Travel & Leisure

Cheater's Golf

How to sneak your way out of the sand trap and into the hole

A once-simple diversion invented by glengarry-topped Scotsmen strolling the moors with their sticks, golf has come to resemble some high-tech war game. But before you drop a bundle at the pro shop, realize that no amount of graphite or titanium is going to turn a mediocre player into a (Gary) Player. Despite the numerous "breakthroughs" in golf technology, the driving distances of the best professional golfers have increased about 30 yards since 1968. Meanwhile, the average winning score has fallen less than one stroke per round in 40 years. Here are several better—and cheaper—ways to improve your score.

Lube up If you tend to slice or hook—who doesn't?—try spreading some Vaseline on your club face. "It takes away any sort of spin you would normally put on a ball," says Adrian Cho, editor and creator of the "Stixx Review" golf blog. "In turn, it will give you more distance and a little more accuracy."

Get hot Before you head off to the links, heat your golf balls—say, by wrapping them in a hand warmer. The hotter they are, the farther the little white orbs will travel off the tee. On a 60°F day, for example, if you were to heat your golf balls to 90°F and use them on drives, you could give yourself about 15 more feet.

Point out trouble spots Never let a hole pass without mentioning the dangerous woods lining the fairway or that big pond snuggling the green. "By blurting out something such as, 'Damn, that's enough ocean to start a naval academy,' you'll psych even seasoned players into dwelling on it," explains Captain Bruce Warren Ollstein, author of Combat Golf. "And if they do clear the hazard, they may end up 30 yards off their intended target."

Check his breathing If your partner is on a roll, ask him about a particular detail of his swing. The point is to get him to analyze things that have become second nature. A good line: "So tell me, do you inhale or exhale during your backswing?"

Supply counter-intelligence If you hit a ball short and know it's because you didn't connect well on the shot, immediately comment, "Gosh, I really whacked that ball, and it still didn't go anywhere." If you say the opposite of what really occurred, "your opponent will assume it's an extremely slow green or that there's a lot of wind and you didn't use a big enough club off the tee," says Ollstein. The result: If he's putting, he'll hit it harder. If driving, he'll go back to his bag and pull out a bigger club, and then send the ball into the woods.