Breathe out before you play a shot.🧘‍♀️ The worst thing you can do is hold your breath while you swing and become all tense. You have to relax to play golf.

Have a pep talk! Be nicer to yourself. Good players rehearse their swing, then address the ball with only positive thoughts, thinking about what they want to do, not what they don't want to do. For higher handicappers, it's the opposite.

How often should you play to your handicap? With the way the World Handicap system works with 8 of your best rounds counting, you should expect to play to your handicap approximately only one in every four rounds. So no need to get upset when you don't play to it every round. And put ALL your cards in. That's how it works

Oh no, I'm in a bunker and don't think I can get out - what can I do? Don't worry, help is available in the Rules of Golf. If you decide the bunker is too deep, too steep or just plan scary, you can decide to take an “Unplayable Lie". For a 1 shot penalty, you can drop your ball in a nicer place IN the bunker, or for a 2 shot penalty, you can get OUT of the bunker and drop your ball in a nicer place. Important - in both cases, you must drop your ball straight back in line with the hole from where it was originally.

Play your own personal par. Decide which holes you can par, bogey and then when you can double or triple bogey (depending on your ability) and set your own par on each hole. Sometimes we just set our expectations too high and feel let down when we don’t achieve them... and that's no fun

What is an AMBROSE competition in golf? This is a super fun and relaxed game... as there's less pressure on you if you're starting out playing golf. Everyone tees off, you choose the best ball (so doesn't matter if you hit a woopsie shot!). Then you collect your ball and take it up to the best ball and play from there. This continues until the ball is in the hole and each team records just one score for each hole. It fun...and that's what golf should be!

You can't control the playing conditions – weather, slow play, grumpy players, your ball in a divot etc. - but you can control your attitude about them. Rise above it and enjoy your game.

You've got to either love putting or you've got to learn to love putting. Yes putting accounts for around 40% of the game, let’s learn to love it!

Short par 4s usually have subtle trouble. Look at using less than a driver, maybe a fairway wood or hybrid to position yourself well. Look at hitting a distance that gives you a full shot distance into the green.

Make sure you get the ball out of a fairway bunker! Look at the lip of the bunker and ensure you have a club with enough loft to get the ball over the lip.

Put approach shots below the hole on a course with fast, undulating greens. It is almost always better to leave yourself below the hole when possible. Those downhill putts can be tricky!

Manage your misses. If you hit five to seven shots per round just the way you want, that is a great achievement. The rest of your shots should be playable, or good misses. Don't dwell on a bad shot, concentrate on the shot at hand and stay focussed

Think Positively.

A person can choose to be a happy person or a miserable person. It's the same on the golf course. A person can choose to think about her ball going by the pin, or she can choose to think about it going into the bunker or trees on the left of it. Make the positive choice.

Take a bigger club!

Many golfers base their distances on their best ever shot, rather than how far they USUALLY hit the ball. Because of that, they are often short of the green or at the front of the green when the pin might be at the back. Try to hit one club more than you think especially when there's no trouble out the back of the green

Your magic words are “short game”  The higher your score, the faster you can lower it… with your short game! 

And the only way to do that is with some practice… go on then!

Silence is Golden!

Stand still and keep silent from the time a player sets up to when the ball has left the club. And chill out with your phone - pop it on silent and enjoy a few hours of being in nature and chatting with your fellow golfing buddies instead (unless you’re a Doctor on call or someone REALLY important!)

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BREATHE… When we are anxious, our breathing becomes irregular and shallow and our breathing rate increases. Before you hit every shot, take a big deep breath. This will help you relax and not feel so tense over your shots.

The correct way to mark your ball is by placing your market directly behind the ball (not to the side or in front). Then when you place your ball back it's important to make sure you put it back in exactly the same place and don't give in to the temptation to try and get another inch closer!

Make sure you’re following Kiss My Putt and Forewinds for more Tee Tips every fortnight