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3 Proven LPGA Tour Strategies That Can Instantly Improve Your Scores
By Brendon Elliott, PGA
Published on
The Bay Course at Seaview does not look like a course that should give up a pile of low numbers without asking a few questions first.
It is not overly long. It is exposed in spots. It asks players to control trajectory, manage angles and keep their patience. That combination is exactly why LPGA Tour players can teach everyday golfers so much. They do not overpower golf courses as much as they out-think them, out-position them and out-discipline them.
In the first round of the ShopRite LPGA powered by Wakefern, Laetitia Beck opened with an 8-under 63. Nicole Broch Estrup was right behind with 64. Several others were stacked in the mid-60s. Yes, those are world-class players. But the real lesson is not that they hit shots most golfers cannot hit.
The lesson is that the best scoring golf is often built on choices most golfers can make.
The Flag Is Not Always Your Target
One of the biggest separators in low scoring is not making every iron shot look pretty. It is giving yourself a putt as often as possible.
Beck hit 15 greens in regulation in her opening 63. Arpichaya Yubol, who shot 65, also hit 15 greens. Celine Boutier hit 15 greens on her way to 66. That is a pattern worth paying attention to.
Most recreational golfers aim at the flag far too often. They see a pin tucked near a bunker, water or short-sided miss and still let the hole location become the target. Tour players are aggressive, but they are rarely careless. There is a difference.
A smarter goal for most players is simple: pick the part of the green that gives your normal shot pattern room to live.
If you fade the ball, aim a little left of center and let the shot work back. If your common miss is short, take one more club and make a smoother swing. If the pin is cut near trouble, aim at the fat side and accept a 25-footer.
That may not feel exciting in the moment, but boring golf adds up fast.
Try This:
During your next round, forget the flag on five approach shots. Pick the safest third of the green and commit fully to that target. Keep track of how many times you avoid a short-sided miss. That number matters.
Make 3-Putt Avoidance A Real Goal
Low rounds often look like birdie-fests from the outside, but they are usually protected by something less glamorous: speed control.
Beck had 25 putts and no 3-putts in her first round. Estrup had 26 putts and no 3-putts. Yubol had 27 putts and no 3-putts. That is not a coincidence. When you combine solid approach play with great speed on the greens, you give yourself a chance to score without handing shots back.
For amateurs, the 3-putt is often less about poor aim and more about poor distance control. The first putt finishes five or six feet away, the second becomes uncomfortable and suddenly a routine green in regulation turns into a bogey.
If you want to putt better, spend less time trying to make 25-footers and more time learning how to roll them the right distance.
Try This Drill:
Find a flat or slightly uphill putt of 25 to 35 feet. Do not use a hole at first. Place a tee or coin on the green as your starting line, then putt three balls trying to finish each one inside a three-foot circle around your target distance.
After three putts, move the target farther away or shorter. Your goal is not to make putts. Your goal is to make the second putt easy.
Great lag putting is not flashy. It is scorecard protection.
Learn How To Restart A Round
One of the most interesting things from the first round was not only who went low, but how some players finished. Boutier shot 36 on the front nine, then came home in 30. Ashleigh Buhai opened with 37 and closed in 30. Lauren Walsh went out in 39 and came back in 31.
That is a powerful lesson for the everyday golfer.
Most players let the first six holes decide the entire day. A bad start becomes a bad attitude. A few missed opportunities become frustration. A double bogey becomes a story they keep retelling to themselves for the next two hours.
The best players reset. They do not pretend bad holes did not happen, but they do not keep dragging them forward either.
You need a restart routine.
It can be as simple as this:
- Take one slow breath after a bad hole.
- Ask, “What is the smartest tee shot on the next hole?”
- Pick a clear target.
- Make one committed swing.
That is it. No speech. No swing rebuild. No punishment. Just a return to the next job.
Golf gives you more fresh starts than you think. The trick is being willing to take them.
Your Quick Scoring Checklist
Before your next round, give yourself three goals that have nothing to do with your final score:
- Aim at the safe side of the green at least five times.
- Finish the day with no more than one 3-putt.
- Use a reset routine after every double bogey or frustrating hole.
- Track greens or near-greens in regulation, not just perfect shots.
- Judge success by decisions, not only outcomes.
The LPGA Tour is full of players who understand something amateurs sometimes forget: going low is not always about chasing pins and hitting heroic shots.
It is about stacking good choices.
Hit more greens. Control your first putt. Restart when the round gets messy. Those three things will not turn every round into 63, but they can absolutely help you turn 92 into 86, 84 into 79 or 76 into 72.
And for most golfers, that is where real progress lives.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org and his stories on Athlon Sports. To stay updated on his latest work, sign up for his newsletter and visit OneMoreRollGolf.com.
