The idea of a good golf score will be entirely different from one player to another.

A scratch golfer may say that a good score is 73, whereas a high handicapper may call 93 a great score. Let’s look at the different scores and how they compare based on skill level.

Good is a relative term in golf, and you must consider skill level before you can say whether a score is good or bad.

Good Golf Score for a Beginner

A good golf score for a beginner is anything around 110. If you can shoot 110 as a new beginner, you will have a long future in the game of golf. To shoot 110, you probably got close to hitting a few greens in regulation, made some two putts, and even had a bogey or two on the course.

However, I’ve always found that beginners trying to get started in the game are much better off focusing on hitting great shots as opposed to their score. The number of strokes it takes to get the ball in the hole will be a lot for a beginner.

Take your time and learn to make great shots.

Start trying to two putt or take just one shot out of the sand, get your golf ball in the fairway from the tee and avoid water hazards. These are all much more important than trying to shoot low scores.

Good Golf Score for an Average Golfer

A good score for an average golfer is around 90. Average golfers tend to call it a good day when they can break 100. Breaking 90 happens a little less frequently.

As an average golfer, you likely make some nice pars and an occasional birdie. However, the problem for average golfers often becomes the number of strokes it takes to get out of trouble. In addition, there’s that occasional slice that pops up or a three-putt, and it just adds up over the course of the round.

Breaking 90 is going to take a good short game, some practice, and a bit of dedication to the sport.

When you can start breaking 90 consistently, you will move out of the category of the average golfer.

Good Golf Score for a Pro

Professional golfers try to shoot below par every time they go out to play. For professional golfers, good scores a really dependent on the course difficulty, course rating, and conditions of play.

If you shoot a 71 on a really tough golf course in the rain and wind, it’s likely a great score. However, shooting 70 on an easy course with perfect conditions may not be quite as good of a score.

Most professionals will determine if their score was good based on how the rest of the field does. If a pro shoots 67 and everyone else is in the low 70s, it was a great round. However, some professionals are so good that they can shoot scores in the low 60s.

Professionals need to make a lot of birdies and even eagles to be able to keep the number of strokes as low as they do.

When a professional shoots higher 70s or into the 80s, it’s considered a bad day on the golf course.

Where Your Score Ranks You in Terms of Handicap

Golf uses a handicap system to help players be able to compete against one another in a fair golf match. The handicap system will take into account the course difficulty, and course raging and give you an average handicap or average score that you will typically shoot at that course.

Depending on what your golf handicap is, you will fall into three different ranges, low handicap golfers, mid handicap golfers, and high handicap golfers.

Low Handicap Golfer

The low handicap golfer shoots in the 70-79 range. These amateur golfers tend to make a lot of one putts, know how to birdie a hole, and can keep the ball in bounds for the majority of their round.

Most low handicap players have a fair amount of club head speed and can get some good distance off the tee. As great as low handicap golfers are, they are not quite to the level of a professional and still have work to do to get to that point.

Mid Handicap Golfer

Mid handicap golfers make up the most significant portion of golfers in the game. These players range from a 10 to 20 handicap and will shoot between 80 and 94. Mid handicap golfers tend to have a few great holes and a few bad holes when they are on the course.

With a mid handicap golfer, you can expect that the scoring will be a bit inconsistent, but most of the time, it ends up in this 80-94 range.

As mid handicappers transition into low handicappers, their scores will become really consistent in the low 80s. At this point, many mid handicappers can figure out what has been keeping them from the low handicap range, and they can make the necessary adjustments to their golf game.

High Handicap Golfer

High handicap golfers and beginners tend to fall into the same category. However, most high handicap golfers have played the game for quite some time.

With high handicappers, you can expect a handicap to be higher than 21 and the scores to be higher than 95. Some high handicappers are not able to break 100 and will continually work on trying to get these scores down.

One thing that hurts high handicappers is turning a simple bogey into a triple bogey. If you miss a green, it’s really not a big deal to chip back on the green and make a putt. However, if you keep chipping back and forth over the green, it will hurt your score.

Some golfers are happy staying in the high handicap range and having fun on the golf course. Not all players are on a mission to be low handicappers.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children. Current Handicap: 1

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Talk to any golf coach, and they will tell you that the root of your issue stems from your grip, posture, and ball position. In this post, I take you through the intricacies of the different types of grip and explain why you should employ the duplicate driver grip vs an iron grip.

I intend to help you better understand the different grips and strengths and how they impact your swing path, club plane, power, and accuracy. After reading this article, you’ll notice that consistency is gold and that leaving your grip unchanged ensures a smooth transition between woods and irons.

I suggest bookmarking our guide to proper golf grips to improve your control, accuracy, and power during your golf swing.

Quick Overview of The Different Types of Grips

Before I dive into the best grip for driver and iron shots, let me introduce you to the predominant setups and strengths. Besides explaining how to operate each hold, I will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each setup.

Grip Setups

Overlap grip

The overlap or Vardon grip is the grip that I see most players employing as coaches promote it. It offers a controlled hold of the golf club. Let me explain how you would prepare for a shot with this grip if you are right-handed.

Steps:

1. Grab the base of the grip with your left hand, and leave your index finger off the grip as if you were pointing a firearm.
2. Wrap your left index finger around the grip
3. Place your right hand underneath the left
4. Rest your right pinky finger on your left index knuckle

Interlocking

An interlocking grip is the least common setup among amateurs, but Jack Nicklaus always used it, and clearly, it works. This setup is said to work best for golfers with smaller hands, who struggle to gain a solid handle on the club using Vardon’s approach.

