It takes time and practice to become a better golfer, and there’s no question that golf is a sport that rewards dedication and hard work. But you don’t have to spend endless hours on the range or a lot of your hard-earned cash to become a better golfer. There’s plenty of things you can do this year that won’t cost you a lot of either money or time, but will make a significant difference to your results. Here are just a few of them.
Golfing Practice
Have a plan when you practice
Practice is essential to improving your game, but practicing without a plan in mind is probably a waste of time. Practicing on its own is not enough – you need to make your practice meaningful, focused, deliberate and specific. Have a particular goal in mind for your practice session. Spend most of your practice time on the things you don’t do well, rather than the things you’re already good at, even though they may be the most fun to practice. Work with a coach if necessary, to help you refine your technique and identify any mistakes you might be making.
Click here to learn how to practice like you’re playing.
Practice at home
Who said you can only practice golf at the course or the driving range? Far from it – there’s plenty you can do to practice at home if getting to the course or range is not feasible every day. Start by choosing whatever club you like and making 100 practice swings a day at home. This will improve your strength and flexibility, and help you gain awareness of where the club is at all points throughout your swing. You can build and hone your swing and make it a repeatable motion that will become automatic when you’re on the course. And all you’ll need is a small amount of space in which to swing.
Click here to see some great exercises time-poor golfers can do at home.
Select the right club
Most amateur players use a simple approach to club selection – choosing shorter clubs on shorter holes and longer clubs on longer holes. There’s much more to it though – you also need to consider wind, hazards, natural shot tendencies, the yardage of each club and what approach shot will follow. Learn the finer points of club selection, because your game will markedly improve once you get this right.
Get the right grip
Having a fundamentally solid grip is the cornerstone of a great swing. Making sure that your grip is right can really help your swing. For a right-hander, start by holding the club with your left fingers, and position it directly over the point where your fingers meet your hand, with your thumb pointing straight down the shaft. The place your right hand over it so your right palm is over your left thumb. If you’re unsure about the correct position, get a professional player to check you.
Stay on track
When setting up your swing, imagine a set of railroad tracks leading to the hole. Try and align your clubface with the outer track, and your body with the inner track. Align your clubface directly to the target before you get into your stance. Start your swing with your weight evenly distributed between both legs, but shift the weight to the right leg as you take your club back. As you swing through the ball, your weight should move onto your left leg.
Hold your pose
Make one of your goals in 2019 to complete every one of your swings – be it a putt or a drive – in the correct finish position. A great finish position should really improve your ball striking, giving you better results. Swing all the way through your shot to a balanced and comfortable finish position – and then hold your pose for a second or two.
Click here to see more about how to hold your finish effectively.
Physical preparation
Stretch
Golf can be tough on your body, particularly your hamstrings. When your hamstrings become chronically tight and short, it can cause changes in your golf swing, as well as leading to injuries. Most of us are guilty of not stretching these crucial muscles enough – or at all – but make 2019 the year that you change that. Start each day (even if you’re not playing golf that day) by stretching your hamstrings. An effective and easy way to do this is to start by sitting on a chair with one leg stretched out in front of you. Lean forward and try to take hold of your toes, and hold the stretch for 30 seconds. If this isn’t possible, reach towards your toes as far as you can and hold. Once this stretch becomes easy, you can try the same stretch standing up.
Get your eyesight checked
If it’s been awhile since you’ve seen an optometrist, it might be time to make an appointment. It’s very common for vision to decline over time, and while you may not have noticed anything drastic, a routine eye check-up will more than likely improve your game. Clear vision really helps with aiming and hitting your shots and connecting with the ball, and you might be surprised at how much your vision has changed over the years. Book a check-up and get your eyesight problems sorted out – and watch your game instantly improve.
Build some muscles
Golf places a lot of physical demands on players, and golfers need to have strength, stability, mobility and cardiovascular fitness for optimal performance. Golfers need strong arm, leg, chest, hand, wrist, trunk, hip and abdominal muscles to produce an effective swing, and if sufficient muscle is not present there’s a very real risk of injury, as well as poor performance. This year, make your fitness a priority, and consider fitting it a little bit of weight training to strengthen those muscles. Your handicap will thank you.
Have a pre-shot routine
You can significantly improve your golf performance by using a pre-shot routine to help you prepare physically, mentally and technically. A pre-shot routine of actions and thoughts that you repeat every time you swing will increase your control over your performance and enable you to remain focused. This pre-shot routine could include physical actions such as checking your grip, getting a visual for the shot, checking the direction of the wind and making practice swings, for instance. You can also use a routine of mental actions, such as visualisation of the shot, or repeating a keyword or phrase you want to apply to your swing. Developing a consistent and comfortable routine will lead to a much more consistent performance.
Get your warm up right
A proper warm up is a must to help prevent golfing injuries and to prepare your body for the exertion to come. A good warm up should include some type of movement that will increase your heart rate, stretching of problem areas and muscle groups that you are about to use, and some practice shots. Make this a non-negotiable and you’ll feel much more ready to play.
Mental preparation
Take mental notes
After each shot you play, take mental notes, as it’s important to take the mental side of the game seriously. Try and remember what decisions you made, what worked and what didn’t. After your round, make a note of the three best shots your hit, and think about them in detail. Prime your brain (and your body) to remember what worked so that you can repeat it.
Watch golf on TV
Yes, you can improve your golf just by watching others play it – as long as they are playing at a high standard. Don’t just relax and mindlessly watch a tournament, however – focus on what you are seeing and how you can apply it to your own game. Notice the pre-shot routine used by each pro player, and begin to incorporate elements of these routines into your practice sessions. Try to imitate some of the shots you’ve seen the pros produce, and compare your own decision-making with theirs. Imagine taking the shot that the professional is taking – where would you aim it? What club would you choose? Compare your choices to the professional player’s choices, and note the outcomes.
