What if there was a “secret” expert tip to a lower score, a strategy time tested that even the seasoned professionals employ every time they play? What if to use this “secret”, you didn’t have to change how you play golf at all? Here is the secret tip for playing a consistently strong game for golfers over 50:

Never Hit A Shot That You Have Not Yet Practiced

It seems so simple, and you might be thinking to yourself, “That’s it?” The truth is that following that incredibly simple piece of advice can prove pretty tricky. Think back to the last round you played and see if this scenario seems familiar:

Your shot off the first tee slices just a bit, plopping the ball down in between trees. You have the option to play it to the side and back to the fairway or launch a super-straight, low long iron shot through the trees. The second choice could put you right at the green, but there are a lot of obstacles and you aren’t very familiar both with the terrain and not very comfortable with your long iron. Because it can put you closer to the hole, you go for the second choice… and before you know it, you’ve started your round with a triple bogey or worse.

It might seem like you are adding extra strokes by playing it safe, but sticking with shots you are confident about will probably save you strokes, not to mention embarrassment, in the long run.

You wouldn’t bet your life savings on your first-ever hand in poker. You wouldn’t drop the steepest cliff on the mountain your first time skiing. In any activity you have to build up your skills comfortably through practice. You never want to introduce something brand new to your golf game in the middle of a round.

Stick to the shots you know you can execute when playing most games and especially in competition and use your practice time to expand your repertoire and try new shots. This is a sure fire way to lower your score and show dramatic improvement each and every time you play golf.

The Right Lessons

If you were to type “golf lessons” into Google it would yield hundreds-of-thousands of results. Which “golf lessons” are worth your time? You want to make sure that the lessons you watch are backed by a professional golfer or better yet a professional golf instructor, and a good place to start is right here at Golf Over 50 with the featured video in the right column. We’ll feature videos that are specific to the golfer over 50, including fitness, swing technique, and golf improvement tips.

Another good place to look is the website of your favorite print golf magazine. Many magazines have taken their expertise to the worldwide web to encourage interactivity from their community of readers. Part of having these websites is the ability for magazines to take their old text-to-picture instruction sections and transfer the lessons to a much easier to understand video. Since the videos are backed by your favorite magazine, there is no question as to the quality of instruction presented. Golf Digest has an excellent resource that is worth checking out.

Sites such as YouTube are an awesome to place to find specific lessons. For example you could look for “chip shot golf” or “golf tee shots” to find videos on those specific aspects of your game. Be aware of who you take your advice from on YouTube. The best way to gauge an author’s credibility is to look at his rating, the comments presented on his videos and his overall collection of videos. Obviously, an author with two dozen five-star instructional videos is likely to know his or her stuff.

Utilizing Video Instruction

Simply watching a video, regardless of the quality of the instruction, is not going to do you much good on the course. You need to watch each video over and over again, making sure you pay attention… not just to what is being said either.

The true benefit of a video lesson lies beyond the verbal instruction. In fact, most people find such instruction to be somewhat distracting and confusing. You need to become a video analyzer with a precise eye for detail. Things such as shoulder alignment, stance width, grip position and ball placement are as important as the steps needed to execute the technique.

As you watch these videos make sure you are focusing on the demonstration more than what is being said. These video lessons are your chance to see an expert golfer execute the precise movements of golf. Each run through will put the image of the motions deeper into your psyche, and since visualization can overpower skill-level you might find the lessons stick better and you progress faster. Take the motions, all of the steps needed to put together a perfect technique, and try to describe them to yourself in your own words. The great thing about video lessons is that you can make them cater personally to you!

A final tip is to make sure you practice what you learn. If you can, download these videos and upload them to your iPod, Blackberry or other video-capable mobile device – then take them with you to your practice session. Remember, if you don’t practice any of the things you learn than you really haven’t “learned” anything.

The most obvious example of this is concentrating too hard on your target. The point of putting is to get that ball in the hole and some golfers become so focused on setting up a good line that they forget to gauge the speed of their putt.

Your target line can easily hypnotize you into forgetting the little, but vital details that go into making a successful putt – especially on a green that is very contoured and a lot of break. You can simplify your putting and start putting with confidence using these two simple steps.

First You’ll Set Your Line

You first matter of business when you step up to your putt is to read the break. Taking into account the contours of the green, create an imaginary line that will be the ball’s path of travel. Now concentrate on a spot mid-distance between the ball and the hole, adjusting your aim based on this spot.

