The big winner explains how to easily shave 5 lashes without any blemishes

Golf instruction is always changing, but the best advice is timeless. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we highlight the greatest pieces of advice from teachers and players in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we’re looking back at our June 2009 issue for advice from Geoff Ogilvy on how to save five shots per round. For unlimited access to GOLF Magazine’s digital archive, join Inside GOLF today; you’ll enjoy $140 worth for just $39.99 per year.

There’s nothing like a good chat in the grill room after a round. This is where you and your teammates talk about the day that was. They are up and down. Good and bad pictures. Birdies and bogeys.

A common twist comes up often in these conversations. “If I were…” Golf is simple in retrospect. If everyone had a few mulligans every round, the game would be a lot easier. Alas, such are mulligans not part of the rules of golf and we have to live with the outcome of every shot.

Luckily for you, dear reader, there are other ways to get those ugly photos back. All it takes is limiting the number of times you throw shots during a round.

Back in 2009, former US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy joined GOLD Magazine to share some of his secrets for cleaning things around the edges. Follow them and you’ll shave five strokes off your disability in no time. Check it out below.

Shave 5 strokes off your disability

If you had your A game all around, golf would be easy. We all post low scores when we split fairways, hit clean irons and hit long putts. But what makes you a really good player – and a tough opponent to beat – is how you play when you’ve left your A game (and maybe your B game) at home.

If you’re not playing well, the worst thing you can do is try to hit perfect shots. Save the right shots for when you feel complete. On days like this, you need to see what you can do, and then use that to get the ball from the tee to the hole. You don’t need to hit great shots to win — if you miss the right, aim left and let it cut. That shot will feel more possible, and that’s the name of the game if it feels like nothing is working.

When you start planning and making shots – no matter what the shots are – your confidence will return, and you may find that your game returns with it. Here’s how to make those mid-round adjustments to your drives, iron shots, chips and putts that will get even your most shocking round back on track.

Driving: Get a working swing

Goal: Hit one small drive out of bounds
Save: Two strokes

The most important thing you can do when you can’t find the fairway is to find a driver swing that will get you back on track and eliminate the chances of missing the fairway. If I hit my driver badly, I’ll go back to my 3 or 2 center. Another good mid-round adjustment is to simply tighten the club by inches. It’s amazing how easy it is to control your drives when you do this. The flight of the ground ball will feel more controlled, especially if you’ve been hitting it all over the place. Finally, if you are lacking in one aspect or another, fix that. My main miss is fair, so if I’m having a rough day, I’ll aim for the left edge of the fairway and let it come back.

Method: Manage what you missed

Goal: Hit another green
Save: One sided

Good day, you can follow any pin. But if you don’t feel it, it’s crazy to follow hard pins. The key is to hit the right side of the hole so you can put the ball on the green and not waste a crushing stroke or putt from the tree or sand. Move your target to the oil side of the hole. If the pin is on the right, as it is here, miss it on the left. The shorter the pin, the longer it misses.

Get a tip on how Tour pros play the biggest tournaments. At the US Open, you need to manage your misses. You can get up and down from the right side of the hole, but the firmness of the greens and roughness make it difficult to get up and down from the wrong side. Augusta National is the same. You can get up and down all day under a hole, but it’s impossible when you’re above it.

You will know how the ball will react to the greens after the first few holes. If I’m playing well, I’ll aim about 10 feet to the left of the hole. If it’s “one of those days,” I aim far from trouble. The No. 1 rule on a bad day is to take a double-bogey out of play. Determine your destination based on how confident you are. No matter how well I play, I never go to the right of the pin: 10 feet to the left is too good.

Short game: Make it last

Goal: Get up and look down
Save: One sided

If you have a strong short game, you can salvage many bad drives and approaches. The key to scoring is to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible. Look for the lie: If the ball is always going down the green, use a higher club. If the lie is strong, you want a small loft.

Also, don’t try to spin your chips; you will get a better roll with less spin. If you hit them fat, avoid the temptation to return the ball to your position. The reason you hit it harder is that the angle at which you bring the club down is too steep, and this causes the clubhead to hit the ground first. Once you’ve got the ball back, you’re going to come in full force.

Positioning: Trust your instincts

Goal: One-under three putt
Save: One sided

When I was young, Ian Baker Finch told me that if you don’t go well, you should stop studying vegetables. That’s an exaggeration, but if you stop overanalyzing vegetables, your mind will automatically know what to do. The key is to keep it simple. Trying makes it worse. If I don’t have a good day on the greens, I don’t think about my mechanics, and I try not to overread the greens. Instead, I just line up in a comfortable position that makes me feel like the ball is going to go in. The more I do with instinct, the better I putt.

Novices should use their instincts more instead of doing what they are told is “the right thing.” I can’t tell you how I know a putt feels right; I just know it does. Your feet will feel the slope better than your eyes. Stand over the ball and line up so the putt feels right. If it feels wrong, walk away and start over.