If you want to shoot lower scores, you need to learn how to hit more greens in regulation.
More greens equals more birdie putts and fewer chances of making big numbers than missing the greens. Sure, the occasional three putt bogeys will happen, but they’re still a lot better than blowup holes that can happen after missing the green.
So, how do you increase greens in regulation?
It’s not just “one thing” to solve this question. Instead, it’s part equipment, part technique, and part strategy. Today I’ll take you through the step-by-step process today so you find the dance floor more often and hopefully shoot lower scores.
How to Hit More Greens in Regulation
Before getting into nine proven tips to hit more greens in regulation (GIR), it’s important to understand averages based on your handicap.
Here is a table that shows the average greens in regulation for different types of players based on Arccos Golf data in this Golf Monthly article.
| Handicap | Greens in Regulation |
| Tour Player | 67% |
| Scratch Golfer | 56% |
| 9 Handicap | 38% |
| 15 Handicap | 27% |
| 20 Handicap | 20% |
This data can help you compare your numbers vs. averages and help you set reasonable goals moving forward.
Key Takeaways
- Hitting more greens in regulation is directly linked to shooting lower scores.
- Most golfers miss the green short where the majority of the trouble is (bunkers, water, etc.).
- Taking enough club is one of the easiest ways to hit more greens and more birdie opportunities.
- Equipment also plays a big role as having the right hybrids, irons, and wedges makes it a lot easier to hit extra greens each round.
1. Play the Correct Tee Boxes
The first step to hit more greens is to make sure you’re playing the correct tee boxes. If you’re playing a box that is too far back, you’ll likely have too long of distances into the green and miss them often.
For example, if you average 220 off the tee, you probably shouldn’t play from 6500 yards. You’ll have a lot of 200-yard shots into the green and thus, not hit a lot of greens in regulation.
Here is a general guide on tee boxes based on average driver distances:
- 300+ yards = 7,000+ yards
- 275 yards = About 6,700 yards
- 250 yards = About 6,300 yards
- 225 yards = About 5,900 yards
2. Increase Driving Distance
Playing the right boxes is key but before getting into more proven strategies it’s important to talk about driving distance. Because here’s the truth – no matter how skilled you are with irons, the longer distances into the green, the fewer greens you will hit.
That’s why driving distance is so important. Longer drives equal shorter approach shots and thus, more greens in regulation.
Here are a few ways to add more distance and make golf a lot easier.
Lastly, playing the driver is also key to making sure the head/shaft combo is optimized for your unique swing.
3. Use the Right Clubs
The next step to having more birdie putts is to make sure your equipment is helping your goal of having more birdie looks. Your hybrids, irons, and wedges all need to work together with your unique swing.
For a lot of golfers, playing more hybrids or high-lofted fairway woods is an easy way to hit more greens. Because as you know, hitting long irons is very difficult, especially if you don’t get to practice often.
Ultimately, a custom fitting is the best idea to learn which clubs are right for your swing. This makes it easy to test out different brands, shafts, and configurations to find the one that produces the most consistent results.
Irons
There are three components to playing the right irons; clubhead, shaft, and lie angle.
The clubhead that will work best and set you up to hit more greens is dependent on your swing. Better golfers can play blades or muscle back irons. While higher handicap golfers should use more forgiving cavity back clubs that provide extra forgiveness.
The shaft is another important component to irons as they need to match your swing speed. Faster swinging golfers should use stiff or maybe even extra-stiff shafts. While average golfers will benefit more from regular flex shafts and slower swinging golfers might need senior flex shafts.
Additionally, a club fitter can also help find the right shaft weight plus lie angle. If your lie angle is off (too upright or too flat) it can cause a lot of left or right misses and hurt your green percentages.
Wedges
Using the right wedges is also important not only for hitting more greens but improving your scrambling too. Because don’t forget, no matter how skilled of a golf you are, missing greens is inevitable.
Picking the right wedges is slightly easier than irons. You want to consider:
- Clubhead: Just like irons, play the right type of wedges for your swing. Higher handicap golfers will benefit more from a cavity back (Cleveland makes some of the best) instead of a blade wedge, like Titleist Vokey.
- Lie angle: The lie angle for your wedge is also very important to improving accuracy and hitting more greens.
4. Create a Distance Chart
Once you have the right clubs, it’s a lot easier to hit more greens and improve your accuracy.
But the next thing you need to do is create a distance chart so you’re clear on how far each club travels. If you don’t know your distances, it’s nearly impossible to have confidence on the course and can lead to missing long or short often.
To calculate your distances for each club, you’ll need a personal launch monitor. Then, with each club, hit 10–15 shots (do this over several sessions, otherwise you’re hitting a lot of golf balls).
Play your most natural shot shape (learn more about fade vs. draw here) and swing with normal effort. Average out the shots and throw away any outliers (huge chunk, skull, etc.) to find a full distance for each club.
