The Back Nine: Save 2 shots a round...

This week's Front Nine examined how the average player can save at least two shots a round by doing some simple things before a round, off the tee and around the greens.

Area head professionals Kyle Rich of Fox Bend Golf Course in Oswego, Tom Tierney of Orchard Valley Golf Course in Aurora and Chad Johansen of Blackberry Oaks Golf Course in Bristol gave us some insights.

Before the round
Here's a putting drill from Johansen that he says will help you shave those shots (visit his golf academy here).
"Take a golf ball and put a line completely around the middle of the ball. Take a chalk line from a hard ware store and you snap a chalk line five feet from the hole. Put the line that's on that ball on that chalk line and you putt two tees in between your putter. Do that for 10 mintes a day.

"All you're going to do is just putt in between the two tees and you want that line to stay on the chalk line for five feet. Any time you've had a good round, ever, you've made a lot of five foot putts. If you want to take 2 strokes off your score, if you do that for 10 minutes a day it's definitely going to help."

Johansen also says that many players don't know how far they actually hit their clubs. At Johansen's studio at Blackberry Oaks, they print out a bag tag of that player's average yardages per club. It's a service that costs just $50.

"If you did that first drill I gave you and came out and did one of these training sessions and knew how far you hit every club, I can guarantee you'll lose two strokes off your score, no doubt about it."

Off the tee
A lot of players find themselves off the fairway after launching a tee ball, and many times that ball is nestled among the tree line. Naturally, there are gaps in the trees, but this is where players can save shots.

Said Rich: "Guys try to hit that shot and the ball kicks 20 yards into the woods and now they're really making a high score."

Rich says that a way to save those shots is to get it in your mind before the round that this round is the one where you're going to think your way around the golf course and play the smart shots.

And a beneficial side effect of such a strategy is that it becomes habitual - and you start doing it all the time.

"That's the way I play. If I hit a bad shot or I'm in a bad situation in a tournament, if I can just get it back into play and move on from there, my score is going to be much better than trying to hit that one spectacular shot you see the pro's pull off."

Around the greens
A lot of times, players choose to get too creative around the greens with wedges when the smarter play would be to use a putting stroke - either with the putter or by using a 7- or 8-iron from 30 feet away.

Said Tierney: "You're playing a less lofted club. Even if you belly it and you hit it in the middle of the ball, the thing is still going to roll out there about 10 feet from the hole. If you swing a sand wedge hard enough to loft it up to the hole and hit it in the middle of the ball you're over the green. Or if you hit behind it, you stubbed it. It's pretty hard to stub a runner or a chip and run."

Tierney also suggested the age old formula for improvement: Practice.
"If you miss a green, you're throwing another stroke in there, so in order to get that stroke back you need to have a good short game. Is it fun to practice your short game? Not for most people."

"The short game - that's where you do your scoring and its the most important part of the game and it's probably the most neglected."