Are your habits holding you back from playing your best golf? The wrong habits in practice and during the round, might be the reason you aren’t shooting the scores you want.
As self-help author Jack Canfield said, “Your habits will determine your future.” When you have better habits, you will play better golf.
Today, we’ll review ten habits of bad golfers and how to fix them for a more consistent golf game.
10 Habits of Bad Golfers
Key Takeaways
- Your habits will determine if you hit your golf goals or constantly struggle.
- When you have better playing and practice habits, you’ll be able to break through scoring plateaus much faster.
- Some of the best habits of consistent golfers are tracking stats, practicing consistently, using the right equipment, and having a strong mental game.
- Common bad habits to avoid include not having a pre-shot routine, having a negative attitude, and getting complacent in your game.
Keep reading to avoid these ten habits so you can score lower than ever.
1. Playing the Wrong Equipment
The first bad habit to avoid is not using the right equipment. The USGA allows you to carry 14 clubs and it’s critical that each one of them is right for your game.
While you might not need a custom fitting if you’re a new golfer, you should consider one if you’re breaking 90. The better you get at golf, the faster you tend to swing. The faster you swing, the more you need to use the right club heads and shafts.
Otherwise, you’re giving up distance and accuracy from tee to green. A fitter can optimize spin rates, let you test out different driver heads, and help with distance gaps. Not to mention give some advice on which golf ball will help the most too (learn more about a golf ball fitting).
Make sure to read our full guide on the biggest equipment mistakes most golfers make here.
2. Skipping Warm Up Routines
When you get to the golf course, do you have a solid routine to get your mind and body ready for the course? Or, are you like most golfers who show up near their tee time, have no process, and hope for the best?
If you want to play more consistent golf, you need a solid warm up routine. This way you avoid common golf injuries, get your body loosened up, and prime your mind for success.
There’s nothing worse than showing up close to your tee time and rushing to the first hole. This can lead to a bad start that is hard to recover from and potentially screw up the front nine.
A good warm up includes plenty of time on the putting green for speed control, hitting range balls, and possibly a few chip shots. This way you can head to the first tee calm, cool, and collected.
Learn more about warming up for golf here.
3. Never Tracking Stats
It’s hard to manage what you don’t measure in golf and life. If you’re like most golfers, you want to improve and break through scoring plateaus. However, most golfers do not track statistics and wonder why they are stuck at the same scoring range.
Good golfers track stats so they know their strengths and weaknesses. When you have objective data about your game, it makes it easier to understand where you should practice or maybe get a lesson.
Because, let’s face it, most of us don’t have a ton of time to practice. And when you do get out to the range or short game area, it’s important to work on the parts of your game holding you back. When you know your stats – using strokes gained data – you can spend more time on these areas.
Tracking stats is easier than ever with programs like Arccos Golf. Start tracking the majority of your rounds so you can compare your game to other handicaps and improve much faster than most golfers.
4. Rarely Practicing
Another habit of bad golfers is not practicing enough.
You can’t expect to become consistent or break 80 if you never practice. Golf is a hard game and requires you to learn all types of shots – from driving to irons, wedges, and putting.
Good golfers have clear goals and practice habits to help achieve them. Start setting weekly or monthly practice goals and stick with them to start shooting lower scores.
To help improve practice, make sure to read our guide on how to golf with a busy schedule. Or, invest in an indoor putting mat so you can always work on your putting at home.
If you’re really serious about improving and have a long offseason due to weather, consider building a golf simulator.
5. Not Speed Training
Speed equals distance… and the longer you hit it off the tee, the shorter approach shot you have into the green. A shorter club means a better chance of hitting the green and lowering your scoring average.
Needless to say, distance is everything in today’s era.
Luckily, it’s never been easier to add distance thanks to overspeed training. Using weight clubs and a training protocol, you can improve your clubhead speed for longer drives in 8–12 weeks (sometimes sooner, too).
Here are our reviews for the big three speed trainers:
Each has their own pros and cons, but no doubt can help you add distance fast.
