Most of the golfers I know who are scratch golfers started playing golf at a young age, and they played a lot of golf as a kid, as a teenager and young adult.
If you are a golfer who picked up the game later in life, you are at a huge disadvantage. As adults, our bodies simply don’t move the way we want them to.
As a result, we have to practice harder and with greater focus in order to get the results we want.
If you have average athletic ability, I still believe it is possible to become a scratch golfer, or at least a mid-single digit handicap golfer, if you are starting from a point where your average score is in the 90’s.
I also believe this can be accomplished in three years or less. If you can’t accomplish this in three years, you likely never can.
First, let me give you my definition of a scratch golfer. A scratch golfer is one who is capable of shooting under par under individual tournament conditions, away from their home course.
In other words, if you shoot 72 or 73 now and then at your home track, you are nowhere near being a scratch golfer.
Now that we have that definition out of the way, how do you get there?
Identify the weaknesses in your golf game
If you’ve been playing for a while, you need to start keeping track of your strengths and weaknesses. Then, work on making your weaknesses a strength and your strengths even stronger.
Many golfers who have never broken 90 lose many shots around and on the greens.
Most instructors will tell you that the fastest way to shoot lower scores is by working on your putting and short game. However, most golfers spend far less than half of their practice time working on these skills.
Most golfers who have never broken 90 also have golf swings that need to be improved significantly in order to develop more consistent ball striking.
The fact of the matter is if you can’t hit fairways and greens in regulation, then you won’t become a scratch golfer.
Full game evaluation
With all this in mind, in order to identify your strengths and weaknesses, you need to conduct a full game evaluation. Here is what I do when I conduct such an evaluation for a student.
First, I watch them hit a variety of clubs on the driving range. I see how far they can hit it with the driver, and how often they can potentially hit the fairway.
Next I watch them hit shots with various irons and ask them to try to work the ball from left to right, right to left, high and low. Then I gauge them on distance control.
This exercise provides me with a clear picture, along with video analysis of their golf swing.
Then it’s off to the practice green where I ask them to hit a variety of chips and pitches, and bunker shots.
Lastly, I test them on their lag putting and their short putting.
From there, it’s time to put together a plan.
A long term plan of improvement for your golf game
While it can take months of hard work to make improvements to your golf swing, most of the attention you give to your golf game should be on your short game and putting.
In fact, I would split up your time at about 65% short game and putting and 35% driving range practice.
The short game practice should likely be split up at about 60% putting and 40% shots around the green. If you can become a great putter, and ANYONE can become a great putter, then you can make up for a lot of your other faults.
When you are trying to make improvements to your full swing, remember, you can also work on those changes AWAY from the driving range.
Slow motion practice in front of a mirror is a great way to make swing changes. If it’s good enough for Tiger Woods, it’s good enough for you.
When you practice any part of your game, you should always have a plan before your practice session. And, you should always conduct your practice sessions as if you are on the golf course…simulation will help you improve much more quickly.
Driving Range Practice
I’ve previously written about how to practice at the driving range. I want to elaborate on that a bit now.
Instead of just beating a bucket of balls, practice with focus.
Pick out a target at a certain distance, and hit ten shots. Record your proximity to your target for each shot. Estimate the distance from the target, and whether you are long or short, left or right.
With each shot, try to do better than the last one. Once you are done with these ten shots, determine your average distance from the target, and pay attention to any tendencies (mostly long or short, left or right).
Then hit another ten balls and try to improve upon your performance.
If you’ve already learned how to work the ball high and low, left to right and right to left, challenge yourself to execute these shots on command. Can you hit a low cut or a high draw that ends up right at your target?
If you struggle executing a particular shot, then try to make that improvement.
Also, it’s a good idea to be sure you are getting yourself aligned properly to hit shots.
One exercise you can do is have a friend stand behind you while you set up for a shot. Have them place a club across your shoulders, hips and knees, and record how you are setting up for each shot. This way you can identify any bad tendencies.
Consider picking up an inexpensive launch monitor to help you out with distance control, particularly with your short irons and wedges.
Short game practice
When working on your short game, be sure you learn how to execute all the shots you’ll need on the golf course. Chip shots from short grass and rough, long pitch shots, bunker shots and flop shots.
Once you learn how to execute each shot, then challenge yourself during your practice.
Similar to the drill I mentioned in my discussion of driving range practice, pick out a target for a short game shot, say a 50 foot chip shot.
For those particular shots, your goal should be to get the shot within 4 or 5 feet of the hole, so put a loose circle of tees around the hole in a five foot radius.
Hit ten shots and record the number of shots you get within the circle. Now hit ten more and try to beat that score. Don’t move on to your next type of shot until you beat the score from that first set of ten.
Do that with a variety of short game shots. The more difficult the shot, the wider your circle will be.
Perforrm a simulation where you play nine holes around your practice green. Your goal is to get up and down in two shots…your chip shot or pitch shot, and then one putt.
Play nine holes, record the score, then play that same nine again and try to beat your score. This is a game that teaching pro and former tour player Jim Estes does with a lot of his students.
Putting Practice
You should work on your putting virtually every day if you want to become a great putter.
The first step is to develop a great putting stroke. You can work on that indoors or out, year round.
Each time you set foot on a putting green you should work on your lag putting. You want to work on your distance control and proximity to the hole.
You perform the same drill I mentioned with your short game shots, except that circle around the hole should probably have no more than a three foot radius.
You should always do these lag putting drills before any round of golf.
To develop confidence over those short putts, use the Tiger Woods gate drill, which you’ll see at about the two minute mark in the video below.
Tiger was known for finishing up a practice session by making 100 three footers in a row. THAT’s how you build confidence with your short putting.
Play Golf, Alot!
If you want to become a scratch golfer, you need to play alot of golf! That’s just the bottom line.
Also, when you play, you need to compete with your playing partners. If you want to be able to compete in tournament play, it’s a must that you compete during your normal rounds.
Yes, that means you will need to gamble a bit. I can’t think of any good golfer I ever played with that didn’t gamble. The simple Nassau bet will do in that regard.
You will also need to play as much competitive golf as you can. This is how you learn to how to play good golf. If you can do it in competition, you can do it anytime.
This is a process.
I’ll never forget when I was twelve years old, I was getting ready to play my first tournament. By then, I was shooting in the mid 40’s for nine holes, but I was going to play a course I had never played.
One of the older kids I played with a little bit told me I probably wouldn’t break 50 in that nine hole tournament.
He was right…I shot 51. The different course and the nerves led me to play pretty poorly that day.
Over the years, I slowly became more comfortable playing tournament golf. I started winning some junior tournaments, and then finally won some regular men’s events in my local golf scene.
Ultimately, I took my game as far as the sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open at the age of 19 and played my best golf when I was 22 and 23, before I took my first sabbatical from the game.
Final Thoughts
Becoming a really good golfer is a process, and it takes a huge effort. If you are passionate about the game, AND have the time, then you’ve got a good shot at becoming a scratch golfer. The rest is up to you.
The key is to be patient. This process is like any other. At times, progress will be slow. Then, you’ll make a huge leap forward once something starts to click.
Keep the long range goal in mind, click off those short-term goals, and before you know it, you will be where you want to be.
I recently put together an Ebook that provides you with even more detail on how to become a scratch golfer. You can learn more about it on our Ebooks page.
