LPGA winner: If you want to shave strokes off your 18 handicap, do this one low-effort thing

If you’re an 18-handicapper wanting to leave some bogey and double bogey golf behind, LPGA winner Celine Boutier has some advice for you. Boutier, who has won seven times on the LPGA Tour, including one major, has one of the most envied short games on tour. In a 2023 story with Golf Digest, she was voted the owner of the best overall short game.

The reality of being an high-handicapper is that you’re probably missing a lot of greens. While investing the time to dial in your driver and iron accuracy would reap rewards, the fastest way to shave strokes would be to learn how to manage your short game.

“I feel like a lot of people, and even when I was younger I would just try always like higher lofted shots, but they’re the toughest ones,” Boutier says. Don’t waste your time with flop shots, no matter how fun they can be. Boutier says to focus on shots like the bump and run. It’s not in the air for very long, leaving less room for error.

“Less sexy shots, more percentage shots,” Boutier says.

The lower-running shots aren’t always an option. There are times when you’re going to have to loft a chip shot into the air. But if you can take the time to evaluate each chip, and choose the bump and run whenever possible, you’re going to start shaving strokes.