Steps:

1. Grab the base of the grip with your left hand, and use the firearm approach I suggested with the overlap.
2. Wrap your left index finger around the club’s grip
3. Guide the pinky finger on your lower hand through the webbing between your left index and middle fingers.

Baseball

The baseball or ten-finger grip allows for comfortable hand placement when you are just starting out. Or, in my case, 28 years later. It is a grip that most coaches dismiss because the incorrect pressure can prompt your hands to operate independently and send the clubface off the path during swings.

Steps:

1. Grab the base of the grip with your left hand, and ensure that all five fingers touch the rubber.
2. Grip the lower portion of the handle with your right hand
3. Ensure your knuckles on both hands align with one another

Grip Strength

Neutral

The golden standard of strength and a golf coach’s best friend is the neutral grip, designed to help golfers deliver improved accuracy. When your hands are positioned neutrally, you’ll notice that the V-shape created from the webbing between your thumb and index finger align on both hands.

Weak

A weak or closed grip occurs when the back of your right hand is visible at the address. Essentially it removes most of your left hand from the line of sight. Now, a weak grip is not to be confused with the level of tension in your hands. You should always have a lighter grip pressure.

You’ll see that a weak grip means that your right-hand covers your left hand. In other words, you rotate your right hand clockwise from the neutral position.

When you leave your right hand closed, you reduce the wrist hinge making it impossible to turn your hands over through impact. You’ll find it causes you to clubface open at impact and slice or push your golf ball into trouble.

An open clubface, coupled with an outside-in swing path, causes you to cut across the ball at impact and send your ball flying right of the target.

Cutting across the golf ball with an open clubface will cause your ball to travel right of the target. In addition, you may struggle to square your face up and leave it closed, prompting a nasty hook.

Strong

You create a strong grip by rotating your right hand anti-clockwise from the neutral position until your palm faces away from you. This is also described by coaches as an open grip because the palm of your hand is open, and faces your chest.

Many golfers feel that this grip helps them boost power for optimal clubhead and ball speed. However, it is a common reason amateur golfers slice their golf balls all over the course.

A strong grip is not all bad and clearly works for Dustin Johnson, but it caused me to play with a fade for most of my junior years. Instead of fixing it, I compensated by aiming further to the right and allowing the ball to fade back toward my target.

Should You Use a Different Grip Between Your Driver and Irons?

No, you best not use different golf club grips for your driver and irons to ensure consistency and a smooth transition between your stronger and mid-loft golf clubs. When you employ a different iron grip to a driver grip, it may lead to varying swing paths and ball flight, making it a challenge to produce consistency.

The only golf clubs where I would permit a change in your grip setup is with a putter. Feel, feedback, and bullseye accuracy is the order of the day. You achieve this by restricting wrist movement on putts.

Besides the conventional left-hand high and right-hand low, the claw, saw, left-hand low, and wrist-lock grip is used on the dancefloor.

Which Grip is Best for a Driver?

A neutral setup is the best golf grip for a driver, as it sets you up to produce a controlled swing path and straighter golf shots. It is irrelevant whether you use an interlocking, overlapping, or baseball grip as long as your strength is neutral.

You may feel like your neutral approach costs you clubhead speed, coefficient of restitution, and ball velocity. In this case, I recommend that you try a stronger grip. Remember, although it may help your swing speed, it can cause you to leave your clubface open at impact and slice or push your shots.

Now, for those experienced players who have found success using alternative methods, you are proof that there is no one size fits all approach. This article is to help beginners get ahead and limit the number of bad habits the rest of us have picked up over the years.

Which Grip is Best for Irons?

Like your driver, I advise using a neutral grip for irons to encourage direct ball flight and lower the risk of producing a hook or slice. If you set up for a draw, you may consider tightening your grip by rotating it anti-clockwise slightly to help you close the clubface faster.

Conversely, when you wish to play a fade with your irons, you can weaken your grip by moving it clockwise to slightly conceal your left hand. Remember, this is a game of inches, and rotating it too much can lead to a savage slice.

Which Grip is The Best For Putting?

As a traditionalist, I support utilizing the conventional reverse overlap setup, which requires the opposite placement to a full-swing Vardon grip. With this grip, your left index finger sits on the knuckle of your lower right hand, switching roles. You’ll find that this setup restricts wrist movement for straighter putts.

Another option is the low left-hand approach or right-hand low for lefties. Instead of your setup for full shots, you place your left hand at the bottom of the grip while the right hand anchors at the base. You’ll find that this grip promotes less tension and wrist action to keep your putter face square at contact.

Finally, golfers also use the saw or claw variants, which Mark O’Meara popularized in the nineties. You literally hold the putter as if you were holding a saw or have a claw, which restricts moving your wrists to keep your club online during your stroke.

Which Grip is Best to Hit a Draw?

Our guide has highlighted that a stronger grip is your best bet to hit a draw because it helps you close the clubface faster at impact.

However, be careful not to over-strengthen your grip because this can rapidly turn your draw into a snap hook and lead you down the path of trouble. In addition, ensure that you are aiming to the right of your target to compensate for the proposed right curve.

Which Grip is Best to Hit a Fade?

Contrary to a draw, a fade requires a slightly weaker grip setup, which will help you propel the club on an out-to-in swing path. You’ll notice that this leads to your clubface slicing across the ball while remaining open to the line and sending your ball on a left-to-right trajectory.

Finally, ensure that you are set up left of your proposed target to prepare for the fade, or you will end up right of the mark.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years. Current Handicap: 8

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