The Secret To Getting More Birdies

First, the Obvious

There’s no way around it.  If you want to get pars and birdies, you’re going to have to control your tee shot.  I’m not saying you need to bomb it 300 yards straight down the middle.  But you do have to give yourself a chance.  If the big club is spraying all over the field, consider using your 3-wood, instead.  Getting lower scores is all about playing smart.  You may have to give up swinging your driver as hard as you can hoping for that massive, yet rarely attained, perfect drive, in favor of the slow and easy swing with the 3-wood that lands in grass a high percentage of the time.

You’ll also need to sink some putts!  So practice those 5, 10, and 15 footers so when you’re out on the course you have a chance.  I’m not saying you’re going to follow a few tips here and shoot par on your next round, but I am saying if you follow these tips you’ll put yourself in a position where pars and birdies are at least possible.  And from there, it’s a numbers game.  Some holes you’ll nail it, others you’ll fluff it.  But you’ll have more fun and get better scores!

The Approach Shot

The approach shot is critical if you’re trying to get a birdie.  Depending where you leave the ball, you may have a 2 foot putt for birdie, or be stuck in a sand trap with little to no chance of the birdie.  T ohelp you with the approach shot, the easiest and cheapest thing you can do is start using a free golf gps app.  Things won’t happen overnight, but as you start guaging distances and getting a better understanding of how your wedges play, eventually you’ll get more accurate and leave yourself shorter putts a higher percentage of the time.  And leaving those shorter putts is the key to getting birdies!

Here’s a screenshot from a free golf gps app that you can run right on your smart phone:

Looking at that screenshot, you have all the information you need to choose the exact yardage you want to fly your ball.  As with anything you do, the key to improving is being persistant and consistant.  Use the GPS on every approach shot.  Start saying to your self “I need to fly the ball exactly 142 yards, and I know my wedge flies it 135, so I’ll use that club.”  Then make the shot, and analyze the results.  You may find that you struck the ball well and it came up way short.  Was it windy?  Or, does that club actually fly the ball shorter than you presumed?  Eventually you’ll get dialed in with your clubs which will help your confidence and lead to better approach shots.

You may be surprised to learn that some of these golf GPS apps are completely free.  Birdie Apps is a free one, and has all the tools you need to determine the exact yardage to your landing zone.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Another obvious one.  Spend some time on the practice putting green.  The putter is used on every single hole, while the driver is used on about half the holes.  So does it make sense to go to the driving range and practice your driver for the majority of the time and neglect the putter?  It may be more fun, but if your goal is to get more pars and birdies, then spend more of your practice time on the putting green.