10 Ways to Lower Your Golf Handicap in 2025

I have set myself a target of getting my handicap down from 14 to 12 by the end of 2025. On the face of it, knocking two shots off your handicap sounds simple enough but we all know that golf is not like that.

I am sensible enough to realise that it is going to involve some hard work. I know that many of you will be trying to do the same thing in the season ahead so here are the 10 things I believe you (and me) are going to have to consider doing.

Leave Your Driver in Your Bag

How many of us automatically reach for the driver at every single par four and five? I know that I have been guilty of it - and it is time to think again. At my course there is a par five with thick trees on the left and a huge lake on the right, with the fairway sloping from left to right. Hit any drive with even a slight fade and you are heading for a watery grave. So I have now started hitting a three wood. And guess what? I couldn’t tell you the last time I found the water. If there is trouble in sight, leave the driver in the bag. You KNOW it makes sense!

Practice Your Putting

We use our putter more than any other club in the bag, but how many of us actually devote proper time to this part of the game? And we will get fitted for drivers, woods, irons and wedges, but how many people do you know have had a putter fitting? Using the right putter for you is going to help but then you need to get out there and practice from all sorts of distances. If you are a medium to high handicapper then it stands to reason that you are going to be facing lots of putts in the 30-foot range so why not practice from that distance? There are lots of good putting drills. For instance, you can put three balls down three feet from the hole and drain them all. Then move to four feet and repeat the exercise - if you miss one, start again. And then to five feet and so on.

Practice Your Chipping

I work hard on two areas of my game - putting and chipping. Here’s the thing - you do not have to be a perfect physical specimen to be able to save shots around the green. Why do so many club golfers automatically reach for a wedge of some description from around the fringe? I recommend trying all sorts of shots. Whenever I can, I reach for my seven iron because I love playing the pitch-and-run - and because it is easier to judge the distance rather than trying to throw the ball into the air and stop it by the flag. This is an area of the game where you can save yourself a bucketload of shots. And don’t be afraid to spend a bit of time checking out the line. You will be surprised how often you will end up holing a chip and run.

Perfect Your Short Irons

Do you know how far you hit your wedges? I carry a pitching wedge, a 52-degree and a 58-degree and I have spent a lot of time in 2024 working out exactly how far I strike each one of these clubs because they are the weapons that can get you out of trouble and help you to save shots. When I have one of these clubs in my hand I am always looking to finish no more than 15 feet from the hole. If you can do this then you increase the chances of either saving shots or picking up a few birdies.

Are Your Clubs Right For You?

I will never understand why people buy sets of club "off the shelf". It makes absolutely no sense. We are all different - different heights, different weights. We all stand to the ball differently. We all have different swing speeds. How do you know what is going to be right for you? If you are serious about reducing your handicap you should most definitely consider buying a set of custom-fitted clubs.

Learn to Escape From Bunkers

I play with all sorts of golfers who all but give up when they find the sand. They seem to accept that it is going to take them at least two blows to escape. I accept that the standard of many bunkers is pretty poor but the real issue is that most club golfers simply don’t know how to play bunker shots. So take the time to learn. In theory, playing from the greenside sand is easy because it is the only shot in the game where you don’t actually make physical contact with the ball. If you struggle to get out of bunkers, go and see your local pro.

Take Lessons

This one may see pretty obvious but if you have been stuck at a certain level for a long period of time then it stands to reason that going to a good teaching professional for lessons is going to help you. The chances are that you will end up working on things that don’t feel comfortable and so it becomes all too easy to fall back into bad habits. But these people know what they are talking about. If you are going to hand over your hard-earned cash, listen to what they are telling you and go away and work on it until it feels natural.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

None of the above will work unless you can find the time to head down to the driving range and work on it. Gary Player once said: "The more I practice the luckier I get." 

Strategise

Stop and think before you play! OK, so you once hit a fairway wood that soared into the air and carried 240 yards over a lake and landed six feet from the hole. You once managed to deliberately fade a five iron around a tree and your ball ended up on the green. But what are the odds of pulling off these shots? How often do you sit in the clubhouse after a round of golf and bemoan all the shots you left out there. And how often would a different approach have prevented this? Top golfers all adopt a strategy to tackle every course they play. We should all be doing the same thing. Once-in-a-lifetime shots are precisely that!

Change Your Mental Attitude

I make no apologies for returning to this one again. If you are a club golfer, why do you play this game? Surely it’s because you want to enjoy it and have some fun. When you hit bad shots - and you will - don’t treat it like the end of the world because it isn’t. This is only a game. You play it with friends because you enjoy your company. Learn to take bad rounds in your stride. Nobody enjoys playing with somebody who slams clubs into the ground, swears and sulks. If you are one of these golfers, resolve to be not quite so hard on yourself.

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