As an eager to improve golfer, I love a goal. So I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned from my golf over the past year – what’s worked and what needs work – to set myself 5 resolutions that I believe will take my game to the next level…and I hope they’ll do the same for yours too.
Work On Strategy As Much As I Do My Swing
There are a few things that I’m excited to work on in my swing this winter but when it comes to the spring, I’m making a promise to myself…when I’m on the course, my focus will be on my strategy not my swing.
Over my last run of competition rounds, it’s become clear to me that when I have – and stick to – a strategy, I shoot my best scores, even on the days when my swing is off.
It feels like it breaks the round down into bitesize chapters because I’m focused on following my strategy for the shot at hand, rather than replaying the shots that have been or thinking about the shots yet to come.
Whether it’s playing with the mantra of ‘when in trouble, don’t make double’ or doing my best to follow the 80% rule, my scores show me that when I have a strategy, it saves me shots.
(Image credit: Jess Ratcliffe)
Make My Practice Harder Than My Play
A big challenge in golf is taking the work we put in on the range to the course. And I think that’s because there’s an ingredient that’s present in our play, especially when we have a card in our hand, that isn’t always present in our practice – pressure.
When we’re on the course, we’ve got one shot, one ball to play but when we’re on the range, we’ve got a bucket to hit through. If a shot doesn’t go as we hope, we can reach for another and try again, knowing the consequence of hitting a wonky one is never as high on the range as it is the course.
That’s why I’m going to try to make my practice harder than my play by bringing in exaggerated pressure. Maybe that’s setting myself strict targets, like getting my greenside bunker shots within 3 feet of the pin and I can only move on when I’ve made 5 in a row. Or not leaving the putting green until I’ve sunk 10 putts from the distances I can often miss.
This one is going to be a challenge because I’m not sure it’s possible to fully replicate the pressure we feel on the course but I’m going to do my best to…
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