You don’t have to be a pro to know you can have a disastrous hole anytime anywhere. It could be on a long par 5 or a short par 3, or on a par 4 with a lake in it. It doesn’t matter. All it takes is one bad shot and you’re done for. Whatever it is, it throws you off your game, causing trouble and costing you strokes.

Avoiding bad holes is critical to chopping strokes off your average score and your golf handicap. Holes where you card a 7, 8, or more balloon your score, turning a good round into a bad. String enough of these rounds together and you’ll kick-up your golf handicap more than a notch or two. Avoid them and you’ll see your scores and your handicap drop dramatically.

One way to avoid them is by working on your game. Visit the practice range, take a golf lesson or two, or read golf tips in magazines—do whatever it takes to improve the weakest areas of your game and you’ll cut down on the number of bad holes you have. If you’re not sure which areas of your game are the weakest, try working on your driving and your bunker play.

Driving For Accuracy
There’s no denying the benefits—or the thrill—of smashing a 275-yard drive down the middle of the fairway. But when golfers over swing, they often end-up slicing or hooking into trouble, assuming they can find their ball. Starting a hole this way spells disaster. Instead, stay within yourself and learn to eliminate power-draining swing flaws that also hamper accuracy.

One way to increase accuracy is to focus on your right elbow (for right-handers). The right elbow keys the delivery of power and accuracy. Keep the right elbow in front of your hip, with the club parallel to the target line and the toe of the club pointed straight up during your takeaway, and you’ll hit the ball longer and straighter, with much less effort and without over swinging. You should feel as if your elbow is attached to the front of your hip.

Unfortunately, players with high golf handicaps often let their elbows fly. Swinging over your hip produces slices and pulls, delivering the club on an outside path and with the butt of the club aimed left of the target (right-handers). Swinging under your hip produces pushes and hooks, delivering the club on an inside path and with the butt of the club aimed right of the target. Swinging the club behind your hip generates weak shots. Learn to keep your elbow in front of your hip and you’ll hit the ball longer and straighter.

Work On Your Bunker Play
Another area to work on to avoid disastrous holes is bunker play. Weekend golfers often need several shots to escape a greenside bunker. Even with a good lie, they frequently take two, three, or more shots to escape. Hit into a greenside bunker a couple of times a round and you’ll boost your score dramatically. If you’re not a good bunker player, consider a sand strategy that helps you get out of a bunker with the least amount of strokes.

Here are four alternatives in a greenside bunker:

1. Blast at the pin
2. Blast to the middle
3. Clean chip shot
4. Putting out of the bunker

Accomplished players often choose blast at the pin, hitting a high soft shot that lands within 10 feet of the pin. That’s great for a good bunker player, but risky for mid- and high-handicap players, who are less skillful. They should consider other alternatives, unless they have no other choice.

For less accomplished players, blasting out to the middle of the green is safer and easier. If that’s your strategy, play the ball to the middle or fat part of the green. Your key is getting out of the bunker in one. Do that and you’ll avoid writing down a big number on your card.

If you’re not a good bunker player, consider the last two alternatives. Picking the ball cleanly off the sand with a chip shot, using a 7-iron, a 9-iron, or a PW, is a good option when the bunker lip is low. Putting out is the safest escape from a shallow bunker. You’ll rarely catch it fat, and with practice, you’ll extricate yourself every time.

You can’t eliminate bad holes from your game. Even the pros have them. But you can reduce them by working on your game. Stop at the range as often as you can, take golf lessons to enhance your play, adopt golf tips that improve your swing—do whatever it takes to cut down on your bad holes, and you’ll see both your scores and your golf handicap drop dramatically. Count on it.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction

Ryder Cup Captures Fans InterestValhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky, one America’s top courses, is the site of the 37th Ryder Cup competition. One of golf grandest events, the Ryder Cup pits a 12-member team of professional golfers from America against a 12-member team of professional golfers from Europe. This year’s Ryder Cup teams include some of the biggest names in golf, including Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, and Padraig Harrington as well as Anthony Kim, Justin Rose, and Jim Furyk.

The Ryder Cup is unique. No other professional golf tournament of such note employs a team concept. Conceived in the 1920s, the Ryder Cup is named for Samuel Ryder, a wealthy Englishman from St. Albans in Hertfordshire. He provided the trophy and helped establish regular matches. Since then, the Ryder Cup has become one of the world’s greatest sporting events. Held every two years, it’s clearly one of the most anticipated golf events of the year—and with good reason. You never know what will happen at the competition.

Ryder Cup Format
The key to the Ryder Cup’s popularity is match play. It adds pressure, nerves, and gamesmanship to the tournament—attributes missing in other tournaments. You can also add a dash of patriotism to the tournament, which heats up the competition even more. These things plus the pairings make the Ryder Cup a must see event for fans.

