Among the forty one professional wins of Cary Middlecoff were two US Opens and a Masters. The good Doctor thus was in a position to offer a prescription for better golf when he said:
Concentrate on hitting the green. The cup will come to you.
It’s really good advice. For most amateurs, the best strategy is to get the ball onto the green as quickly as possible. Once there, you can get out the flat stick and go to work. The putting stroke is the easiest to master; with just a little practice, anyone can become a good putter.
To Middlecoff’s doctrine, add this corollary: Concentrate on hitting the middle of the green. Because pinpoint accuracy is not a hallmark of the mid- to high-handicapper, from the fairway it’s best to aim at the biggest target: the center of the green. From that point, missing by a few yards doesn’t put your ball in any further danger.
This tip is an excerpt from The Five Inch Course: Thinking Your Way To Better Golf
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I’m not sure where most amateurs get the mindset to fire at every flag. The pros certainly do not. As you correctly state, the putting stroke is easiest to quickly improve upon. High handicappers need to get the ball on the green by shooting for the most accessible part.
Great advice for golfers just starting out or even those who have been playing for a while but did not know. Advice like this one allows one to move from being a novice to an expert in no time, as stated in the post.Golf requires lots of practice to perfect one’s game, and this article shows one way of doing just that.
Very good advice,
Too often most amateur golfers go ‘flag hunting’ and aim at even the most difficult pin positions. Even the professionals I see on television know that there is a time and place to go straight at the flag.
Most golfers need to just focus on getting the ball on the green and letting the short stick do the rest.