Always mark your ball and line up your putt from behind. When you’ve found your line and see the mid-point mark you’re lining up to, you can use a little trick that many good putters use. Take a line or wording on your golf ball and line them up towards your target spot. Now, when you are standing over your ball you only need to align to the line or wording on the golf ball and trust your line!

Now You Gauge Your Speed

Once you have determined your line, let it go. Clear your thoughts and focus your attention now on giving the ball enough speed to follow your line into the hole. Again, the contours of the green and where the ball breaks will play an enormous part on how much speed you will need.

Remember that target spot you created mid-distance between the ball and the hole? If you have a short putt, you can bring that point closer to you; if you are facing a longer putt that requires more power, move the spot further towards the hole. This is a great way to keep from over or under-powering your putts.

Breaking apart the putt into these two steps makes the process much easier, but you aren’t going to see those fantastic putts the pros make unless you practice, practice, practice! To become a master with your putter you are going to need to build your comfort and confidence with putting on any green from any distance, you are going to need to develop a natural sense of speed and distance which comes only from hours of practice on the putting green.

There is an excellent program to help you cut putts off your score. Most golfers putt between 33 and 40 times per round. Imagine cutting just 6-8 putts per round off of your score!

The program is called “Breakthrough Putting Secrets Revealed” and they offer a free report on “3 Days to Stop 3-Putting”. This is a very good program and I encourage you to check out their site and read more.

For such shots you might get better results from chipping with your 3 Wood.

The 3 Wood?

Sure. The 3 Wood is an ideal club for putting more power into the ball’s roll due to its loft. A standard 3 Wood will have a loft of around 15 degrees. The standard loft of a 4 iron is approximately 24 degrees; putters provide a loft of 5 to 6 degrees (and less). So, a 3 wood serves up the low flying shot of a 4 iron and a stronger, quicker hop than your putter will provide… the best of both worlds. The 3 Wood club head is also much heftier than your iron, which means less effort to send the ball further distances.

So what is the ideal chip shot to employ your 3 Wood? Here are few scenarios where chipping with a 3 Wood can achieve better results:

1. If the green is leveled above the ball (meaning you will need to chip up) a 3 Wood can provide the necessary acceleration. Any time where there is an incline or ridge present and an iron or putter shot might tempt the chip to go awry is a good time to break out your 3 Wood.

2. The 3 Wood is perfect on a nice, wide-open chip shot where you are staring right at the green. Since there is nothing in the way and it’s just a straight line to the pin, just swing away with 3 Wood for a rolling straight shot.

3. It can be dramatically harder to get an iron to behave when chipping from short cut grass or firm ground. While longer grass and softer terrain can compensate for minor discrepancies, trying to chip on hard ground with an iron means needing to make a more precise impact with the ball. Using your 3 Wood eliminates the need to be so precise and makes chipping from firmer ground that much easier.

When chipping with the 3 Wood, its important to choke down on the club and employ a putting-like stroke. Keep your wrists firm and be sure to follow through the ball instead of stabbing at it.

The chip shot is an extremely vital part of golf and one topic with a slew of various tips and techniques. To be a competitive senior golfer it pays to have an expansive repertoire of chipping methods that utilize your equipment to its full potential – and using your 3 Wood is one such method.

Here are small, simple tips to help baby boomers play smarter golf and overcome our sticking points:

Smart Putting: Long Range Warm-ups and Establishing A Rhythm

Many golfers make the mistake of concentrating only on the mechanics and essentially “rebuilding” their putt out on the practice green. Leave technical practice for after a round to work out inconsistencies.

Even with a proper warm-up it is likely that you will need the first few holes to get a feel for the course. This means you are likely to face long distance putts early on in the game. Take a few putts from 30 to 40 feet when you warm-up on the putting green.

When you are just practicing for the day or warming up for a round you want to focus first on setting rhythm for your putt. You want to concentrate on getting the ball to roll smoothly; this is done by making solid contact to the ball with your putter. Your goal is to get into a rhythm where your putt strikes the ball smoothly through the path of the club.

Smart Practice: Finding Your Swing

Have you ever hit a few practice shots that seemed to suffer from the same push or pull, and no matter what you did to fix it nothing seemed to alleviate the problem? The solution is as simple as just letting everything be.

Finding your swing isn’t about practicing until you hit perfectly, but understanding your tendencies for that day. If your ball is consistently hitting left, don’t approach every hole anxious and focused on making a perfect swing-that’s a good way to mess up. Rather you must be confident that your shots will go left and simply aim right. Work it out on the driving range after the round and play the shot that your body is giving you during the round.

