All good stuff above.
Full disclosure: My low handicap was a 9 many years ago. Flight school, actually. Most days I was done flying by 10am, studied two hours for the next day hop and then went to play a sport of some kind.
I had played a lot in college but got stuck at around a 12/15 handicap. What changed things for me was meeting another flight student who was a scratch golfer. We ended up friends, played a lot of golf and eventually went to the same fleet squadron and cruised together. Great stories of playing golf in India and the Philippines.
Anyway. Some tips he gave me that really helped (assuming a reasonable swing and knowledge of the basics):
- Establish a routine for hitting every shot and use the same exact methodology on the practice tee. Take your time. He would take at least a minute between shots.
- Play a round of golf off the practice tee. Take the score card from a golf course and play it. Be honest. You can use the pictures of each hole that virtually all cards have. Pounding driver after driver is stupid.
- Drop every range ball and play it for where it lays. Too many guys virtually tee up every practice shot and then wonder why they can't hit from lesser lies.
- Short game. Work it to death.
- Learn to LOOK at the golf course when you are playing...slope, wind, bend in the grass. Pay attention.
- Never move a ball, ever, even in a friendly game when no one is keeping score.
- Always keep score.
- Walk as much as you can...get a pull cart.
A nine is as low as I could get, mainly because I mentally drift off on the back nine.
What separated Mike (my golfing Buddy) from most golfers is not only did he practice in the manner described above, but he practiced getting out of trouble and all other manner of shot selection. I could never get to his level of commitment, and even then it is doubtful I'd have gone much lower than a 9.
I play about three times a year now and always hit the P tees a few days in advance. I generally will shot, 90 to 93 depending on the course. I have learned tempo and don't try and out drive anyone.