TOP SPORT

10 Golden Tips to Make the Most out of Your Golf Lessons, golfing tips for beginners (part 1).

You have been looking at getting into a new hobby that will get you outside more, so you decide to dabble in golf to take advantage of the long afternoon walks and beautiful weather. However, after weeks on the course, you have to accept that you are just as bad at golf now as the day you first got the idea to start this new hobby and realize that it’s time for some lessons.

How do you make the most out of your golf lessons? There are 10 golden tips that will help you get the most out of your golf lessons. As a beginner, these 12 tips will be highly effective in helping you master troublesome areas of your game.

An important concept to remember is that it is not always the lesson that improves your game, but, rather, the individual work you do outside of your lessons. By performing your individual work, the return on investment for your time at lessons will compound exponentially. As such, there are a number of mental and physical approaches golfers must take to maximize returns.

The Golden Tips for Maximizing Your Golf Lessons.
In order to get the most out of your golf lessons, you must be intentional, deliberate, and detailed in your approach to becoming a better golfer.

Golden Tip Number One: Consider Questions in Advance.
The time you have with your coach or golf pro is likely to be extremely limited, possibly even as little as one hour at a time. Furthermore, a few golf lessons are free. As such, you do not want to waste a significant amount of your instructional time in having your coach mull the response to a difficult or superfluous question.

In general, there are a few guidelines the golf learner should follow in regard to questions during the lesson.

Try to answer questions yourself – if the question is extremely general or has an answer that can easily be found with a quick Internet search, look for the answer before asking your coach. You don’t want to be wasting your valuable instructional time with questions that could have been answered for free
Email questions, if possible – if you have a question that is specific to your game and cannot be answered with a simple Internet search, try emailing the question to your coach before the lesson. Some coaches will respond to your email requests for information, which will save time during the lesson
Ask questions at the end – if you have not been able to find the answer yourself or get a response via email, make sure to ask questions at the end of sessions. Even if your coach or pro does not have the answer immediately, he or she is likely to mull over the question and reach out between sessions or at the beginning of your next lesson
Make questions specific – again; you want to be picking your instructor’s brain for stuff you cannot find on the Internet. Keep your questions relegated to certain aspects of your game or mechanical issues in your swing
Golden Tip Number Two: Arrive at Lessons Early

Many novices make the mistake of arriving at a lesson right on time. While being on time is plenty good in most walks of life, it is not sufficient when talking about golf lessons.

As with any sport or physical activity, golf requires that participants be warm and stretched out in order for them to be able to maximize performance. If learners are spending the first 10-15 minutes of a golf lesson warming up, they are not maximizing their return on the instruction a coach can provide.

A golfer’s typical routine prior to a lesson should go as follows.

Arrive at the site 15 minutes early.
Go through a comprehensive stretching routine, with extra focus given to the hips, back, and shoulders.
Take a couple of practice shots with each club in your bag.

By following this schedule, the learner will be warmed up and ready to go at the start of the lesson, allowing him or her to leverage instructional time to the fullest.

Golden Tip Number Three: Be Specific
While there are certainly some golf coaches who will come into each lesson with a predetermined plan for what they will work on and some coaches who will let you take some swings and work through issues that they see, you may have a lesson where the coach asks, “What do you want to work on?”

If this is the case, be sure to have a specific answer in mind (please, please, please don’t say “I don’t know“).

Make sure that you are able to identify weaknesses in your game and put your coach to the test on how he or she can help you in a specific area. Avoid responses such as “I want to get better at driving” in favor of “Coach, I want you to help me with my back position when driving.”

Depending on just how new you are to golf, some of these more specific questions may not come naturally. However, it is better to be specific in your training when possible, as it is easier to identify problems and measure results when problems are tackled incrementally.

Golden Tip Number Four: Record Information as Thoroughly as Possible
No matter how well you pay attention during a golf lesson, you are going to forget more than you retain the moment you walk off the course.

As such, it is crucial that you take notes on your smartphone while your coach is instructing (or with a pen and paper if you are not tech-savvy).

If you are able to obtain consent prior to the lesson, by all means, record the session for later review, as long as it is not overly distracting from your ability to focus on the lesson in real-time.

Golden Tip Number Five: Get Interactive
While it is important to pay attention, record, and take notes as thoroughly as possible, that will not be enough to improve your golf game.

Even if you are a visual learner, sitting back and observing is not going to turn you into Tiger Woods. You’ve actually got to do it.

Therefore, find a coach who offers a healthy balance of instruction and practice during a lesson. If that is not his or her particular style, politely ask if you can get some time to practice in between demonstrations.

You will want to be able to observe the movements your coach is making and then put them into practice yourself. It is helpful if your coach can critique your position and make sure that everything is set during the lesson; that way, you have the feel of proper mechanics when you go to practice on your own time.

Junior Golf – What is the Best Age To Start Teaching Kids, golfing tips for beginners.

Best Age to Teach Kids Golf.

If your daughter or son is interested in golf, you might be wondering when is the best time to start the learning process?

It is a good idea for juniors to start learning golf when they are 6 or 7 years old. This is about the time that young minds start developing increased hand-eye coordination enough to be able to understand and perform golf swings.

From my own experience teaching juniors, 6 and 7 years old are the perfect ages where the kids have long enough attention spans to be able to learn a specific concept without running the risk of not retaining any information. (source)

Why Start Early?
Golf is awesome because you can play at any age. My grandfather is approaching 95 and still gets out onto the golf course at least once a week!

However, because golf can be played for an individual’s entire life, it is best to learn the fundamentals when you are young so that wrong habits can be avoided and good muscle patterns can be created.

