The Smart-Miss Routine
Turning one bad shot into a triple by attempting the hero recovery.
Set up
On any trouble shot, ask one question: what's the highest-percentage shot that gets me back in play?
The reps
Play 9 holes making only the conservative recovery choice. Log every double you avoid.
How you know it's working
Zero holes where a recovery attempt made the score worse.
Why it works
The single biggest lever from 95 to 89 is stopping doubles from becoming triples. That's discipline, not skill — which means you can install it this week.
The evidence
The data is unambiguous: Stagner/Arccos show scratch golfers are scratch because they avoid big numbers — 60% of their rounds have nothing worse than bogey — while a 20-handicap makes ~7 doubles-or-worse. No swing change closes that gap faster than the recovery decision.
See the full method & sources →Want this drill scheduled for your game?
Your coach puts the right drills into your week based on where you actually lose strokes — the same evidence-based method behind Shoot 89.
Get my free plan →