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The Real Secret to Better Golf: Precision, Planning and Discipline
By Brendon Elliott, PGA
Published on
This week’s Mizuho Americas Open is a good reminder for everyday golfers about what really matters in golf. The LPGA is playing at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey, for the May 7-10 championship. Mountain Ridge, a Donald Ross design, will also host the event in 2026 and 2027. The course is about 7,100 yards long, with rolling hills and two nine-hole loops that both finish at the clubhouse.
This setup matters because Ross courses challenge golfers in ways they might not expect. You have to pick your angles, think about where it’s safe to miss, and focus on distance control and discipline instead of just power. While many people will watch and admire how steady LPGA players look from tee to green, the real lesson for amateurs is not just their precision, but how they achieve it.
For most everyday golfers, lower scores are not hiding in a bigger swing. They are hiding in better planning, better yardages and better misses.
Precision Starts Before the Swing
One of the biggest differences between elite players and amateurs is that top players make a clear decision before they start their swing.
They do more than just aim at the flag. They pick a starting line, a landing area, and a spot where a miss would not hurt them.
That matters even more on a course like Mountain Ridge. When a course rewards the correct side of the fairway or the safe half of a green, “just hit it good” is not really a plan. A plan is this:
- Pick the side that takes big trouble out of play
- Choose a club that covers your normal carry, not your best-ever shot
- Favor the portion of the hole that leaves the easiest next play
That is precision in its most useful form. It is not perfect golf. It is organized golf.
A lot of amateurs make the game harder because they decide too late what to actually do with the shot they face. They stand over the ball still debating club, target or shape. That almost always leads to tension and poor contact. Before each full swing, get settled on one clear picture and one clear number. Then go.
Mountain Ridge Is a Great Reminder to Play the Hole Backward
When I coach everyday players, one of the most helpful habits I teach is to start with the next shot and work backward.
This week is a perfect example of why.
On a classic layout, the best players are not always trying to hit the farthest drive possible. They are trying to leave the right number from the right angle. That is a different mindset, and it can help every golfer immediately.
Instead of asking, “How far can I hit this?”
Ask:
- Where do I want to play my approach from?
- Which side of this hole gives me the best look?
- What club gets me there most often?
Sometimes the smartest tee shot is not with a driver. Sometimes the best approach is to aim 25 feet below the hole instead of going for a tough pin. Sometimes saving par starts with knowing when to play it safe.
That is not conservative golf. That is scoring golf.
Everyday Golfers Need Better Carry Numbers
The precision you see from LPGA stars week in and week out is not just about direction. It is also about knowing exactly how far the ball travels in the air.
That is a huge lesson for amateurs.
The LPGA measures greens in regulation like everyone else, but the real lesson is what it takes to hit them often: knowing your carry distance and making solid contact. The best scorers and putters on tour stand out because they keep giving themselves easy first putts, instead of leaving the ball in tough spots or coming up short.
Most recreational golfers focus on total distance. Better players focus on carry distance.
That means your homework is simple:
- Learn your stock carry with your wedges and short irons
- Stop using your all-time best shot as your baseline
- Build decisions around your normal swing, not your hero swing
If your 8-iron usually carries 128 yards, use that number. Do not call it 135 just because you once hit it that far with the wind. Real precision starts when you are honest about your numbers.
Wedge Play Is Where Precision Becomes Scoring
If you want to copy one part of the LPGA blueprint immediately, make it this: great players treat shots inside 100 yards very seriously.
This is where most amateurs lose strokes without noticing. They might hit a good tee shot, a good layup, or a good approach, but then waste the hole with a poor wedge, a bad chip, or a first putt with no plan for speed.
The best women in the world are not just accurate. They are tidy. They turn partial swings into birdie chances and misses into stress-free pars.
For the average golfer, I would build practice around three scoring windows:
- 30 to 50 yards
- 60 to 80 yards
- 90 to 110 yards
Do not just rake balls. Pick targets. Change clubs. Rehearse different trajectories. Learn what a three-quarter swing really produces. The more comfortable you become in those windows, the more the rest of your round settles down.
Precision Also Means Accepting Boring
This might be the hardest lesson for amateurs to accept.
A lot of good golf looks boring.
Center of the green. Fairway over distance. Putt to the safe side. Chip to six feet. Tap-in par.
That is the kind of golf Mountain Ridge will reward this week, and it is the kind of golf more everyday players should appreciate. Ross courses tend to reveal impatience. LPGA players are usually great at staying calm and focused, and every club golfer can learn from that.
You do not need to swing as fast as the pros to play better. You just need to make fewer emotional decisions.
The Takeaway for the Rest of Us
When you watch the LPGA at Mountain Ridge this week, do not just pay attention to how smooth the swings look.
Watch the decisions.
Watch how often players favor the correct side of the hole. Watch how controlled they are with distance. Watch how calm they stay when they miss. Watch how often they leave themselves the kind of next shot they can handle.
That is the lesson.
Precision is not perfection. It is preparation, discipline and knowing what kind of shot the hole actually calls for.
And for everyday golfers, that is a lesson worth stealing.
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.
