you want to improve your golf game, set in-round goals for yourself to work on and then grade yourself after the 18th hole.
Some examples of some goals you can set are:
- Less than 3 missed fairways
- At least 9 green in regulations
- No three-putts for the whole round
- Break 100 or 90 or 85 as a total score
- No lost golf balls
- 1 birdie
Figuring out and remembering your goals can help you mentally prepare for your round as well. Go on and give it a try.
Practice More Golf
Golf is a game of repetition. It is harder to become better if you are only playing single digital rounds each year. If you live in an area with a lot of courses, switch things up and try somewhere new. Or go to the driving range and work on proper swing mechanics.
If you can’t leave your house, buy an at-home hitting net to use. All of these tactics will help you improve your golf game.
Work On Your Alignment
Lots of errors in your golf game can be fixed with proper alignment of your feet and arms. If you want to be a better golfer, these basics are key.
Using golf clubs as your alignment sticks, make sure that you feet are straight and exactly perpendicular to the direction you are aiming. Make sure your hips are facing straight towards the ball as well.
Make sure nothing in your pre-shot routine is throwing off your aligment.
The video below shows you how to line up and check your golf alignment in an efficient way.
Sign Up For an Online Golf Lesson
Learning how to get better at golf doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money or be in person with a PGA professional. There are tons of reputable golf coaches which offer online services that you can subscribe to.
These online golf classes can feature video series’ on a variety of game improvement topics:
- How to break 100/90/80
- Tips for hitting a straighter drive
- Mental golf tips and tricks
- How to hit the ball longer
- Golf course and paly tips
- Putting tips and information
In addition, a lot of these online classes offer additional value added services:
- Golf swing analysis
- 1-on-1 video coaching
- Customized golf tips tailored to your game
Check our out list of the top online golf lessons and courses below.
Stretch Before You Golf
A lot of casual golfers do not spend enough time stretching out their body before they start playing. Before you head out to the course, look up a yoga tutorial on Youtube and practice working on your flexibility. Work on rotating your hips and loosening your shoulders up. These tactics are important for a good golf swing.
PGA tour professionals often go through a full exercise routine and hit dozens of golf balls on the driving range before they play. This is done to warm up all of your muscles and get yourself ready to golf a good round.
Start a Good Exercise Routine
If you want to get better at golf, a good exercise routine that focuses on strength, stamina, and agility and really help you out.
Strength
By lifting weights, you can add extra muscle to your arms, chest, and legs. This will help you power through the ball and add extra distance on to your shots.
Stamina
Golf is a game of endurance and you want to make sure that you have as much energy on the 18th whole as you do on the 1st. Use a treadmill or elliptical to increase your stamina.
Agility
Good agility will allow you to rotate your hips more freely and swing a golf club without worry. Yoga and stretching will help you loosen your hamstring muscles and add more agility to your movement.
Working on all of these factors together will help you improve your golf swing a lot.
Work on Your Mental Game
Having a good mental game is very important to improve your golf game. You have to both forget all of your bad shots as soon as they are hit and remember your good shots in order to improve consistency.
In a 4 hour round of golf, you will only spend a few minutes swinging a club and a few more minutes setting up for your shot. Most of the time is spent travelling to your golf ball and mentally preparing for your next hit.
To improve your mental game, work on never getting frustrated and sticking to your plan. If you want a book to help you with your golf mental game, I would recommend Mastering Golf’s Mental Game: Your Ultimate Guide to Better On-Course Performance and Lower Scores by Michael Lardon.
Visualize Where Your Ball Will Go
A lot of a newer golfers do not yet have a good vision for what their ball will do when it is hit. To get better at golf, you need to visualize every shot.
How high will the ball fly?
Where will the ball land?
How much roll will it have?
These are important factors to every shot. Once you can start to visualize what will happen after the ball is hit, you will be able to hit more predictably and adjust your swing accordingly.
Buy New Equipment
Golf equipment makes step changes and improvements every 5 years. If you are playing with clubs that are much older than that, it might be time to buy some new equipment.
For example, the new TaylorMade Stealth has carbon in the club head, which adds more weight in the same size of head. Other drivers like the Callaway Rogue ST and Cobra LTDX have worked to maximize the sweet spot on the club so that even your mis-hits go far.
Plus, 5 years is a sweet spot where you can still get good value for trading in your golf clubs.
New equipment won’t fix a bad swing, but it can help improve your golf game in a lot of other different ways.
Track Your Golf Stats
Data and analytics are huge for PGA professionals today and if you want to play better golf, it should be important to you too. If you don’t know where your weaknesses are, how do you know where to improve?
Swing analyzers like the Arccos track the distance and performance of every shot you take. At the end of your round, you can look at the average distance, swing or hook, and performance of each club. This information can help you learn where you need more practice and which areas of your golf game need improvement.
Work on Your Pre-Shot Routine
If you watch PGA golf on TV, you’ll notice that each golfer has a very deliberate pre-shot routine that they go through. This routine can include practice swings, how they line up to the ball, and other tics. This type of repetition is good for your mental game and for muscle memory.
Sir Nick Faldo’s famous quote on your pre-shot routine is “the mind does not know the different between a rehearsal and the real thing” so get your mind in the right spot as you warm up to take your shot.
The video below explains this concept in more detail.
Record Your Swing and Ask For Feedback
One awesome way to get better at golf is to record your swing and then analyze it. This can help you figure out where your alignment is off and which part of your swing is causing that slice or hook.
Set your phone up behind you and record yourself hitting the golf ball. Then, ask for feedback from a friend who is better than you or sign up to an online golf course which includes swing analysis as part of your subscription.
Often, our golf swing is repeated out of habit. In order to improve your swing, an impartial review can identify issues that you don’t see yourself.
Watch Free Youtube Videos
If you prefer a less-personalized approach, there are also a lot of free golf lesson videos on Youtube that you can check out. These golf tips aren’t as in depth as some of the paid classes, but provide good pointers for beginner golfers looking for basic tips.
Some of our favorite golf teachers on Youtube to check out that are offering good tips on how to play good golf are:
- Rich Shiels
- Top Speed Golf
- Danny Maude
- Performance Golf Zone
- Meandmygolf
Work on Your Short Game
A lot of emphasis is placed on your drive off the tee, but working on your short game of shots 150 yards and closer will do better to improve your golf game.
Think about it.
You’ll have about 14 drives per game but play 30 or more approach shots with your irons. Because of this, you’ll want to have a good idea at some key stats about your irons:
- How far do you hit each iron?
- Can you put any backspin on your wedges?
- How much roll do you get on each iron?
Understanding how to hit your irons and put your ball close to the hole will shave a lot of strokes off your score and make you a better golfer.
Practice Your Putting
There is an old saying in golf:
Drive for show, putt for dough.
Anybody can learn how to hit a drive, but saving strokes with your putter is key to improving your golf game. You can save 5 or more strokes off of your golf game by single putting on a handful of holes every round.
Therefore, getting really good at those 8 foot putts can really make you a better golfer.
If you have the space, an indoor golf green can help you get good at putting on the greens.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many ways to get better at golf and reduce your handicap. And these golf tips are in a variety of different categories:
- Equipment tips
- Accessories to improve your game
- Physical and mental strategies
- Unique ideas to improve your swing
What is your favorite way to get good at golf fast? Comment down below and let everybody know what has worked well for you.
Last update on 2024-10-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
