Since you are reading this post, it is probably safe to assume you are either a golfer who would like to improve or a serious insomniac.  I will do my best to educate you on how to make significant improvements to your golf game over the coming cooler months. If you happen to doze off, I will add curing insomnia to my resume!

I think the biggest challenge golfers face when trying to improve is that making lasting improvements takes time and repetition of the desired motion.  When golfers try to make these changes during golf season, they are usually faced with heading out to play golf and having to decide whether to play poor golf while sticking with a new swing thought or reverting back to their “old swing”.  I feel your pain, it is very difficult to soldier on with a new swing move when faced with poor shots, possibly poorer than before.

This is why fall and winter is the ideal time to make swing improvements.  The fact the weather is cool and wet and you are less likely to be playing golf or less concerned with your score, means you are far more likely to stick with your swing changes.

How do we make a swing change?  The steps are quite simple to understand but there is a key element of practice reps.

Step 1 – The golfer is often unaware of what they should change about their technique (unconsciously incompetent)

Step 2 – The golfer is educated on what they need to change (consciously incompetent)

Step 3 – The golfers is educated on the more desirable technique and how to actually do it  (consciously competent)

Step 4 – Practice the desired motion while consciously controlling the motion.  This is the biggest challenge because if you are out playing golf, you will most likely be consciously thinking about where the ball is going. When you think about anything besides the desired swing motion, you instantly lose the ability to make the desired motion because at this point, it is only a “conscious skill” and not a habit yet.

Step 5 – After lots of repetition, the motion becomes a habit (unconsciously competent) and the golfer no longer needs to think about the swing to make it happen correctly. The golfer can then play golf thinking exclusively about the shot they want to hit and not their swings.

So, how do we make a swing change?  Ideally, we spend ample time making the proper motion and not worrying about where the ball is going.  The only time this will make sense is during the fall and winter.

Taking your game to the Golf Course and/or
Playing Better in Tournaments

Have you ever had the experience of hitting the ball long and straight on the driving range only to have your game seemingly disappear before you could get to the first tee?  Maybe you play well with your friends and then struggle when you enter a tournament.  If there is a marked difference between your practice and play, or how you perform in tournaments, you will need to change the way you are practicing so you can improve your focus on the golf course.  It has been my experience; very few golfers hit the ball as well on the golf course as they do on the driving range.  Let’s put a stop to that!

There is an old saying.  On the golf course, you should play golf, not golf swing.  The biggest reason golfers have a tough time taking their games from the driving range to the golf course is they only practice their golf swing on the driving range and never get around to practicing golf.  When they get to the golf course, the added pressures of having one ball instead of eighty, the numerous water hazards and/or trees and several other self-imposed pressures can quickly expose a golfer’s lack of preparation.  All golfers get nervous, see the water hazards and can have negative thoughts.  The golfers who perform close to their capabilities on a regular basis simply have the ability to deal with these distractions a little more efficiently.  To perform at your best on the golf course and especially in tournaments, you will need to practice the techniques necessary to handle the distractions encountered on the course as much as you practice your swing.  It is important to realize that developing mental skills is every bit as important as working on your swing motion.  Golfers who have good mental skills and good short games are the ones who perform the most consistently.  Here are some steps you can take to improve your mental skills and bring your play on the golf course closer to your performance on the practice tee.

Step #1 – Develop a Pre-Shot Routine

Every good player has a series of steps they go through as they prepare to play EVERY golf shot.  The routine will ensure that your set up position is correct every time and will also occupy your mind so negative thoughts can be avoided.  If you don’t already have a reliable pre-shot routine, I suggest you ask a CPGA Professional to help you develop one.  I will detail the two parts of a good routine in future posts.

Step #2 – Start to Practice GOLF on the Driving Range.

Instead of bashing ball after ball with the same club at the same target, rarely even moving your feet.  Start practising what you will need on the golf course.  For each ball, pick a very specific target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit your shot.  After each ball or two, switch golf clubs, pick a different target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit the shot.  Some people who can’t get out and play as often as they like will “play” a round of golf at the driving range by simulating a round at their normal golf course.  For example, they will hit the club they would normally hit of the first tee, based on how that shot went they would then pick the club they feel would be needed next and so on.  Of course, using a pre-shot routine on every shot!!  The key is, by changing clubs and targets often you are preparing for the pressures you will face on the course and you are training your brain to work towards a target and not dwell on body movements or swing mechanics.

I am not suggesting you should not practice swing drills or focus on your swing mechanics to improve the quality of your swing motion.  What I am suggesting is by practicing these techniques and getting good at focusing on your target, you will give yourself the best chance to perform up to your capabilities.  The combination of improving your swing AND improving your mental skills will most quickly lower your scores and increase your enjoyment of the game.