The order of play is Foursomes in the morning and Fourball in the afternoon for the first two days. The final day’s play is Singles.

Below is a description of the match play formats used in the Ryder Cup:

* Foursomes play involves four groups of two-man teams. Two golfers play against two other golfers with each team playing one ball. The players play alternate shots until the hole is played out. Team members alternate playing the tee shot. One player tees off on odd-numbered holes, the other on even-numbered holes. The team with the lowest score on the hole wins the hole. Should the two teams tie for the best score, the hole is halved.

* Fourball play matches four groups of two two-man teams. Each member of the two-man teams plays his own ball. Thus, four balls are in play per hole, with each of the four players competing. The team with the lowest score on the hole wins the hole. Should the two teams tie for the best score, the hole is halved.

* Singles play pits one player from the American Team against one player from the European Team. A player wins the match when he is up more holes than there are holes remaining. The player with the lowest score on the hole wins the hole. Should the two players tie for the best score, the hole is halved.

The Order of Play
The Ryder Cup’s order of play is the result of a gradual evolution. Until 1959, the competition held four Foursome matches on one day and eight Singles matches on the other day, each of 36 holes. Official changed this in 1961. They held four 18-hole Foursome matches on the morning of the first day, four 18-hole Foursome matches on the afternoon, eight 18-hole Singles on the morning of the second day, and eight more Singles on the afternoon. One point was at stake for each match win, boosting the total number of points available to 24.

In 1963, officials added Fourball matches for the first time, boosting the total number of points available to 32. They changed the format again in 1977. They included five Foursomes on opening day, five Fourball on the second day, and 10 Singles on he final day, reducing the total points to 20. Officials revised the competition once again in 1979 to include four Fourball and four Foursome matches the first two days and 12 singles matches on the third day, making the total points available 28. That’s the way it stands for this year’s tournament.

The Pairings
The pairings also make this tournament a must see event. Each team captain submits an order of play independently to the appointed official. Tournament officials then match up the order of plays, resulting in the “pairings.” Since the pairings are dependent on the order of play, golf fans never know who will be playing against each other until they are announced. Neither do the team captains. One year, for example, Tiger Woods, the number one ranked player in the world, teamed with Phil Mickelson, the second ranked player in the world, for the American side. That’s a dream team of golf if there ever was one.

For golf fans, the Ryder Cup is generally a refreshing change from the stroke play events held almost every weekend end. This year’s competition promises to be more exciting than past tournaments. With Tiger Woods out, it will be a real challenge for the American team to defeat the European team, which has won the last three tournaments and five out of the last six.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Learning to maintain your poise when something goes wrong isn’t easy. It isn’t something you pick up from a golf lesson or a golf tip magazine. It’s something you learn on your own. Nevertheless, if you can learn to maintain your cool when things go bad, you’ll minimize the damage done on a bad hole or during a bad round. More importantly, you’ll boost your confidence dramatically. That in turn will help you cut strokes from your average score and keep a lid on your golf handicap.

Having an arsenal of instant on-course swing fixes to also helps. These fixes enable you to regain your poise when trouble strikes and instill confidence in your game when you need it most. We’re not talking about major swing fixes here. Save those for the range. We’re talking about minor adjustments—small changes designed to correct a specific swing fault that’s preventing you from playing well. The key is recognizing and adjusting quickly to the fault when it occurs. Below are some instant on-course fixes.

Losing Putter Feel
Your missing six-footers because you’ve lost your feel for putting. The more you miss, the more you start to sweat. The more your start to sweat, the tighter your grip gets. Gripping the putter too tightly causes you to lose feel in your hands. Suddenly, you have hands of stone. Next time that happens grip the putter more in your fingers. This not only increases your feel, it also helps gauge distances. In addition, decreasing grip pressure allows the putter to travel on a natural path, enabling you to make consistent contact, and it encourages a freer release on short putts.

Stopping The Shanks
Clanking shots off the hosel rots. Usually, it happens at the worst time—when you’re hitting a chip shot to the green, costing you strokes and maybe par. Shanks happen because the club gets behind your body on your backswing. When you come around, the first thing hitting the ball is the hosel. That’s not good. When shanking starts, take an extra practice swing or two. Concentrate on keeping the clubface in front of your body on the inside of an imaginary ball. Instead of hitting the real ball on the hosel, you’ll hit it in the middle of your clubface.

Busted Bunker Shots
Some days you live in the bunkers. Every hole, it seems, you’re in a bunker. And sometimes you’re hitting from one bunker to another. Unfortunately, you’re having a hard time getting out of them. And that’s costing you strokes. When that happens, try this: Move the ball forward a little in your stance. Playing the ball of the instep of your front foot opens the sand wedge up. Keeping the clubface clause is a major cause of bad bunker shots. In fact, if you’re going to make a mistake with ball position, moving the ball too far forward is better than moving it too far back. In addition, focus on throwing the sand beneath the ball out of the bunker, not the ball itself. The result: You’ll hit the classic explosion shot.

