Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures
“Thinking is the hardest work in the world. That’s why so few of us do it.” – Emerson
So many players struggle with improving their golf game because of one factor, they believe it is too difficult to improve. Before I started working with them, several of my students would just endlessly hit balls on the driving range waiting for those few good shots. Unknown to them, all they were doing is developing bad habits. Out of a basket of say 80 golf balls, typically they would concede to only hitting about 5 to 7 good. That’s poor odds. When I play a round of golf I sure hope that I hit more that 5 good shots. If I don’t it surely will not be a good score.
If you think of improvement in small challenges, you will find that you are able to leap over those obstacles in a quick manner. Players don’t improve one stroke at a time. If you shoot 90 you aren’t going to improve to an 89 player, then an 88 player. No you will go from a 90 players to an 84 player. That person that shoots an 82 on average will jump to a 77 shooter. High handicap players tend to improve 4-5 strokes at a time.
How can this be? Well, the fastest way to improve is to spend time on your short game. More than half of you shots that you take on the golf course are from within 70 yards of the pin. So answer this, why would you spend hours on the range hitting balls into an empty abyss, and only a few minutes on the putting green?
If you truly want to improve you need to drastically change the way that you practice. If you spend the next two weeks of practice dedicating 80 percent of your time to chipping and putting, and the other 20 percent of your time on the full swing, you will drop 5 stokes off of your scoring average. I am going to put the disclaimer that this applies to the high handicap players. If you are someone who already shoots in the mid 70’s, your progress will be a bit slower, but improving your short game is what will make you become that scratch player.
You should all be familiar with the phrase…drastic times call for drastic measures. The time is now, go out there and work on your golf game. Make the radical change in your practice routine and get ready to see some amazing results!