The term “pre-shot routine” is one that you will hear frequently when it comes to the game of golf.

Very few golfers, however, actually take the time to develop and stick with a consistent routine, and that’s a major mistake for a number of reasons.

Most notable among those reasons is that a sound pre-shot routine will help you stay in the moment and focus completely on the shot at hand, while at the same time eliminating potential distractions that can adversely affect the shots you play.

Additionally, being committed to your routine is a great way to alleviate pressure on the golf course, whether you’re competing in an important tournament or just trying to beat your best friend on a Saturday morning, because you’ll find yourself focused on the shot itself and not the consequences of its outcome.

And the beauty of the pre-shot routine, and one of the surprising reasons that more golfers won’t make the commitment to establishing and utilizing one, is that what you choose to do as part of your routine is completely up to you.

There is no right or wrong, just what’s comfortable for you.

Some pre-shot routines are extremely detailed and might even start when a player is selecting the club they’ll hit, an approach you’ll see from many PGA and LPGA Tour players, while for others it might just involve a simple alignment check and a quick waggle before they pull the trigger.

The only thing that really matters is that your pre-shot routine should match your personality on the golf course. If you play fast, you’re not going to want to establish a detailed, extensive routine, something that would likely work better for a more deliberate player.

But the key is to work on establishing a routine that you’re comfortable with and then commiting to it before every shot you play.

If you do, you will play better golf. That’s pretty much a mortal lock.

One of the best ways to improve your golf scores is to develop a game plan before you tee off on every hole you play.

Too many golfers just instinctively grab their driver, take a rip at it and then go figure it out from there, which is the wrong approach.

Before you make a swing on each of the 18 tee boxes you’ll visit during any given round, decide exactly what you want to accomplish on that hole based on various factors, including course conditions, weather conditions, pin locations and possibly even how you’re playing that day.

Maybe even more crucial, and often overlooked, is that mapping out your strategy on each hole should actually start at the green and then work back to the tee.

For example, if the hole location on the par-4 you’re playing is back left, you’re going to want to try to position your tee ball down the right side of the fairway to set up a good angle for your approach shot.

If you’re playing a short par-4, even if the hole isn’t all that tight, and the pin is on the front of the green and tucked over a bunker, you might not want to hit a driver and end up too close to the green, leaving yourself a half-swing wedge shot that you can’t spin. Instead, maybe take a 3-wood off the tee and leave yourself a full shot into the flag, one you can get close with more regularity.

If you’re playing a long par-5, the wind is into your face and you’re not going to be able to get home in two, don’t automatically hit driver if that club might bring trouble (bunkers, water, trees, etc.) into play. Take less club, safely get the ball in the fairway, execute a sound second shot and leave yourself with a scoring club and a good angle into the green.

Shooting good scores and stringing together several good holes is all about not only keeping your ball in play but also positioning it in proper spots on the course.

If you get in the habit of committing to a game plan on each hole, the added focus is also likely to help you execute better shots more often.

Try this approach the next time you play and more success will be the likely result.

One of the most important aspects of playing good golf is having good distance control, a trait that you’ve most likely heard associated with the best players in the world.

When it comes to having good distance control, which means effectively controlling how far you hit the ball on approach and lay-up shots, it’s imperative that you know how far you hit each club in your bag.

And if you’re fortunate enough to ever face a shot like the one in the photo above, you’re going to want that information!

Most golfers, however, only have a general idea of how far they hit their clubs, and even many good players only have spent the time to figure out how far they hit their wedges.

Additionally, an even bigger problem for countless golfers is overestimating how far they hit the ball, which inevitably leads to overswinging and shots that end up nowhere near the intended target from a distance standpoint.

With the advent of range finders, there’s no reason not to spend some time trying to dial in how far you hit each club in your bag, especially your short and mid-irons.

As part of this process, when you work on fine tuning your yardages make sure that you’re swinging within yourself. While distance is an important aspect of golf, it pales in comparison to accuracy, especially when it comes to iron play.

Find a driving range, some time on the golf course when it’s quiet or even a field or park where you can hit multiple shots from various yardages with limited or no elevation change. Start by hitting 80-yard shots and then work in increments of 10 yards up to the 200-yard mark.

You can use target flags on the range to work with or you can walk off yardages and establish your own targets. If you’re on the golf course and have a hole to yourself where you can practice, start at 80 yards, hit approach shots and then just start working backwards up the fairway (make sure to fix those pitch marks when you’re finished though).

Throughout the process, keep a written log of which club in your bag is equating best to the respective distance you’re working on.

If you spend a couple of practice sessions working on this approach, and you might have to break this process up to effectively work on each yardage, you’ll find that you’ll hit the ball pin high more often.

You might still miss some shots right or left from time to time, but those are typically going to be swing-related issues that a qualified golf professional can help you with.

Granted, you might not hit the ball as far as you normally would when your swing is off, which can lead to a bad hole here or there. But there’s no reason to make bogeys or worse just because you’re pulling the wrong club several times throughout a round.

The game is hard enough as it is!