You just striped one down the middle. Perfect contact, right in the fairway. Your playing partners compliment the shot. You’re feeling confident. Then you walk off the green with a bogey.
This happens constantly. Mid-handicappers hit their best drives and somehow still make bogey or worse. The drive feels like the hard part but it’s actually the easy part. What you do after that good drive determines your score.
Why good drives don’t guarantee good scores
The 100-yard problem
Most amateur golfers practice their driver endlessly. They’ll hit 30 drives on the range and maybe 10 wedges. Strokes Gained data shows amateurs actually lose more strokes in the long game than the short game compared to pros. But here’s the thing: you can’t easily fix your ball-striking in a few range sessions. You can dramatically improve your wedge precision with focused practice. You hit a great drive on a par-4 with just a short iron left to the green. This should be an easy par, maybe a birdie look. Instead, you chunk the wedge to 40 feet or fly it over the green.
Position doesn’t equal execution
A good drive puts you in position to score. It doesn’t actually score for you. You still need to execute the approach shot, the chip if you miss the green, and the putts. Most golfers treat the drive like it’s worth more than one stroke. It’s not.
The mental mistakes that kill scoring
Overconfidence destroys your routine
You crush a drive and suddenly you’re thinking about a birdie before you’ve even reached your ball. This confidence makes you sloppy. You don’t commit to your pre-shot routine. You don’t check the wind. You grab a club based on feel instead of yardage. That casual approach leads to poor contact and missed greens.
Trying to take advantage of position
You’re in great position after bombing your drive. The pin is tucked behind a bunker. Typically, you’d play to the middle of the green but you just hit such a good drive that you feel like you should attack the flag. This is how bogeys happen. Good position doesn’t mean you should take on more risk.
The scoring zone skills you’re ignoring
Wedge distance control
Hit 10 shots with your pitching wedge. Where do they land? If they’re scattered across a 30-yard range, you can’t capitalize on good drives. You need eight out of 10 within a 15-yard circle. Most golfers practice full swings with wedges. They never work on the 60, 70 and 80 percent swings that scoring requires. If you can’t control a three-quarter pitching wedge, you’ve gained nothing.
Lag putting from birdie range
After a good drive and decent approach, you’re 25 feet from the hole. This is where amateurs turn pars into bogeys. They charge the putt, blow it six feet past and miss the comebacker. The best way to capitalize on a good drive isn’t to make every birdie putt. It’s to never three-putt from birdie range.
Course management after you hit it well
Club selection based on your miss
Let’s say you’ve got 165 yards to the pin after a perfect drive. You hit your 7-iron 170 on your best strikes. But your average 7-iron goes 162 and your miss goes 155. Club up. Hit the eight-iron. Even your miss will be on the green. Good drives give you shorter clubs for your approach shots which means you should be hitting more greens, not attacking more pins.
Playing to your strengths
If you’re a better chipper than bunker player, don’t aim at pins that bring bunkers into play just because you have a wedge in your hand. Good drives let you play to your strengths more often.
How to practice capitalizing on good drives
The scoring zone ladder drill
Hit five shots from 100 yards, five from 75 yards, five from 50 yards. Track how many you land within 15 feet of the hole. This is what happens after your good drives. If you can’t convert these distances into makeable birdie putts or tap-in pars, your driving doesn’t matter. Do this drill twice a week. Your goal is 10 out of 15 within 15 feet.
Track your fairway-to-green percentage
For one month, track this specific stat: when you hit the fairway, how often do you hit the green in regulation? A mid-handicap golfer (around 10 handicap) should aim to hit six to eight greens per round. If you’re hitting six or seven fairways but only six greens total, you’re not capitalizing on good position.
When you find the fairway, you should be converting most (not all) of those into greens hit. If you’re hitting fairways but still missing greens, that’s where your practice needs to focus.
Making good drives actually matter
Good drives are opportunities, not accomplishments. They give you shorter clubs, better angles and easier shots into greens. But you still have to execute those easier shots. Fix your wedge game, improve your lag putting and make smarter decisions with the scoring clubs. That’s when your driving will actually show up in your handicap.
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