The allure of becoming a scratch golfer is strong among the amateur ranks. It’s the ultimate goal for lots of golfers, and a kind of universal sign of respect.
The thing is, a lot of golfers, even many who aspire to get their handicap down to scratch, have some misconceptions about the whole thing – both what it means to be a scratch golfer, and how to get there. So as a former college golfer and current perpetual zero-point-something handicapper, I chatted with some of the other scratch markers in the Golf Digest office for some tips you may find helpful.
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1. You need to budget for weekly practice sessions
Jon Sherman, a high-level amateur golfer who has written two popular game improvement books, says playing once a week is the absolute floor for being able to get better. Anything less than that, and it’s going to be hard work.
I agree, but for scratch golfers, I’d raise the minimum slightly: average at least one round per week, plus at least two additional hours of dedicated practice (or other golf-related activity) at minimum. A range session, putting sessions, etc.
All the scratch markers I know work in at least a few practice sessions a week. Maintaining a scratch handicap simply requires a certain amount of refining that comes with those extra few hours of practice. And smart practice, at that.
Photo: Ryan Pyle
2. You need to have a few different shots
Golfers can get pretty far in this world – we’re talking low single digits – with a pretty simple formula:
- Driver in play
- 14+ greensides in regulation
- No double chips or bunker shots
- Good putting inside 10 feet
You can do all of the above staying pretty one-dimensional – a stock shot shape, a basic chip – but to get from low single digits to scratch you’ll need to add a few tools. A low-tee “fairway finder” drive, for instance; a knockdown iron to use in the wind; a low-spinning chip. A little bit of range that makes grinding out pars on the difficult days a little more doable.
3. Chipping becomes weirdly important
Admittedly, this is a pet theory of mine. I can’t really explain it, but a lot of the scratch golfers I know seem weirdly obsessed with chipping. I think it’s because chipping becomes strangely important when you start flirting with a 0 handicap. You’re probably doing a lot of things right if you’re in this zone, but you’re still going to miss greens. When you do, a bad chip to nine feet is a likely bogey. A good one to four feet is a likely par. These little margins start to matter a lot.
4. You have to work backwards from your ball flight
This is something most golfers would be well-served to understand the basics of, but scratch golfers for the most part have a very clear understanding of their ball flight. Not just of what their misses are, but how those misses happen. It’s basic clubface, swing path and low point stuff. This GolfTec graphic can help you understand the basics.
5. You’re never as good as everyone thinks
Halfway through this list is a good time for a little expectation management, and a reminder that your handicap isn’t a scoring average. A golfer with a 0 index doesn’t mean they average even-par. It means that on their good-not-great days, they’re capable of shooting even-par.
Being a scratch golfer doesn’t mean lots of even or under par rounds. It means lots of 76s. Some bad days in the 80s – and yes, some good ones around par. It’s a slate that’s never quite as impressive as the non-scratch-markers think, and there’s always going to be the plus-3 handicapper who rolls in and puts you to shame. But that’s the reality.
6. You still hit disaster shots
Golf remains golf, which means that yes, really bad shots still happen. Chunks, tops, shanks, OB drives. Scratch golfers average just shy of one double-bogey per round. The goal isn’t pretending that doesn’t happen. The goal is keeping a tight lid on the really bad shots when they do.
Do you want to get better at golf?
I am guessing you said yes. Everyone does. Even when Tiger was at the very top, he wanted to improve.
How do you get there?
The data in the table below is the average number of birdies, bogeys and doubles (or worse) per round.
It is broken… pic.twitter.com/jRNmau3VF0
— Lou Stagner (Golf Stat Pro) (@LouStagner) July 7, 2023
7. You learn to love the boring basics
The path to true golf enlightenment is learning to love the little things.
- Posture
- Ball position
- Alignment
- Grip
- Stance
In the words of Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher Jason Baile: learning to be extraordinarily good at the ordinary stuff. It’s the easiest stuff to fix, and it tends to move around a lot from day-to-day. Get it right, and it can solve problems in your golf swing before they even arise.
8. You know there’s one thing that matters most of all
There are lots of different positions that good players can, and do, hit in their golf swings. But there’s one thing that’s non-negotiable: a good downswing sequence. It’s the engine of every golf swing. If there’s any golf swing breakthrough that’s going to get you to your scratch goal, it probably starts and ends with your sequence.
9. The gym is the final frontier
According to Arccos, scratch handicappers drive the ball about 10 yards longer, on average, than a 3-handicapper, who themselves drive the ball about 10 yards longer on average than 6-handicappers.
It’s not just distance that you’ll find in the gym, though. It’s general mobility, flexibility, strength and athletic function. The stuff that makes your body move more athletically. If you really want to push your handicap lower, it won’t just happen on the range. There’s a general layer of athleticism that can only be unlocked in the gym.
10. The days of making big golf swing overhauls are over
The truth is that once you’ve gotten good enough to get into the general vicinity of scratch, it’s hard to envision big golf swing overhauls in your future. The move that got you here is just too grooved at this point, and probably good enough to get you to your goal.
That doesn’t mean you won’t be making any improvements (you can and should be), it’s just that those changes will be like tweaks compared to your higher-handicap peers. Mostly, it’ll be working on the same old stuff you’ve always been working on. Old flaws and tendencies that pop up and that you know how to fix before they do real damage to your game. It’s boring, and a little repetitive, but the days of revolution are over. Inching your way to scratch requires slow and steady evolution.
