How to Improve Golf Scores and Play

For amateur and professional golfers alike, everyone can use a bit of help when it comes to improving their scores and long and short games. No matter how good a golfer a person is, everyone can use a good tip now and then — some of us more "now" than "then!"

Whether you're a beginner or a veteran golfer, following guided instruction at home either from a book or video, or even going to a private instructor, can immensely improve swing, drive, and ultimately a player's score.

Read on below to explore and discover a few spotlighted tips, the various categories of golf tips available, and methods for improving your golf game both with professional help and through self-guided practice.

In the Spotlight

Although there are any number of ways a player may improve his or her golf game, there are a few highlights to honing skills faster and more efficiently, primarily through watching golf instruction videos and clips, that cover various aspects of golf and golf instruction and can help new players and seasoned veterans alike truly understand the rules of the game and how to improve form and score.

From the very specific "Four Keys to Hitting a 460cc Driver to get the most out of your oversized driver (and today's golf balls) to popular instructor Michael Lamanna's "Good Balance and Rhythm Create a Perfect Golf Swing," there are a number of highly valuable resources available concerning each individual part of playing golf.

For a quick refresher, golfers may want to carry a "Faults and Fixes Tip Sheets," which provides a quick checklist that can help you diagnose the causes of errant ball flights (slice, draw) and common mishits (fat shots, topping).

Categories of Free Golf Tips

What part of your game needs help? Select a category below to view the full list of golf tips available:

• Golf Basics
• Driver & Iron Play (Full Swing)
• Wedge Play (Chipping, Pitching, Sand Shots)
• Putting Tips

• Golf Fitness

In order to best improve your golf game, it is important to recognize which elements of your game are lacking and which you are particularly skilled at. Finding a balance between these strengths and weaknesses, as well as practicing in areas that need the most improvement, will help improve your score and eliminate more and more errors the more you practice and learn.

Professional Lessons, Books, and DVDs

One of the most effective ways of finding golf tips is by signing up for golf lessons with a golf instructor. Many golfers are shy about that idea — will you like the instructor? How difficult is the process? How much time is involved? Questions like those sometimes prevent golfers from following through, but to find out what's really involved, see our article "Should Beginner Golfers Take Lessons?" to find out how to get the most bang for your buck in terms of private lessons.

Alternatively, there are a great number of fantastic instructional books, DVDs, and video tutorials available for at-home learning.

Noted instructor Gary Gilchrist has 17 quick and easy tips aimed at golfers who are beginners, recreational player or high-handicappers including equipment issues, golf course maintenance (i.e., repairing ball marks), and golf safety. 

Fortunately, in recent years, more and more resources have become available for more specific help on everything from putting to short-game improvement, as well as books and guides for both male and female golfers to improve their specific games.