5 mistakes you'll see celeb golfers make on Capital One's The Match

It's that time of year again. The latest iteration of Capital One's The Match, which this year features Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce taking on a team of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

I've always enjoyed watching this contest because at the heart of it's four golfers, just like us. Sure, they're celebrities, but their games aren't those of polished tour pros. They're filled with good and bad moments. Stellar shots, and silly mistakes. You can learn a lot about golf from watching them; here's a few things I noticed from last year's Capital One's The Match.

1. Know the routing

The previous iteration of this celebrity match started with Tom Brady getting lost, and accidentally driving down the hole he was supposed to play. Slightly embarrassing, but a good reminder: When in doubt, keep a close eye on the cart paths. They’ll guide you where you’re supposed to go.

2. Have a backup driver plan

Last time, Brady had a pretty severe case of the low left misses off the tee. We all have a disaster miss that shows up from time-to-time, but Brady kept repeating the mistake. Know what your tendencies are, and how to counteract them. In Brady's case, his low left misses come from a combination of coming over-the-top with a closed clubface. If that sounds like you, remember that to counteract this you'll need to hit more up on the ball, and out to the right. Teeing the ball higher is a quick fix for the course.

3. Stop chasing pins on par 3s

I wrote about this in my own game recently, and it was an epidemic during the last edition of Capital One's The Match. Multiple golf balls, like Josh Allen's shot here, ended in the hazard off tee shots on par 3s. Not because they hit a bad shot, but because they took too aggressive a line to begin with. If you're a fader, as Allen is, playing a hole like this, you should basically be aiming at that bunker.

4. Beware the short side

A related problem caused by the same thing (taking lines that are too aggressive) is missing greens on the short side of the pin. It's really bad for the game.

5. Give putts more break

When you're in a match situation, standing over a must make putt, it's a good time to remember that most golfers under-read their putts, and miss on the low side. When in doubt, play more break than you think.