Hitting Low Flat Hooks
If you start hitting low hooks off the tee, you may be reaching for the ball. That means you’re bending too far over the ball. Instead, stand up a little straighter in address. And when you take a practice swing, swing to the inside of an imaginary the ball, missing it. You’ll feel your whole body straightening out and your arms getting stronger. You’ll also feel your arms getting longer. They’re supposed to hang from your shoulders, not out from them.

Missing Short Putts
Missing too many eight-foot putts erodes confidence. Missing two-footers obliterates it. To avoid this, narrow your focus. Instead of looking at the hole, pick out a spot on the back of the cup. Putt to that spot. This creates a positive image in your head and banishes any thoughts of missing the putt. You can also try picking out a spot between you and the cup in line with the hole and putting to that. It’s easier to hit something closer to you than farther away. This will also banish negative thoughts. That’s the key.

Maintaining your poise and concentration when things go bad keeps your score and golf handicap in check. So if you want to become a better golfer, learn this skill. Unfortunately, it isn’t something you pick up at golf instruction sessions. It’s something you learn on your own. Having a stock of instant on course fixes—minor changes to correct a swing fault—also helps you maintain your cool and boost your confidence. Sometimes, a minor change is all you need to transform a disastrous round into a good one.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Stroke play is the most popular format in competitive golf. It’s used in all PGA Tournaments, except in specific situations, like the Ryder Cup. The goal in stroke play is shooting the lowest score. In stroke play your focus is more on the course than your opponents. So it’s hard to apply pressure on your opponent in stroke play, even for players with low golf handicaps.

Match play differs from stroke play. In match play golfers compete directly against each other. Whoever shoots the lowest score on a hole wins the hole. Whoever wins the most holes at the end, wins the match. If the players (or teams) finish with the same score, the match is halved. Match play is a simple, straightforward format. But unlike stroke play, increasing pressure on your opponent is the secret to winning in match play.

A Balancing Act
Match play is a balancing act. You’re constantly weighing the need to play aggressively, putting pressure on your opponent, against the need to play conservatively. The player who plays the best under pressure usually wins the hole and the match. Handling pressure isn’t something golf lessons prepare you for. It’s something you learn on your own. Thus, if you’ve never played match play format, it takes getting used to.

Many golf leagues use match play format. It works well in this venue, but the format often differs slightly from league to league. In some leagues, golfers with lower golf handicaps must give players with higher golf handicaps strokes. Giving strokes evens off the competition, which is what handicaps are intended to do. It also adds pressure if you’re giving strokes to your opponent. It takes off pressure if you’re receiving strokes.

Match play dramatically changes how you play. While some experts urge you to play normally, others suggest playing aggressively. Playing aggressively enables you to apply pressure on your opponent and can force him to make mistakes. What determines how aggressively you play usually comes down to where you stand on the hole, where your opponent stands on the hole, and where the match stands.

On The Tee

Among the best places to apply pressure is on the tee. Hitting the fairway with your drive puts pressure on your opponent to do the same. If you hit a bad drive, you obviously take pressure off your opponent. Since the goal is to apply as much pressure as possible, use whatever club you have the most confidence in— 3-wood, driver, or hybrid—to get off the tee well.

On the fairway you can apply pressure to your opponent by hitting good approach shots, just as most golf tips recommend. But keep in mind that you can hit a bad approach shot and still win the hole if your opponent also hits a bad shot. In fact, you can shoot an 8 on a hole and win the hole, if your opponent shoots a 9. So don’t fret on bad shots. Instead, stay focused. The key is always being aware of where your opponent is and what his or her score is on the hole.

On The Green
The green is also a great place to apply pressure to your opponent. Knowing when to play aggressively and when to play conservatively is the key. For example, if your opponent is laying 3 and is five inches from the whole, chances are good he or she will sink the putt for a 4. If you’re laying 3, you need to sink the putt to tie your opponent for the hole, so you might as well be aggressive no matter where you are. The last thing you want to do is leave yourself short.

On the other hand, if your opponent is laying 3 and is 20 feet from the hole, you might as well putt conservatively, if you are also laying 3. You don’t want to run the ball 10 feet past the hole. It could cost you an additional stroke or two and, quite possibly, the hole. The secret is knowing where your opponent is and what he or she is shooting. Knowing when to concede a putt and when not to is also a great way to increase pressure on a golfer.

Match play is fun and different. It’s about winning holes, not lowering your golf handicap. In match play, always know where you stand on the hole, where your opponent stands on the hole, and where the two of you stand in the match. And don’t panic if you fall behind early. You can still win the match. Just stay focused, like my golf tips suggest.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.