Log these distances in a note on your phone or print out a formal distance chart to carry in your bag or yardage book. If you get new clubs, make sure to update your distances too.
5. Master the Fundamentals
Playing the right tees and the right clubs is key, not to mention knowing your distances. But I can’t stress that fundamentals and solid ball striking are key to hitting more greens.
To compress your irons and hit the center of the face more often, read these articles next:
6. Club Up
The next tip to have more birdie opportunities is simple – take more club.
Let’s face it, most golfers miss a lot of greens short, where most of the trouble is like bunkers or water. Which can lead to a lot of doubles if you mishit your chip shot or three putt.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes trouble is long, but it’s not as often. The stats show that most amateurs really struggle with greenside bunker shots so missing long in the rough is typically an easier up and down.
Plus, when you club up you don’t have to hit it perfectly to get on the green. Even if you hit it 80 or 90% from a toe or heel strike (or thin shot) you’ll still likely find the dance floor.
Don’t rely on having to hit a shot “perfect” to actually get on the green in regulation.
7. Aim for the Middle More Often
Another approach shot strategy is to aim for the middle (or widest part) of the green more often. Especially when hitting mid/long irons or hybrids.
Why?
Shot dispersion.
Whether you realize it or not, everyone has a shot dispersion in golf. Longer clubs have a wider shot dispersion and thus, need to favor the center of the green more often. This way if you hit a push or hit a pull, you’re more likely to still find the green and avoid short sided.
When you play too aggressively and try to attack the flag it’ll lead to a lot of short sided shots. Which might mean more plugged lies in the bunkers, more flops over bunkers, and overall, tougher chip shots.
In high school our team would sometimes play nine holes with the flag removed. This made us focus on the center of the green and almost every time, lowered our scoring average.
Unless you have a wedge in hand (or you’re a scratch golfer), favor the center of the green more often. Not only will you hit more greens and have more birdie putts, but you’ll reduce the chances of challenging chip shots that might lead to big numbers.
8. Play One Shot Shape
Another easy tip to improve consistency and accuracy is to play one shot shape with your irons. Instead of trying to hit a draw to a back left pin and a fade to a front right pin, play one shot shape.
Which direction (draw or fade) doesn’t matter either; it’s the one that is most natural to your swing. Playing one shot shape will help you avoid the dreaded double cross and pick more targets with ease.
9. Stick to Your Pre-Shot Routine
The final tip to help your approach shot game is to ensure you have a consistent pre-shot routine. A good routine will help you walk into any shot with more confidence, but it has a few specific benefits with approach shots.
The first part of a routine is to assess the lie and shot at hand.
This might mean using a rangefinder, golf GPS, or golf watch to identify the total distance. Then you’ll need to assess the lie and see if it’s sitting down in the rough, sidehill lie, or anything else.
After you know the right distance and how the lie will impact the ball flight, then you can pick the right club. Once you have the right club, then you can make a few practice swings, pick the right target, and walk into the shot with more confidence.
Plus, you should have a lot less indecision, too. Don’t forget, the right mental attitude in golf is key to playing your best golf.
FAQs About Hitting More Greens
Do you have additional questions about hitting more greens in regulation? If so, keep reading the most frequently asked questions and answers now.
What is the strategy to hit more greens?
Some of the easiest ways to hit more greens include using the right equipment, playing one shot shape, and aiming for the middle of the green more often. Playing more conservatively away from the flag – especially tucked pins – will also help avoid blowup holes from being too short sided.
How many greens in regulation does the average golfer hit?
It depends on the handicap level. Lower handicap golfers tend to hit more on average than mid to higher handicappers. Scroll up to the top of the article to see the full table that breaks out greens in regulation based on handicap.
How many greens in regulation do pros hit?
In the 2022-2023 season professional golfers averaged 66.32% of greens in regulation according to the PGA Tour.
That means they hit about 12/18 – which is surprising because it feels like they hit 15 or more if you watch golf on TV. Hopefully it’s a reminder that missing greens is part of the game, no matter how good you get.
How many greens should I hit per round?
It depends on your handicap level. But most importantly, you want to track your statistics so you can learn about your game using strokes gained data.
My Experience
Hitting greens makes golf a lot easier.
While most traditional stats (fairways, greens, putts, etc.) are not as accurate as strokes gained data, greens in regulation is still one that is a good barometer of success.
Make it a priority to implement these strategies so you can hit more greens, have more birdies, and avoid blowup holes.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell, hitting more greens is about the right mindset, strategy, equipment, and technique. Start by assessing how many greens you hit based on your handicap range, then create a plan to start improving this year.
Once you hit more greens, then you need to make sure your putting isn’t holding you back. Here are some of our most popular putting articles to help you save shots on the green.