You don’t always need a better swing to shoot a better score. Smarter targets, realistic club choices and knowing when to take your medicine can save shots straight away

Look back over your last few scorecards and think about the holes that really hurt. There will be bad swings in there, of course, but how many mistakes were made before you even took the club back?

The pin you attacked when the middle of the green was available. The driver that brought trouble into play. The recovery shot through the trees that found another tree.

That’s course management, and unlike a swing change, you don’t need weeks on the range before it starts working.

Play for the shot you actually hit

Most golfers know their usual miss. The problem is that we often plan shots as though today will be the day it disappears.

If your normal driver shape moves from left to right, allow for it when choosing your target. Aim somewhere that gives the ball room to move rather than starting it towards trouble and relying on your best swing to avoid it.

The same principle applies with approaches. Look at where the trouble is and give your normal shot pattern somewhere safe to finish.

You aren’t planning to hit a bad shot. You’re simply accepting that golf involves misses and deciding where you’d prefer yours to end up.

Know how far you really hit each club

There is the distance you hit a club and the distance you once hit it perfectly with a following wind and have remembered ever since.

Course management requires the first one.

If your normal 7-iron carries 125 yards, that’s the number you need when there’s a bunker at 130. Choosing it because you’ve occasionally hit one 135 yards is asking a less-than-perfect strike to clear trouble it probably won’t.

Golfers regularly come up short with approach shots because we tend to remember our best distances rather than our typical ones.

Know your normal carry distances through the bag. If you’re between clubs, consider taking the longer one and making a comfortable swing rather than forcing the shorter club to reach.

It isn’t as satisfying as announcing that you hit your 7-iron 140 yards, but your scorecard won’t mind.

Make the middle of the green your friend

Not every flag deserves to be attacked.

A pin tucked behind a bunker, close to the edge of a green or on the other side of a slope can turn a perfectly manageable approach into a difficult up-and-down very quickly.

Often the better target is simply the largest part of the green.

From there, even a fairly long first putt gives you a chance of making par and a very good chance of avoiding a big number. Miss slightly and you may still be putting.

There will be flags worth going for. The skill is recognising the ones that aren’t.

Think about the shot after this one

Good course management isn’t only about where the current shot finishes. It’s about what that position leaves you next.

Take a par 5 you can’t reach in two. Hitting your second shot as far as possible isn’t automatically the best option. If it leaves an awkward half-wedge, while a shorter lay-up gives you a full club you trust, the shorter shot may be the better decision.

The same applies from the tee.

On a tight par 4, driver might leave 110 yards if you hit the fairway. A hybrid or fairway wood might leave 140 or 150 but take a bunker, narrowing or patch of rough out of play.

Ask yourself what you’re gaining by hitting the longer club and what you’re bringing into play if it goes wrong.

Sometimes an extra club into the green is a very good trade for hitting the approach from the fairway.

Don’t turn one mistake into two

Every golfer hits poor shots. The expensive part is often what happens next.

A drive finishes in the trees and suddenly the round depends on a gap between two branches that looks just wide enough.

Occasionally the hero shot comes off. More often one mistake becomes two.

Before attempting the recovery, ask what you could comfortably execute most of the time. If the answer is pitching sideways onto the fairway, do it.

You may have lost the chance of making par, but bogey is still very much available. Trying to recover the lost shot immediately is how doubles and triples find their way onto the card.

Course management isn’t about playing defensively or taking the fun out of golf. It’s about recognising which shots are worth the risk.

Try keeping track during your next round. Mark the card whenever a poor decision, rather than a poor swing, costs you a shot.

You might be surprised how many opportunities there are to score better before you’ve changed anything in your swing.

READ MORE: Ten course management lessons that will change the way you play