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Golf Tips: 3 Lessons From Miyu Yamashita for Lower Scores
By Brendon Elliott, PGA
Published on
Miyu Yamashita is absolutely crushing it at the 2025 AIG Women's Open with a three-shot lead, and here's the crazy part: she only hits her driver about 210 yards. While other players are launching bombs 40+ yards past her, she's the one sitting pretty at the top of the leaderboard.
So what's her secret? She hits 82% of her fairways and finds 78% of greens. That's not some fluke—that's a strategy you can actually steal.
Why Accuracy Beats Distance Every Time
"My tee shots were very consistent, so I was able to hit from the fairway," Yamashita said after her bogey-free 65. Notice she didn't mention crushing drives or overpowering the course. She talked about hitting fairways.
Think about your last round. How many great drives did you completely waste by hitting your approach from the rough? How many times did you grab a driver when a 3-wood would've kept you in play?
Yamashita proves that playing from the short grass with a 7-iron beats playing from the weeds with a wedge — pretty much every single time.
And here's where Yamashita really separates herself from everyone else: she's hitting nearly 8 out of 10 greens because she's always playing her approach shots from perfect lies in the fairway.
This creates this beautiful cycle: accurate drives lead to clean approach shots, which lead to makeable putts. It's like compound interest for your golf game.
Here's what you should do: Next time you practice, spend twice as much time hitting irons as you do bombing drivers. Learn to hit different distances with the same smooth swing—control distance through club selection, not by swinging out of your shoes.
Putting: The Great Equalizer
Yamashita averages just 27.5 putts per round on some of the trickiest greens in golf. That's elite putting, but here's the thing — it's not about making everything. It's about lag putting.
She mentioned making those crucial 5-foot par saves on holes 16 and 17. Those aren't gimmes, but they're not 40-footers either. She's consistently getting her long putts close enough that the second putt is basically automatic.
Want to know the one skill that'll drop your scores the fastest? Getting every long putt within three feet of the hole. Practice that, and you'll eliminate three-putts while creating way more birdie chances.
Course Management 101
Fellow competitor Lindy Duncan nailed it: "I'm giving myself so much space to make mistakes." That's not playing scared — that's playing smart.
Yamashita doesn't try to be perfect on every shot. She just avoids the big mistakes that lead to double bogeys and worse. Sometimes that means aiming for the center of the green instead of attacking a tucked pin.
Sometimes it means hitting a 3-wood off the tee instead of a driver.
Here's a simple question to ask yourself before every shot: What's the worst thing that could happen here? Then play the shot that takes that disaster completely off the table.
Your 30-Day Game Plan
Week 1-2: Build Your Foundation
- Spend 60% of practice time putting, focusing on distance control
- On the range, find the club/swing combo that gives you the most fairways
- Track your stats: fairways hit, greens in regulation, putts per round
Week 3-4: Take It to the Course
- Play "fairways first" golf — choose the club that keeps you in play
- Practice your pre-shot routine and risk assessment
- Work on lag putting during every practice session
The Bottom Line
Yamashita isn't leading a major championship because she's the longest hitter or has the best short game on tour. She's leading because she gets something most amateurs completely miss: golf rewards precision over power, patience over aggression, and smart decisions over hero shots.
You don't need to rebuild your swing or buy new equipment. You just need to play within your strengths, avoid the big mistakes, and let smart course management do the heavy lifting.
The scorecard doesn't really care how far you hit it. It only cares about how many shots it takes to get the ball in the hole. Master that simple truth, and you'll be shocked at how much better your golf becomes.
Start with accuracy. Everything else follows.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. Read his recent Monday Recap onRG.org and his stories on Athlon Sports. To stay updated on his latest work, sign up for his newsletter and visit OneMoreRollGolf.com.
