Soft skills to lower your playing handicap

[Dasit]

Was pondering some of the softer skills in golf that can really help scoring, only the legal parts of course.


Being able to know and remember the area where a wayward shot had landed is massive. There are certain people I really like being drawn to play with as in the past they have found balls in the rough that I was looking in completly the wrong place for. The more I play the better I have become at judging lines and distance for golf balls, think finding golf balls is an important skill you don't actively try to get better at.


Knowing the rules fully is another soft skill. You see it every week on the professional tour. Players knowing complex rules to gain legal advantages in tough situations. I have seen on the course people hindering themselves not taking the full
relief they are entitled too, or getting docked shots or DQ'd from silly rule breaking.


Must be loads of soft skills that only make a marginal difference but all add up to taking strokes off a round. Interested to hear any.

 

[williamalex1]

Was pondering some of the softer skills in golf that can really help scoring, only the legal parts of course.


Being able to know and remember the area where a wayward shot had landed is massive. There are certain people I really like being drawn to play with as in the past they have found balls in the rough that I was looking in completly the wrong place for. The more I play the better I have become at judging lines and distance for golf balls, think finding golf balls is an important skill you don't actively try to get better at.


Knowing the rules fully is another soft skill. You see it every week on the professional tour. Players knowing complex rules to gain legal advantages in tough situations. I have seen on the course people hindering themselves not taking the full
relief they are entitled too, or getting docked shots or DQ'd from silly rule breaking.


Must be loads of soft skills that only make a marginal difference but all add up to taking strokes off a round. Interested to hear any.

Watch Leslie Nielsen's film , Bad golf made easier .

 

[HomerJSimpson]

A working knowledge of the rules should be a given, especially things like options for dropping from various hazards (yellow, red stakes) and a rule book in the bag at all times saves some on course arguments. I hate playing with people who hit wayward shots, and then never follow it properly and then spend ages asking where it went of starting to look in completely the wrong place. I always try and follow it down and get a decent reference point.

 

[mcbroon]

Finding balls is is a good one. I find a lot of balls in horrible places, to the point that some PPs have remarked on it. If you hit it in the boondocks as much as me, you get good at understanding where the ball has gone.

The real critical soft skill, though, is attitude. Being able to let go of a bad shot, or a bad break, and not let it affect your next one, or the rest of the round. If you can get over a bad shot immediately, it'll definitely save you shots.

 

[shortgame]

I have seen on the course people hindering themselves not taking the full
relief they are entitled too, or getting docked shots or DQ'd from silly rule breaking.

Good points
Also the ability to stay calm after a bad shot and make the right decision next, and choose the right option when taking a playable etc. Eg. often see people hacking into more and more trouble when an unplayable drop would be much more prudent

 

[duncan mackie]

Yes.

Combined with a recognition that most players don't have these at all is the reason I'm so competitive (still) :thup:

 

[Dasit]

Good points
Also the ability to stay calm after a bad shot and make the right decision next, and choose the right option when taking a playable etc. Eg. often see people hacking into more and more trouble when an unplayable drop would be much more prudent

Yeah that is a good one, knowing when to drop and how to drop a ball


Not getting dragged down by playing partners. So often a whole group score badly as one player drags the level of the group down.

 

[IanG]

As mcbroon said 'attitude', but this time to tough weather. If the wind is up or the rain is heavy and you can stay positive, you've already beat 50% of the field.

 

[Imurg]

Knowing that, sometimes, a bogey isn't a bad result.
Being able to play for position to leave an uphill putt.
Knowing, and not trying to exceed, your ability and limitations

 

[Capella]

Not so much a skill, more like a "best practices" kind of thing: taking good care of your physical needs during a round. Keep hydrated, eat some healthy snacks to keep your blood sugar levels even, get enough sleep before a round etc.

Another one is to reign in your ego. If the smartest move is to chip out sideways or even slightly backwards, then just suck it up and do it. Don't be Jason Day and try to pull off the impossible shot (unless it is really your last chance to score on a specific hole, like in matchplay or if you are playing Stableford. Then you might as well go for it).

 

[Hosel Fade]

Be accepting of hitting bad shots occasionally, its why you don't have a tour card.

Alignment, for example on the tee you can tee it up directly behind a divot on your intended line and its near impossible to aim badly

 

[Simbo]

A crappy attitude is worse than a crappy swing!

A good knowledge of the rules can and will help you now and again, I can't believe how many times I see people taking drops in daft places. Finding a ball though isn't a soft skill as such IMO, more an essential part of your game,

 

[HomerJSimpson]

A crappy attitude is worse than a crappy swing!

Totally agree. Was feeling physically and mentally tired today and so from the outset I wasn't thinking well and playing with a lazy attitude with inevitable consequences

 

[Hobbit]

Acceptance of everything that is around you, what you do and what your fellow competitors do. You will hit bad shots, even pro's duff shots badly. Your fellow competitors might be loudmouthed idiots and look to wind you up. The weather might conspire against you, but remember it also blows the same for everyone out on the course.

Remember why you're there, i.e. to enjoy the day. Remember you don't do it for a living, there'll be food in the fridge when you get home. And most of all, learn to laugh at yourself - you'll get plenty of opportunities.