Tell me about your on-course or tournament experiences and how you are trying to play up to your potential when you really want to.  Good luck with your golf!

How to take your game from the range to the golf course!

Have you ever had the experience of hitting the ball long and straight on the driving range only to have your game seemingly disappear before you could get to the first tee?  If there is a marked difference between your practice and play, you will need to change the way you are practicing so you can improve your focus on the golf course.

There is an old saying.  On the golf course, you should play golf, not golf swing.  The biggest reason golfers have a tough time taking their games from the driving range to the golf course is they only practice their golf swing on the driving range and never get around to practicing golf.  When they get to the golf course, the added pressures of having one ball instead of eighty, the numerous water hazards and/or trees and several other self-imposed pressures can quickly expose a golfer’s lack of preparation.  All golfers get nervous, see the water hazards and can have negative thoughts.  The golfers who perform close to their capabilities on a regular basis simply have the ability to deal with these distractions a little more efficiently.  To perform at your best on the golf course and especially in tournaments, you will need to practice the techniques necessary to handle the distractions encountered on the course as much as you practice your swing.  Here are some steps you can take to bring your play on the golf course closer to your performance on the practice tee.

Step #1 :   Develop a pre-shot routine.  Every good player has a series of steps they go through as they prepare to play EVERY golf shot.  The routine will ensure that your set up position is correct every time and will also occupy your mind so negative thoughts can be avoided.  If you don’t already have a reliable pre-shot routine, I suggest you ask a CPGA Professional to help you develop one.

Step #2 :  Start to practice GOLF on the driving range.  Instead of bashing ball after ball with the same club at the same target, rarely even moving your feet.  Start practicing what you will need on the golf course.  For each ball, pick a very specific target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit your shot.  After each ball or two, switch golf clubs, pick a different target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit the shot.  Some people who can’t get out and play as often as they like will “play” a round of golf at the driving range by simulating a round at their normal golf course.  For example, they will hit the club they would normally hit of the first tee, based on how that shot went they would then pick the club they feel would be needed next and so on.  Of course, using a pre-shot routine on every shot!!  The key is, by changing clubs and targets often you are preparing for the pressures you will face on the course and you are training your brain to work towards a target and not dwell on body movements or swing mechanics.

I am not suggesting you should not practice swing drills or focus on your swing mechanics to improve the quality of your swing motion.  What I am suggesting is by practicing these techniques and getting good at focusing on your target, you will give yourself the best chance to perform up to your capabilities.  The combination of improving your swing AND improving your mental skills will most quickly lower your scores and increase your enjoyment of the game.

Give these tips a try and let me know how they work.  Good Luck!

Why Most Golfers Don’t Improve

There are a few reasons why most golfers don’t improve their golf games. Probably the most prevalent one is simply most golfers don’t practice. If your life is too busy or golf is not a high priority in your life, I completely understand but to improve at golf you have to have both the desire and the time to invest in your skills.

The ultimate goal in golf is to shoot the lowest score possible. If your goals are different than that, maybe something more specific like hitting the ball more consistently, that is great as well, but you still probably need to take a look at how you approach the game.

We believe there are three major reasons most golfers fail to improve:

1. Most golfers spend 95% of their available practice time on the full swing, which represents a much smaller percentage of the game. This approach makes it impossible to achieve your lowest possible scores.

2. Most golfers miss-understand the 3 main concepts of the golf swing that determine the ball’s flight. Working with the correct information is absolutely critical for building a repeating swing.

3. Most golfers have poor practice skills. The typical golfer fails to understand the difference between technique practice and golf practice. As a result, most golfers struggle to improve their swings and also never really learn the skills needed to play well on the course.

The golfing establishment is partly responsible for the way golfers approach the game. Most teaching professionals say they offer golf lessons but the majority only gives “golf swing lessons”. If golf professionals are focusing too heavily on the swing, how is the average golfer to know any different?

Even when golfers do make good decisions and are working properly to make positive changes to their games, the vast majority gives up on the changes before they have a chance to take hold. New habits or skills take time to integrate into your game so patience is very necessary as you attempt to improve.

Study all the subjects

Most golfers understand that the short game makes up at least 50% of your score, yet most ignore this fact and continue to focus exclusively on the full swing.

Imagine when you were in school that you spent nearly all of your time studying only math. You would end up being a math whiz but since your advancement to the next grade was dependant on your overall grade, you would end up failing the grade. Golf is the same, if you want to become a better golfer and move up to the next “grade” you will have to study all the subjects.

