Golf can be the most amazing game in the world.
It can also be the most frustrating game at times.
Oftentimes, the beginner or high handicap golfer is searching for tips or drills that will help them make progress and get to a respectable level. The golf swing does not need to be as complicated as some make it out to be.
Here at golfjourney365, we believe in 3 key fundamentals to playing solid golf. These include the following keys:
- Control the low point of the swing – The golfer ultimately has to hit the ball solid a high percentage of the time. The best way to accomplish this is to control the low point of the golf swing.
- Control the start line and the curve of the ball – The golfer that has the ability to hit his or her start line a high percentage of the time with a predictable curve will have hte best chance for success.
- Have enough speed – The golfer needs to have enough speed to play the course. For many golfers, they can train and increase their swing. Speed is not a permanent thing, it can go up and down.
Based on these 3 key fundamentals, we offer these tips, followed by drills to help you play better golf and take your game to the next level.
5 Golf Tips For High Handicappers
- Control The Low Point of the Swing
- Create A Stock Shot
- Train for Speed
- Get up and down 50% of the time
- Manage Your Game and Your Emotions
Tip #1: Control The Low Point of the Swing
The best golfers control their low point over 99% of the time, while the highest handicap golfers might struggle to do this 50% of the time. This results in poor quality shots for the high handicap golfer. The shot that often surfaces is the chunked shot, the bladed shot or the thin shot. The golfer struggles to control his or her distance or to keep the ball in play because they can’t count on a well struck shot a high percentage of the time.
This is the number one fundamental to the game, we must be able to strike the ball solid. This impacts the full swing and the chip shot, but the good news is that there is a way to get better at this and it is a drill you can practice just about everywhere.
How to hit your irons consistently!
Drill: Low Point Control Drill
- Take some yard paint and paint a 1-2 yard long line if you are in the grass area.
- Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
- Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
- Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to do this successfully in trials of ten.
- You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.
If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing.
Tip #2: Create A Stock Shot
Could you imagine this…you step up to your tee shot or an approach shot from the fairway and you can pick a specific spot on the green and play a slight fade or draw towards the pin? You then hit the shot and it flies as expected.
You hit the ball crips and you control the start line and the curve? This is when golfers start to feel consistent! They are now striking the ball solidly (see drill above) and can control the curve of the blal and where the ball starts! The golfer is quickly improving and breaking 100 or 90 is within reach due to becoming a better striker of the ball with a clear idea of what the ball is going to do in the air.
The start line and the curve of the ball can be trained through the drill below!
Drill: The Stock Shot Drill (Specific Details)
- Set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
- If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 2-3 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
- Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
- The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw or fade back towards the target.
This is a drill that you can use every time you practice at the driving range. Be specific in your practice and try to hit certain shape shots. Don’t default to hitting driver after driver or 7 iron after 7 iron. Be purposeful in your practice.
Tip #3: Train for Speed
Speed is vital! The more speed, the easier the game often is! The shorter one hits the ball, the more difficult the game becomes! The great news…you can train for speed and gain speed pretty quickly!
I spent many years wondering how I can increase my swing speed. When I was playing junior golf, we weren’t fortunate enough to have some of the training aids and knowledge that is now available. Smart people have studied the golf swing and have created training aids and protocols to help all golfers increase their distance!
At around the same time, the statistics from the PGA Tour have become more clear and the importance of speed is acknowledged by many to be a key to being the best on the PGA Tour.
Within the past several years, there have been several products hit the market to make speed gains possible. While many people for many years waited for the latest driver to come out to gain an additional 5-10 yards, you can now do this even with your current clubs.
Did you know that with the SuperSpeed Training System you can gain 5-8% increase in swing speed as early as the first training session? This would allow you to gain somewhere between 10 and 30 yards depending on your current swing speed.
SuperSpeed Golf – Use Discount Code Golfjourney365 for some savings!
The SuperSpeed Training System is based on three different swing speed sticks all weighing at different weights. There is a green club that is 10% lighter than the average driver, the blue club which is 5% lighter and the red club which is actually 5% heavier!
Following their prescribed protocols the golfer completes the training every other day. The total time to complete most of their protocols is between 10-15 minutes. Most people can find the time to make this happen. The golfer will also need a swing radar to measure their progress.
The science behind the SuperSpeed Training System is based on overspeed training. Overspeed training has been around for several decades now and has been used by olympic athletics in the sport of Track and Field.
The science behind this overspeed training is based on the premise that your brain will only allow your body to move as fast as it feels it can stop safely! So, you get to work and swing the clubs as fast as possible, retraining your brain to allow you to swing your driver faster.
For more permanent results, the golfer should continue these training protocols for several months. The initial 5-8% is great and can become more permanent with the right length of training. The golfer can expect to continue to break down barriers every several months at a 1-2% increase.
My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!
Phil Mickelson (a senior golfer now) has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!
Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!
| Original Swing Speed | After 4-6 Weeks | New Carry Distance | Total Distance |
| 95 | 102 | 245 | 265 |
| 100 | 108 | 259 | 279 |
| 105 | 113 | 271 | 291 |
| 110 | 118 | 283 | 303 |
Tip #4: Get up and down 50% of the time
If you want the best tip to truly get better and to get better fast, check out this tip. Get up and down 50% of the time. If you could do this and keep the ball in play, you can quickly make your way to breaking 80!
Yes, it sounds far away at this point, but becoming a great chipper of the ball and a golfer that can make the putt, you are well on your way to playing some respectable golf!
This is how I help many junior golfers get better fast and to compete with golfers that might outdrive them by 30-50 yards. We work on becoming one amazing short game player until they grow and then add 30-50 yards. Now they have a great short game with extra distance…watch out! They are breaking par before we know it!
Helpful Posts:
Tip #5: Manage Your Game and Your Emotions
The game becomes much easier when you can master tips 1 and 2. As soon as you start hitting the ball solid with a predictable shot pattern, you can start to eliminate the trouble on a golf course. This allows you to manage your game and your emotions. Keep in mind that golf is a 4-5 hour journey, stay calm, stick to your plan and swing with confidence.
Too often, a golfer will swing tentatively, which only leads to poor results 9 times out of 10. Instead, pick a shot you can hit, step up to the ball and make a confident swing!
If you struggle with the emotions or mental side of the game, make sure you check out the three resources in the link below!
Final Thoughts: Enjoy The Journey
Stick with these tips and several of the drills to take your game to the next level! Don’t get caught up in chasing a bunch of different positional swing tips. Instead focus on the low point control drill and the stock shot drill and good things will happen!
Golf should be fun. If it starts to feel like work, assess what you are trying to accomplish, step back and make sure you bring the fun back into the game. Enjoy the great shots, enjoy the challenge to plot your way around a course and take great pride in sinking a 7 foot putt to save par.
Enjoy and celebrate the little accomplishments in your journey. The journey to single digits will not be linear and you will have ups and downs.
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.