Most Golfers Are Guilty Of These Recurring Faults (And I'd Know, I've Played 3,000 Rounds)

Over 40 years playing far too much golf, it would be reasonable to estimate I’ve played something like 3,000 rounds. You’d think I would have the hang of it by now. How come I’m not getting any better?

I’m proficient at the game but am by no means an expert. I wouldn’t want to dish out too much technical advice, but I would say that having played on hundreds of different courses with hundreds of different golfers, I’ve had a decent amount of experience.

I’ve played with golfers who are very, very good and others who are very, very bad. Most are somewhere in between. Most of us play golf just for pleasure, although sometimes it’s hard to come by.

I for one, don’t work on my game nearly as much as I should, and I don’t tend to learn from my common mistakes. I don’t think I’m alone in that. I think most golfers tend to repeat the same errors round after round and some of them would be pretty easily fixed. Here are some of the recurring faults that I’ve seen in many, if not most, amateur golfers...

Not warming up

I don’t warm up it properly and very few of my regular or occasional playing partners do it either. How can you expect to walk straight from the car to the first tee and hit a belter down the middle?

The professionals spend at least an hour warming up before a round, hitting full shots, pitches, bunker shots, putts and working on the best golf drills.

At best, I’ll have a couple of quick stabs on the putting green and a bit of a back stretch before standing over my opening tee shot. Generally, the thoughts going through my head are, “I wonder what this will feel like?” and “I wonder where this is going to go?” Not ideal for seeing good results.

It’s not always possible, but when we do have time, we should all aim to get to the course early enough to hit a few shots, maybe even in the practice net, to stretch properly and to spend a meaningful five minutes on the putting green.

And if you're bored of golf practice, here are three drills to make it fun!

Not knowing how far we hit it

How far does the average club golfer hit their 7-iron? I'm not sure. I definitely don’t know my yardages. I think my 8-iron goes about 150 yards. Does it? Most golfers overestimate how far they hit their clubs and, as a result, often come up short.

Many of us are too proud to admit that, actually, our 8-iron only goes 135 yards. You’ve probably had a go on Toptracer at the driving range and seen your 8-iron only goes 135 yards, but have blamed that on the range balls.

If more of us were to go for a proper gapping session with a PGA qualified pro and find out a real average distance for each club and trust it, we would find ourselves up at the pin far more often giving ourselves an awful lot more chances.

Reaching for driver

Most of us love hitting driver. It’s the most fun club in the bag, isn’t it? But is it the right club to use? If it’s a par 4, and definitely if it’s a par 5, most amateur golfers reach straight for the big dog. But there are holes where it just isn’t sensible.

Perhaps it’s too tight, perhaps the fairway runs out at your driving distance, perhaps driver actually gets you too close. I’ve seen elite level golfers hitting driver when they would be far better laying back with an iron and attacking the pin with a full shot. Assess the hole and, if it’s not sensible to hit driver, don’t do it!

Under reading putts

Most of us miss the majority of our sloping putts on the low side. It’s so hard to believe it’s going to break that much, and the temptation is always to aim towards the cup.

The best putters envisage a target on the putting surface that will send the ball towards the cup, but most of us (who don’t fall into the category of best putters) focus too much on the cup itself and not on how to get it there (try these putting drills).

Compounding mistakes

Top-level players never follow a mistake with another mistake. Most of us do. The average golfer gets flustered when they hit a poor shot or find themselves in trouble.

We try to rectify the mistake by trying something crazy. We’ll try to blast out of an impossible lie or hit a driver off the deck to regain position. We’ll turn a bogey into a triple. We need to take our medicine more often and limit the damage.

Getting defensive

If you watch PGA Tour golf, you see players continuing to push when they’re on a good score. If they’re five-under, they want to get to six. But most amateur golfers start to feel anxious when they’re playing above their expected level.

Rather than relishing a good day on the links, we start to worry we’re going to blow it. We might try to guide shots rather than swing freely, or we might take a different club than we normally would to try and avoid disasters.

By doing that, we create tension and inevitably make the mistakes we are so fearful of. If you can find a way to enjoy your good golf and continue to play freely, you’ll post better scores. I know… easier said than done!