Use the Correct Information

It has been my experience most golfers misunderstand one or more of the three major concepts, which govern how the club should swing through the ball. Understanding how to make solid contact, control the clubface and swing the club on the correct path are at the root of learning a repeating swing.

Once a golfer learns WHAT the club needs to do as it swings through the ball, they can begin the process of learning HOW their body needs to perform to make it happen.

Most golfers struggle because they misunderstand the major concepts and are trying to build a swing based on completely wrong assumptions. Stay tuned for chapter two to find out if you are using the correct information for your swing.

Effective Practice

The final reason most golfers don’t improve is the quality of their practices is very low. To get the most out of your practice you need to allocate time to every part of the game with respect to how the game is played and also how each part of your game is shaping up at any given time. You also need to avoid the classic error of practicing your swing while worrying about ball flight and trying to play golf (a target game) while worrying about your swing.

I have a lot of faith in golfers’ to improve. If you are not improving as fast as you would like, take a look at the information you are using and how you are approaching the game.

Why Most Golfers Don’t Improve

There are a few reasons why most golfers don’t improve their golf games.  Probably the most prevalent one is simply most golfers don’t practice.  If your life is too busy or golf is not a high priority in your life, I completely understand but to improve at golf you have to have both the desire and the time to invest in your skills.

The ultimate goal in golf is to shoot the lowest score possible. If your goals are different than that, maybe something more specific like hitting the ball more consistently, that is great as well, but you still probably need to take a look at how you approach the game.

I believe there are three major reasons most golfers fail to improve:

1. Most golfers spend 95% of their available practice time on the full swing, which represents a much smaller percentage of the game.  This approach makes it impossible to achieve your lowest possible scores.
2. Most golfers miss-understand the 3 main concepts of the golf swing that determine the ball’s flight.  Working with the correct information is absolutely critical for building a repeating swing.
3. Most golfers have poor practice skills.  The typical golfer fails to understand the difference between technique practice and golf practice.  As a result, most golfers struggle to improve their swings and also never really learn the skills needed to play well on the course.

The golfing establishment is partly responsible for the way golfers approach the game.  Most teaching professionals say they offer golf lessons but the majority only gives “golf swing lessons”.  If golf professionals are focusing too heavily on the swing, how is the average golfer to know any different?

Even when golfers do make good decisions and are working properly to make positive changes to their games, the vast majority gives up on the changes before they have a chance to take hold.  New habits or skills take time to integrate into your game so patience is very necessary as you attempt to improve.

Study all the subjects

Most golfers understand that the short game makes up at least 50% of your score, yet most ignore this fact and continue to focus exclusively on the full swing.

Imagine when you were in school that you spent nearly all of your time studying only math.  You would end up being a math whiz but since your advancement to the next grade was dependent on your overall grade, you would end up failing the grade.  Golf is the same, if you want to become a better golfer and move up to the next “grade” you will have to study all the subjects.

Use the Correct Information

It has been my experience most golfers misunderstand one or more of the three major concepts, which govern how the club should swing through the ball.  Understanding how to make solid contact, control the clubface and swing the club on the correct path are at the root of learning a repeating swing.

Once a golfer learns WHAT the club needs to do as it swings through the ball, they can begin the process of learning HOW their body needs to perform to make it happen.

Most golfers struggle because they misunderstand the major concepts and are trying to build a swing based on completely wrong assumptions.  Stay tuned for chapter two to find out if you are using the correct information for your swing.

I will provide you with detailed descriptions of each concept in future posts.

Effective Practice

The final reason most golfers don’t improve is the quality of their practices is very low.  To get the most out of your practice you need to allocate time to every part of the game with respect to how the game is played and also how each part of your game is shaping up at any given time.

You also need to avoid the classic error of practicing your swing while worrying about ball flight and trying to play golf (a target game) while worrying about your swing. There are two types of practice:

• Technique or Block Practice – This type of practice is designed to allow you to learn a new motor skill.  During this kind of practice, you should do the desired motion, over and over with complete attention to the quality of the motion and NOT, the quality of the golf shot.
• Game or Random Practice – This type of practice is required so you can take your game from the range to the course.  During this kind of practice, you will only hit one ball at a time with each club.  Each shot is played to a new target with a new club while going through your complete pre-shot routine each time.  In short, you are rehearsing how you will hit shots on the course. You should not be thinking about your swing mechanics, only about where and how you want your ball to fly.

I have a lot of faith in golfers’ to improve.  If you are not improving as fast as you would like, take a look at the information you are using and how you are approaching the game.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on how to make your practice more efficient or what you would like to see in future posts.  Good luck with your golf.