| When you watch tournament professionals playing | | | | I think with a mid to high handicapper you will see |
| golf on television it is very easy to get a false | | | | a slightly different decision making process going |
| impression of the game of golf. They make the | | | | on. If their ball is up against a wall they may |
| game look so easy, when in effect it is a game | | | | decide to try and play a left handed shot with a |
| that needs lots of practice and coaching if you | | | | right handed club, swing at the ball and find after |
| want to become even somewhat good at it. This | | | | the stroke the ball is still against the wall. Now |
| is when many people start to believe it will be | | | | they could have taken a penalty drop and played |
| easy to reduce their golf handicap. | | | | their next shot easily. However they have now |
| Many golfers new to the game do not understand | | | | taken a shot, they now think that if they take |
| the amount of time and effort that a professional | | | | the penalty drop they will have lost two strokes |
| golfer has to put in to training his golf game over | | | | so again they try the impossible shot from |
| many years. You cannot just reduce your | | | | against the wall. Before they know it they are |
| handicap by turning up at the course and hitting | | | | walking off the green with an eight or a nine on |
| some balls. Professional golfers spend endless | | | | their card. If they had taken the penalty drop |
| amounts of time and effort in practising their | | | | right up front they may easily have walked off |
| shots and in working with their swing coaches and | | | | the hole with at worst a bogey. |
| mindset coaches to get their game to that top | | | | Now their mindset is gone completely. They put |
| level. A professional golfer will even practice shots | | | | themselves under pressure to try and clam back |
| which they will very rarely encounter on the | | | | the four or five strokes they gave away at the |
| course, however they are always wanting to be | | | | previous hole. Golf under pressure as a mid to |
| prepared for that occasion when lady luck leaves | | | | high handicapper is not a good place to be. Before |
| them with a seemingly impossible shot. | | | | you know it you are hitting bogeys and double |
| Whether it is playing left handed golf with a right | | | | bogeys right they way to the end of the round. |
| handed club, playing from up a tree ( and yes this | | | | By the time you come off the eighteenth your |
| has happened) or managing to slide a ball around a | | | | score card is blown, your handicap has gone up |
| tree to get to the green. To us mortals these | | | | and you never want to see a golf course ever |
| may appear as trick shots, however to the | | | | again. |
| professional it is a weapon they must keep in | | | | If you seriously want to reduce your golfing |
| their bag. When a professional is handed a | | | | handicap then there is one thing you must |
| seemingly impossible shot they do not run in and | | | | remember on a golf course, course management. |
| play the shot. They take their time and assess | | | | When you are in a difficult situation, assess the |
| the shots available to them. They may decide to | | | | situation, understand your golf skill level and select |
| go for the green, get the ball back into play or | | | | the shot that your golfing ability can carry out |
| even to take a penalty shot so that they can | | | | successfully. Better to walk off a hole with a |
| play the ball from a better position. You can be | | | | bogey than put an eight or a nine on you card |
| sure that before they select their shot they have | | | | and destroy the rest of your round. Reduce your |
| weighed up the risks and once the decision is | | | | handicap using common sense using the art of |
| made they complete commit to the shot. | | | | course management. |