Take a tip from me 9-12 of the 12 simple golf solutions

9.FIVE MINUTES ON THE PUTTING GREEN

Whatever time you have to spend on the putting green before a round should be geared (1) towards getting a feel for the pace of the greens and (2) to build some confidence knocking in three footers.

As far as pace goes, the best way to do this is to stick three tee-pegs in the green at ten foot intervals and work between them. That way you don't get hole-conscious and you can focus on a repeating stroke and rhythm.Once you have a feel for the pace, switch your attention to the short ones. Decelerating the putter-head is a killer fault here, and can lead to a balding or greying head, as demonstrated here.

Panic not.

You can eliminate that problem with this easy drill: set up to a three-foot putt and without making a backswing, push the ball into the centre of the hole. Knock in 10 of these before you head to the 1st tee.

10. LANDING DISTANCE IS CRITICAL

Phil Mickelson was seen at Augusta this year practising chipping to a towel on the green. Like every great exponent of the art, Mickelson was fine-tuning his feel for landing distances – and that is the ultimate goal in this department. Switching between clubs then gives you the varying run-out distances that you can then use to access different pin positions.

11.SAND PLAY–LISTEN FOR THE DROP

Nine times out of 10 it's pure anxiety that causes a player to mess up a straightforward greenside sand shot. When I work with tour players I often ask them to play the shot and stay down to listen for the ball landing on the green. And you'd be surprised at how many players find this difficult at first. But with a little practise you'll learn to trust your technique.

Don't be anxious to see the result – keep your focus on the sand until you hear the ball land on the green

12. CLUB UP:80% EFFORT = 100% IMPROVEMENT

We all get caught in this type of situation many times during a round of golf: between yardages, is it an 8-iron or should I hit 7? The majority of amateurs I see in pro-ams invariably opt for the shorter club and end up screwing up the shot for the simple reason they are trying to hit the ball too hard. Trust me, if you take the longer club and make a smooth 80%swing you will be more successful every time.