Research the Holes

Researching the course’s holes is an important tactical strategy and one that is often overlooked. You wouldn’t make a move in chess without analyzing your opponents pieces; you can’t expect to walk blindly onto a course and par every hole.

Those course planners and yardage boards are like cheat sheets for a high school math exam. You want take into account everything from the yardage to hazards. Use this information to formulate a plan for how you want to play each hole. This way you can avoid undesirable lies or situations that could potentially cost you a stroke.

Playing smart is the only way to see unbounded success in golf. Use these strategies and tactics to analyze and overcome your weaknesses on the course as you progress to the next level of your game!

There is nothing more infuriating than being set up for a stiff shot and having to watch in horror and disappointment as you lay the sod over it. How about the telltale “SMACK” of your pitching wedge as the lead edge launches your ball right past the green or the (un)-comfortable vibrations of a shank as your ball careen sideways?

Here are a couple of the most common pitching mistakes that senior golfers make and some simple tips to keep in mind for avoiding the above disasters the next time you approach that perfect pitch shot:

Clubface Aimed Toward the Left or Right

One of the most common mistakes in pitching is aiming the clubface to the left or right. Even the slightest hint of this error can result in pushed or pulled shots and exaggerating the problem can lead to those dreaded shank shots.

A good way to alleviate this problem is to aim at your target with the clubface first, before you adjust with your body. As long as it won’t shift the ball or cause penalty to do so (in a bunker or deep grass for instance), aim the clubface and place it firmly on the ground behind your ball, leaning the top of the shaft against your hand as you adjust your body. This keeps the club face fixed and on-target for the shot.

Taking the time to adjust your shot with the clubface first can quickly resolve any inconsistencies in your pitching and short-game accuracy.

Misjudging the Shift in Ball Position

The second most common mistake involves the stance you take over the ball… play the ball too far back and you are probably going to hit the ground before you hit the ball (fat shot); play the ball too far forward and you end up sending it skinny.

If you are seeing either of these results with consistency in your pitching and short-game shots, it may be time to slow down and double-check your stance in relation to the ball.

It seems all too easy, but adjusting your position over the ball can make a HUGE difference in hitting the pitch shot cleanly or not.

Now that you know the most common pitching mistakes and how to fix them, you may find that pitching becomes your favorite part of golf!

Here are some common short game mistakes for golfers over 50 to avoid that can take a few strokes off of your score:

Using the Wrong Club

The biggest mistake a golfer can make is in not knowing their equipment. It is important to become comfortable with your clubs on the practice green, making note of which clubs achieve what distances with how much force. This takes the guessing out of any short game challenges.

As an example, you might be comfortable and confident in using a 7 iron for a short bump-and-run chip shots. So use it on the course and don’t waver. Don’t let any book, video or other golfer tell you which club goes what distance. It’s completely personal and you can only know by familiarizing yourself with your equipment.

When Tiger Woods faces a shot from anywhere around the green he generally uses his 60 degree wedge. With simple adjustments to his technique, Tiger will use that 60-degree wedge to hit a flop shot where the ball only goes 25 feet, or he’ll use it to hit a shot from 60 yards. He doesn’t try to use several wedges. After playing that wedge for years Tiger knows it works for him; he is most comfortable with that particular club.

So you see, short game success is just as much about your familiarity and confidence with your equipment as it is about specific techniques. You can have a better short game, more fun and a lower score just by familiarizing yourself with your equipment.

Over-thinking the Shot

Golf as a sport is first and foremost about enjoyment. Every round played is a chance to build confidence, relax and have fun. This is almost impossible to do if you are over-analyzing every aspect of your short game. Odds are you will have your best days out when you let the game just happen.

Put into perspective, chances are you have a few golf lessons under your belt, additional knowledge gained from golf television and websites, and you’ve notched off hours of practice time. You might as well just take your swing and let all of that experience speak for itself.

If you spend too much time analyzing every little detail of your short game you are probably only going to overwhelm and frustrate yourself. Every golfer knows it’s impossible to play well when you have too much in your head, so a simple but big part of bringing your short game together is just enjoying golf. It’s OK to concentrate when a difficult shot presents itself, but not every mistake you make needs a solution to fix.

Know your equipment, play your favorite clubs around the green, and relax. Don’t over-think your shots on the course – leave that for the practice green.