How to Avoid Blow Up Holes in Golf: 6 Smart Course Management and Swing Tips

Every golfer knows the pain of the dreaded blow-up hole. You have a great round going, and then all of a sudden, things take a complete turn.

Your solid round turns into a complete scramble because of one (or a few) blow-up holes. These holes come from bad decisions, emotional reactions, and mechanical breakdowns under pressure.

The good news? Most blow-up holes are preventable.

By managing your game smarter and understanding how to keep your swing stable when it matters most, you can erase those double and triple bogeys from your scorecard.

Key Takeaways

If you don’t have time to read our solutions for avoiding blow-up holes, here are the most important things to take with you right now.

• Blow-up holes usually stem from poor decisions, not poor swings.
• Aim for the center of the green and avoid chasing pins.
• Use your rangefinder for full green mapping, not just pin distance
• HackMotion helps prevent wrist breakdowns under pressure by training consistent and repeatable impact positions.
• Common mistakes include poor club selection, compounding errors, and skipping your routine.
• Know your actual game, play to your strengths, not your ego.

How to Avoid Blow Up Holes

Here are the strategies you can use to avoid blow-up holes on the course. Start here and then keep reading to find the most common players’ mistakes.

Aim for the Middle of the Green

You need to stop chasing flags!

Even if you’ve got a wedge in hand, a tucked pin over a bunker or near a hazard is often not worth the risk. A smart center-green target gives you more margin for error and keeps doubles off the card.

Even the pros don’t aim for every pin, and that should be enough to convince you that you don’t need to, either.

Use Your Rangefinder the Right Way

Too many golfers use their rangefinder to laser the pin and nothing else. This is not always enough information to make an informed decision. Instead, shoot:

• The front of the green (carry distance)
• The back of the green (max safe number)
• Any nearby hazards or trouble zones

Knowing the full depth of the green helps you choose a smarter target. You’ll also feel like this extra information helps you commit to a shot instead of guessing.

Know Who You Are as a Player

The hero shots can cause problems. If you’ve never hit a 7-iron 170 yards over a water hazard, why would you think today is the day?

You need to learn to play your average carry distances, know your typical miss, and stop pretending you can pull off the miracle shots.

If you’ve never hit a fade, don’t think that you can hit one on the course with no practice. Blow-up holes happen when you pretend you’re someone you’re not.

Play the Safe Recovery

In addition to knowing and accepting who you are as a player, you also want to be smart about the recovery shots you play. A bad tee shot isn’t the end of the hole, but what you do next can be.

Try to resist the urge to go for the green through a tree gap or over water. Most times, the best play is to just get the ball back in play.

Once you are safe, you can hit a wedge close and get out of there with a par or bogey before looking at double or triple.

Practice Decision-Making on the Range

Most golfers only practice the swing, never the scenario. Try building your own on-the-range games:

• 140 yards, wind off the left, pin tucked back
• Ball below your feet must hit the fairway
• One ball only, no redo

Put pressure on your range sessions! Golfers tend to save all the pressure for the course, and when that happens, the swing and the mechanics can start to fall apart.

Common Mistakes That Lead to Blow-Up Holes

Now that you have the basics of how to avoid the blow-up holes, here are some of the common mistakes you’ll have to look out for.

Getting Too Wristsy Under Pressure

Under pressure, many golfers rely too much on their wrists, especially in the takeaway and downswing. This opens the clubface and makes consistent contact nearly impossible.

If you are overhinging your wrists or flipping at impact, HackMotion helps identify excessive wrist extension and trains better structure using connected takeaway drills.

Poor Wrist Control in the Short Game

When you make a mistake in golf, the short game is what can help save you. However, most blow-up holes include at least one chunked or thinned chip.

Often, that’s due to wristy, disconnected motion.

Keep the arms and body moving together, maintain slight wrist extension when you need some extra ball flight to strike the ball cleanly, and keep the loft on the club.

Weight Staying Back

The dreaded chunk shot always happens at the wrong time. If your weight stays back, you’ll hit behind the ball and chunk it.

This happens often to frustrated golfers who are just trying to get the golf ball back in play.

The trick here is to start with more weight on your front foot. Start the weight there and then keep it there until you swing.

The forward pressure moves your low point ahead of the ball and helps you make solid contact.

Poor Club Selection

If you’re not 100% confident in the club you’re holding, you’re already behind.

Choosing a club based on the best-case scenario (“if I really catch this…”) is a recipe for disaster. Instead, choose the club that fits your stock yardage and play the smart shot.

Use a trusted distance measuring device. When you stand over the golf ball before you hit, say to yourself, “This is the right club.”

Not Understanding or Training Impact

Many golfers train their backswing but not their impact. The result? Flips, casts, weak contact, and a loss of face control, especially under pressure.

Train your impact position off the course so that you are ready when these issues come up.

Use the HackMotion Transition Drill in the HackMotion app to get your impact position perfect:

By measuring your wrist angles at impact, HackMotion helps you repeat your best positions when it counts.

No Pre-Shot Routine

The best players in the world all have a go-to routine. Your decision-making under pressure is nearly impossible without it.

Without a consistent routine, you’re more likely to second-guess your club, rush your shot, or forget your target.

Build a simple routine you can trust!

1. One deep breath.
2. Commit to the shot.
3. Visualize the swing.
4. Then execute.

Make sure it’s repeatable and use it during your practice to ensure it’s the same on the course.

Final Thoughts

Blow-up holes aren’t random. They’re patterns of poor decisions, mechanical breakdowns, or playing outside your comfort zone.

If you want to eliminate them, start by knowing your game better, practicing smarter, and preparing for impact the right way.

Wrist control under pressure is critical, and HackMotion helps train the positions that keep your swing stable when the scorecard is on the line.