5 Stupid Mistakes Amateur Golfers Make

Every amateur golfer makes mistakes during their round, but which of those stupid errors can we get rid of to keep our scores down!

Our very own Hannah Holden and Jack Backhouse took to the course at Close House to go through some of those mistakes.

From driving danger, to shots around the green, from dealing with danger to that dreaded three-foot putt…

Check out the video to see what you need to do to make sure you don’t make the same stupid mistakes all amateur golfers make

Danger on Tee Shots

Do you take into account the hazards in play from a tee shot? Do you then change your aiming point?

You’ve got a tee shot that has water, bunkers and rough in front of you. Hitting it into the water will produce the highest score, so that has to be avoided at all costs.

Yes, the bunker is not the best place to be, but it is better than going in the water. We all want to hit the fairway, but finding the sand, or even the rough, is not the worst outcome.

The average amateur golfer will have around 60 or 70 yards between their furthest left and furthest right drives if they were to hit 50 balls.

Therefore, the aiming point off the tee has to account for that possible slice or hook, to avoid the water.

Club Selection and ‘Best Distance’

Club selection is a key factor in keeping scores down throughout a round.

According to ShotScope data, almost 50% of greens missed by amateur golfers are with shots that come up short. Key point here – TAKE ONE MORE CLUB! This is especially true if there is danger in front of the green.

What is the wind doing? Where is the danger? Are you playing on an upslope, downslope, sideslope?

What is ‘Best Distance’? Say you hit your 7-iron on average 160 yards. However, you know you can hit it 170 yards. That’s the problem… Amateur golfers go with 170 and not 160, and then they come up short of the green…

Take away what your ‘Best Distance’ is. You need to play golf on your average distances to score more consistently.

Playing from danger

If you are playing from thicker rough or bunkers, the ball will simply not travel as far as it normally would from a nice fairway lie.

A lot of amateur golfers do not take that into account, and it is another reason why the ShotScope data shows that half of approach shots come up short.

The worst thing to do when you’re in a bad spot on the golf course is to make another bad decision. That is how scores get bigger and bigger.

We’ve all seen the likes of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy play a miraculous shot from the thick stuff and we then think it’s easy. We’re not Tiger or Rory, though, are we?

“Get the ball back in play and have a bit of a mental reset.” – Jack Backhouse

Missed greens

Amateurs will miss most greens on average, so getting up and down in two, or even three shots, is a key part of the game.

If you miss the green, you are more likely to make double bogey than you are to make par. So it is all about trying to keep that double off your card!

A lot of amateurs see only the pin and try the Jordan Spieth recovery shot, but most of us cannot do that!

Instead, take out a hybrid, a 7-iron or even your putter from the fringe/fairway, and just get the ball on the green. Two putts from there and you have avoided that dreaded double bogey!

The tap-in

Short putts also deserve respect.

Amateurs often rush through a two- or three-foot putt thinking that it is a done deal, and then miss the putt, sometimes finishing further from the hole than they started.

Take your time with these tap-ins. Go through your normal routine.

Amateurs should work on putts inside four-foot so they feel confident over short ones. Then start working on putts from 20 feet and beyond, making sure they can lag putt to within four feet to continue that cycle.

What do you think to these tips? How many of these stupid mistakes do you make? Let us know what you think with a post on X!