Sometimes a great round of golf isn’t just down to how well you played. The same goes for a bad round of golf.
It’s the little things that can get you down – things you forgot to do, things you forgot to bring, or something your partner remembered but you forgot.
Doesn’t it feel like there’s something missing?
If you’re looing for ways to not only improve your play, but your quality of life out on the course, then look no further than the fabled golf hacks!
With our list of 9 golf hacks, we aim to not only improve your game, but your life. You’ll be thanking yourself for reading this list the next time you’re out on the course and you know something your teammates don’t.
So, keep reading as we go through our 9 favourite golf hacks for you to try out next time you play.
Golf Hacks
1.Size your Clubs
We say it time and time again: if you’re serious about playing good golf, get your clubs correctly sized!
So many common mistakes and swing errors are caused by incorrectly sized clubs. You could spare yourself an untold amount of grief if you just play with the right clubs.
We know that not everyone can afford a new set of clubs every year, so it can be worth just going to your local club shop and getting sized correctly, then looking for a second-hand set that fit you.
I’ll say it one last time in case you didn’t get the point – get your clubs correctly sized!
2.Clean your clubs
Not all of us are as proud of our clubs as we should be. We throw them around, we leave them in the car, and we don’t clean them. That should change.
A dirty club can actually be the cause of a shank in some cases. Dirt build up in the grooves of your clubface can cause the ball to bounce off at unpredictable angles and leave you in need of a good recovery shot.
A good tool to clean out the grooves in your club can actually be a screw or a nail, just don’t press down too hard, and you might want to blunt it slightly on a stone before your go scratching away.
Cleaning your grips is also important if you want them to last a long time, and especially if you want to keep your hands clean while you play!
3.Sticky hands
This golf hack is a bit sneaky, but that’s why it’s a golf hack!
Next time you’re getting ready for a round and you’re still in the clubhouse, spray a bit of deodorant on your hands.
Don’t spray enough to give yourself a cold burn, and hold the can far away enough that you’re not just going to have one particularly sticky spot.
This will help with your grip when you’re holding your club. If you don’t have problems with your grip, don’t do it!
4.Spare Scorecard
If you’re a walker, this one is for you.
It always helps to bring a spare scorecard out with you. You might misplace yours, you might head straight out onto the first tee, sink your putt and realise that you never picked one up.
The golfer with the spare scorecard in their bag will be everyone’s best friend if that’s the case.
And while we’re at it, keep a pen or pencil in your bag as well, there’s no point in keeping a spare scorecard if you’ve nothing keep score with!
5.Bring a snack
Depending on your pace of play, golf can be a long game.
A long day with plenty of physical exertion can cause your game to deteriorate. You mind find yourself struggling to hit the ball as far as you were at the beginning, or you might just be making more mistakes than usual.
Don’t succumb to the mid-game slump!
Bring a snack for the back 9, anything that you like and that will both boost your energy and your mood.
It can be as simple as a chocolate bar or a sandwich, just don’t bring anything that’s going to take you more than the time it takes to arrive at the next hole to finish.
No one want to be accused of holding up the day because they were eating a burrito!
6.Turn up early
If your worst score comes from the first tee of the day, then it might be time to make a change.
A good warm up routine should do the trick – a few practice swing and some stretching will set you up a lot better than just stepping up to the tee.
Even better, turn up half an hour early and practice in the driving range. You’ll be fully warmed up, and you’ll have hopefully diagnosed whatever swing error is ailing you today.
That being said, don’t wear yourself out. There’s no point spending time in the driving range if you’re just going to expend all your energy rapid firing balls into oblivion.
Take your time, plan your shots, pick a target, and don’t just use your driver!
7.Play for bogey
Unless you’re a scratch golfer, you’re setting yourself up for failure if you’re going for par every time.
Just play for bogey! You’ll be able to plan your shots better, and you’ll most likely come out of your day with a better score than if you were playing for par.
It’s golf strategy 101, prepare to fail and you’ll be surprised by the results!
You’re also far less likely to make swing egregious swing errors if you’re playing for bogey, like hitting with too much power, as you don’t have to try and make it to the green with every shot, which takes us on nicely to our next golf hack…
8.Save it for the green
I know I just said to ‘play for bogey’, but hear me out.
The most precise shot you will make every time you play a round of golf is on the green.
And 9 times out of 10, especially if you’re a beginner, you’ll wish you had more wiggle room to reach par while you’re on the green.
If you’re playing on a par 4 and you’re playing for bogey, all you have to achieve is landing your ball somewhere on the green, or at least the apron, on your second shot.
For most golfers, this is very achievable.
Do yourself a favour and use your first putt to get as close to the pin as you can, rather than trying to sink it.
You’ll find it much easier to get that next putt, and you’ll be less likely to need to make another 2 putts to correct for your first!
9.Hold your position
This golf hack is useful for 2 main reasons, and a third fun one that we’ll mention at the end.
The goal of this golf hack is to hold your final position at the end of your takeaway until your ball stops moving.
Yes – we mean the whole time.
Here are the reasons why holding your position is one of our golf hacks:
1. Swing Balance
Swing balance is very important in golf. In fact, it could be a golf hack all by itself.
Holding your position until your ball stops rolling will help you build that balance, and help you make sure you’re in the right takeaway position.
Swing balance can also be a hard thing to practice by itself, so the longer you hold the position, the better!
2. Keep an eye on your ball
How many times have you made a shot only to immediately lose track of where your ball landed?
I don’t want to think about how much time I’ve spent looking for my ball when I could have been making a shot.
If you hit the ball into the rough as often as I do, this golf hack is definitely for you.
Holding your position until the ball stops moving will help you keep track of it, as you can only relax once the ball has stopped and you need to watch it to find that out!
3. You Look cool
Come on, admit it, you want to look cool when you’re out on the course.
We want to look strong and poised, confident that we know exactly what kind of swing we just made and exactly where the ball is going to land. We know golf in and out, and everyone should be in awe of our immense skill with a golf club.
Holing your position after a swing is a quick way to tell your fellow golfers that you know what you’re doing.
Think about it, have you ever watched Tiger Woods hold his final position and thought ‘that guy looks ridiculous’? No? We didn’t think so!
So, that’s our list of the 9 best golf hacks to improve your game and your quality of life out on the course.
Next time you’re out on the links with the lingering taste of a chocolate bar still on your tongue, and the wrapper it came in stuck to your hand from all the deodorant you sprayed on it, think of us.
Keep reading to learn advanced golf course strategy to take your game even further!
