Golf Tip of the Day - Focused Practice

Most golfers head to the range, grab a bucket of balls, and just start hitting away with no real plan in mind. If they are hitting the ball poorly, they try to remember old tips or old feelings that may have resulted in a few good shots at some point.

I've mentioned before that to gain long term improvement in the long run, golfers need to gain an understanding of their own swing, its flaws and how to correct them and build a better golf swing. This takes time, focus and lots of practice.

Another way to zero in even more on the range is to start keeping some statistics while practicing. This takes more time while you are practicing, but is well worth the effort, and it will help you eliminate flaws and make improvements more quickly.

For instance, yesterday I decided to focus on my short iron play on the range. I warmed up with some wedges, then moved up to the 8 iron, 5 iron, 2 iron and driver. I then dropped back down to the 8-iron shot. At our range, we have one green that is essentially in the 8-iron or 9-iron range for me, depending on conditions. Yesterday, it was about 50 degrees and I had a light breeze in my face, so it was an 8-iron shot.

I decided to keep track of 20 shots at that flag. I would mark down what direction in relation to the flag that the ball would start, and its distance and direction from the flag after it landed. My dispersion over the first ten shots was pretty wide as I was struggling with my swing, but I managed to hit a couple decent shots in those first ten. With the second ten I tried to get the same feel I had for those two good shots, and my shot dispersion was much better.

What this type of practice also does is get you to focus on your routine. If you practice as if you are on the golf course trying to hit your best shot, you will go through your on course routine for each practice shot. This will help to reinforce your on course routine, and it will become second nature.

Get more focused in your practice, and I guarantee your scores will drop!

Scott Cole
www.howtgolfyourbest.com