If you’re not ready to invest in one of these speed trainers yet, consider downloading the Tour Tempo app. This low-cost app makes it easy to hear your way to a faster swing speed and better ball striking.
6. Lacking a Pre-Shot Routine
Bad golfers lack a process to hit every shot, which leads to a lot of inconsistent results.
However, if you watch the best golfers in the world (and even skilled amateurs) you’ll notice they have a routine for every shot. This gets them mentally and physically ready to execute the shot.
While it doesn’t mean you will never hit a bad shot, it’ll set you up to hit a good one. And hopefully deal with the result when things don’t go your way too.
Learn more about pre-shot routines in golf here.
7. Trying to Change Swing Too Much
Have you ever noticed that golfers are obsessed with mechanics unlike any other sport? Do you ever hear baseball players trying to constantly change their swing or improve their throwing strategy? Unless you’re in the MLB, most likely not.
However, amateur golfers are obsessed with mechanics and try to groove a perfect swing. But a “perfect swing” doesn’t always guarantee amazing results… a lot of times golfers get confused and too technical.
To play your best golf, you need to do less thinking about mechanics on the golf course. YouTube and social media have some great resources, but more information about the swing isn’t always the correct strategy.
When it comes to improving your swing, work with one coach and you’ll see better results. Avoid information overload or listening to random golf buddies advice.
8. Ignoring Course Management
Good golfers think their way around the golf course much better than bad golfers. You need to implement proper course management strategies to reach your full potential.
Here are five course management tips to help your game:
- Avoid hero golf when you’re out of position.
- Hit one shot shape off the tee so you have more consistency.
- Don’t lay up unless there is a lot of trouble that comes into play.
- Always putt from the fringe if possible to improve your misses and not waste shots.
- Don’t fire at too many flags that aren’t in the middle of the green outside 120 yards.
9. Avoiding Mental Game Training
You can do all the right things in practice, use the right equipment, build a consistent swing, and have good course management but still struggle. Why?
A bad mental game.
Bad golfers have negative self talk, a pessimistic attitude, and love to complain. Good golfers have positive self-talk, good body language, and an optimistic attitude.
The good news is that you get to choose all of these parts of your mental game. Just like changing your swing, it might take some work but trust me, it’s worth it. A strong mental game will help you deal with adversity, avoid blowup holes, and most importantly, have a lot more fun.
Everyone in your group will enjoy playing with you more, too. There’s nothing worse than playing golf with someone who is throwing clubs, gets furious, and only fun to be with if they’re playing well.
10. Complacency
The final habit to avoid in your golf career is complacency.
Too many golfers get set in their ways – in practice and on the course – and accept their current handicap. But if you’re committed to improving and have time to practice, you can lower your handicap, regardless of age.
Do not let complacency hold you back, even if you’ve hit a plateau or are going through a slump. Take some time off, reset your goals, get a lesson if needed, make a plan, and stick with it. I’ve seen golfers improve even in their 70s with the right mindset.
It’s never too late to keep chasing greatness!
My Experience
I’ve been guilty of all ten of these habits, but I think the biggest ones to avoid are avoiding the mental game and not speed training. Golf will test you like few sports and without a strong mindset, it’s easy to give up or get complacent.
However, when you have a strong mental game, you can persevere through bad times. And you will enjoy golf a lot more, even if you don’t score well.
Speed training is also important for most golfers. Because when you add distance, it makes it much easier to shoot lower scores and play to your potential. Add in speed training routines so you can hit it longer and make golf a lot easier.
Final Thoughts
Don’t forget, habits are everything – on and off the course. As John Dryden said, “We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.”
If you’re ready to play your best golf ever, start improving your habits. When you avoid these 10 habits of bad golfers, you will have a blueprint for success.
Remember, golf is a journey and there are a lot of ups and downs along the way. It’s not constant improvement year after year, there are bound to be some challenges. But with the right mindset and work ethic, you can achieve more than you thought possible.
