In talking with golfers, I often ask questions about what is the best part of their game, and what is the worst.

The answers I get are all over the place, as you might imagine. How would you answer the questions? And how confident are you that your answers are really correct?

So, I offer up these key questions for each of you:

• “How much would you improve if you “fixed” the worst part of your game?
• What kind of scores would you shoot if you could effectively address that part of the game that you think troubles you the most?

So, over the years, I’ve developed a relatively “scientific” process to find out just what the impact would be on your game if you did just that. Here are a few common answers to my question about the weakest part of “your” game, and how I would suggest you determine the real impact of that on your scoring:

“I don’t hit it far enough.” Since that seems to be the dominating topic in all of golf, the next time you go play a fun round, when you get to each drive, just pick up the ball and move it 10 to 12 yards further down the target line. Not toward the green, mind you, but along the line it was taking when it came to rest. Then play in from there and see how your scoring was impacted by that suddenly added distance. If it was meaningful, there are ways to extract 10-12 more yards for almost anyone.

“I don’t hit enough fairways.” For this one, on every hole where you miss the fairway, take the ball and walk it straight out to the middle, then back 10 to 12 yards, and play in from there. That will show you the impact of giving up a little distance in exchange for accuracy. If it has the effect on your score that I think it will, there are many ways to trade a little distance for a lot of accuracy.

“My short game isn’t good enough.” For this one, keep a second row of scores going. On every hole where you miss the green, in that second row, just add 2.5 shots. At the end of the round, see how the second score total compares to your real score. If it’s better, you need to work on your greenside scoring skills.

“I’m not a good putter.” Again, keep a second score running, and never take more than a two-putt, while giving yourself half of the putts under 10 feet. See what that total comes out to, in comparison to your real score and it will illuminate that part of your game.

“I don’t hit enough greens.” For this final “scientific test”, play your round and for each hole where you miss the green with a 6-iron or less, put a second ball on the safe side of the flag, a distance from the hole as follows:

• 6- and 7-iron approach, 40 feet
• 8- and 9-iron approach, 30 feet
• Any wedge approach, 25 feet

You can reduce these distances a little if you think that is more reflective of your skill level.

At the end of the round, see how this second score improves over your real score and that will tell you something about hitting greens, playing to the safe side, and learning to throttle back your power until you can make those irons go where you want them to, within these allowable distance tolerances.

It’s fun to dream about how our scoring would be impacted “If only…” and this is a great way to find out just what the effect would be if you improved each of these parts of your game.

From there, it’s your decision as to whether you want be investing your time and money…if you really want to get better, that is.