Turn a five-rule golf checklist into a simulator practice session

A five-rule checklist shared by JakeLovesGolf on October 5 puts the focus on avoiding costly holes: wedge mistakes, difficult par-3 misses, wasted par-5 chances, three-putts and repeated rescue attempts. His X post labels the advice as Rory McIlroy’s, but does not supply an original source for that attribution. Treat it as the account’s shared checklist rather than a verified McIlroy prescription.

There is a useful simulator session in those ideas. The first step is to turn absolute goals into repeatable tests that fit the player using them.

Arccos’ June 2025 approach-shot analysis illustrates why. In its on-course data, a 10-index golfer makes birdie from 90 yards only 6% of the time and bogey or worse 36% of the time. Even a scratch golfer is more likely to make bogey than birdie from 100 yards in the fairway. Those are outdoor results, not predictions for a particular simulator, but they give context to a demand for mistake-free wedge play.

Give the wedge test an ending

Try ten approaches from different positions inside 100 yards, then finish each hole. Record greens reached, bogeys and the direction of the misses. Repeat the same block another day. The useful result is whether the costly misses become less frequent; a shot that looks close on the range display can still leave a difficult next stroke.

GSPro’s official On Course Practice menu includes Play Out Hole, Approach and Chipping, Putting Challenge and Target Golf. Use the modes your installed software actually offers rather than assume every practice screen can reproduce the same exercise.

Compare two ways through the hole

On a par 3, compare aiming at a flag near an edge with aiming toward the larger part of the green. Count the short-sided leaves as well as the final scores. On a par 5, compare a familiar layup route with the more aggressive option across several attempts. Include penalties and recoveries in the total. These are practice experiments, not a promise that the safer target will win every trial.

The rescue-shot rule can be tested in the same spirit: compare a route that returns the ball to open ground with the narrow escape you are tempted to try. A successful hero shot is memorable; the full set of attempts tells you more.

Separate putting from the approach

For a lag-putting block, record the starting distance and how many first putts finish inside three feet, then hole out. Arccos’ separate three-putt analysis explains that a raw three-putt rate also reflects how far the approach left the golfer from the hole. Keeping the starting distance makes comparisons more useful.

An auto-putting round cannot establish how well you rolled those putts. If your bay does not measure putting, keep that part of the session on a real practice green.

The checklist supplies the questions. Your repeated results supply the targets.