I run into this problem all the time with some of my older students. They come to me with a golf issue and want it to be cured. I then ask them “how long has this issue been going on?” To which the always respond, “pretty much my whole life!” And to think, if they would have gotten lessons or learned the basics at a younger age, who knows how much better they would have gotten?

Coming from my own teaching experience, it is much more difficult to fix a golf swing problem you have had your whole life than to learn a set of new skills and movements you have not learned before.

Different Ways Juniors Can Learn.
There are many different programs that are offered at most golf courses that are geared around junior golf development. Here are several options you can look into at your local golf courses.

Junior Golf Clinics- These clinics are designed for juniors to come out and learn golf in groups with other juniors around the same age. This is a great option for new beginning junior golfers to get introduced to golf in a stress-free environment with other juniors. The added bonus is that if a junior does several junior golf clinics, they may start to create friendships with other regular students which adds fuel to the learning process.
Junior Golf Leagues- Another option is for juniors to play and in junior golf leagues. These leagues are generally divided by age and skill level allowing juniors to play golf at a designated time each week. One of the best ways to learn is by playing the game. I recommend junior leagues for juniors that have more experience and ready to play on the course. Here is an example of how a junior golf league is laid out from one of my golf course’s junior programs.
Snag Golf- In my opinion, this is the perfect option for beginning juniors. Snag golf is a program designed for juniors where they use plastic golf clubs and tennis balls to learn the fundamentals of putting and chipping. It is a great way to teach the game in a fun and informative way the will pique the interest of golf in younger kids. Here is the snag golf website if you are interested in what it is.
Individual Lessons- Last but not least, new juniors can learn from one-on-one lessons from a golf instructor. The bonus of this option is that the instructor can individualize the lesson for the particular student. So they can spend an entire day on hand-eye coordination drills or balance drills etc. etc. If you are interested in this option, feel free to contact your local golf courses and ask the professional about setting up a personalized lesson for the junior.
What About Golf Clubs?

Here is where things can get a bit tricky. While owning your own set of golf clubs is awesome, for juniors, it can be difficult because of their volatile growth spurts. Especially between the ages of 6-10, there can be significant growth changes that can affect junior’s golf learning if their clubs are too small or large.

Check out US Kids Golf. They offer different sized golf clubs depending on the height of the junior. Their different golf sets allow for small changes in growth (3-4 inches) so parents don’t have to continue buying a new set every few months. My recommendation would be to buy on the larger side. For example if the junior is 53″ look into getting the 54″-57″ inch set. This allows for even more growth change and the difference in the club length is very minimal. We sell these clubs in our pro-shop and which makes the buying process much easier for parents. These sets come with.

Driver, Hybrid, Irons, Sand Wedge, Putter, Stand Bag, Headcovers.
What to Do As a Parent.
As a parent, your job will be to encourage the junior to keep their interest in golf. Here are some of the methods I have seen parents do.

Take kids to the driving range to hit golf balls, Let kids ride around in the golf cart.
Take kids to play putt-putt, Let kids watch golf on TV.
Let the kids take the golf flag out of the hole, Use plastic golf balls and hit in the backyard.
Summary.
Deciding to introduce your junior to the game of golf is a big commitment. And if you don’t know what to look for, you can end up not only wasting money but turning off the junior’s interest in golf.

So remember to follow these steps discussed in this post and I will get you on the right track towards helping mold the next Tiger Woods! Well, maybe not that, but at least help the junior see if golf is right for them

Juniors can start playing golf when they are 6-7 years old because their hand-eye coordination is starting to rapidly grow around this age.
Search local golf course websites and choose a golf program for the junior to start in. Junior golf clinics, junior golf leagues, Snag golf, individual lessons.
Use US Kids Golf to find a golf set based on the height of the junior.
Take kids to the golf course, driving range, play putt-putt or chip plastic golf balls in the backyard to encourage learning and engagement in the golf

10 Golden Tips to Make the Most out of Your Golf Lessons, golfing tips for beginners (part 2).

Golden Tip Number Six: Don’t Expect Massive Changes Overnight.
You are not going to go from beginner to PGA professional in one lesson. In fact, even the most highly ranked pros in the game today fall into ruts and work on various aspects of their games with their coaches.

One of the most significant reasons that people give up and fail to improve their golf games is because they become bogged down in frustration over how slowly they perceive their game to be advancing. There are a couple of important notes to this point.

Golf is hard to self-observe – even though it may feel like things are going poorly for you, your coach may have a completely different opinion. It can sometimes be hard to see the forest through the trees if you are trying to conquer the world in a day
Focus on the small victories – this is yet another reason why it is important to be specific in your approach to your lessons. While you can’t go from “bad golfer” to “good golfer” in one lesson, you can go from “poor foot position when putting” to “good foot position when putting” in one lesson. These small victories add up over time
Golden Tip Number Seven: Take Time in Between Lessons
Another trap that beginning golfers make is that they try to take too many lessons, too soon.

In fact, some golf professionals argue that you should take no more than one lesson per week, with some even advocating for a two to three-week break in between sessions.

It is recommended that players spend at least two practice sessions of their own time working on the concept(s) they went over at lesson prior to going back for another session with their coach. If you are scheduling multiple lessons per week, there are simply not enough hours in a day to get the necessary individual practice in on your own time.

In addition, trying to learn too many concepts simultaneously inhibits an individual’s ability to master any of them. If a beginning golfer tries to move on to something new before perfecting an earlier technique, he or she may fall into bad habits that can lead to setbacks, as practicing bad habits reinforces the wrong way of doing things.

Golden Tip Number Eight: Do All of Your Practice Drills and Ghost Swings
For whatever reason, technique tends to break down when an implement is added to someone’s hand. A young powerlifter can look great when going through the motions, but his or her form becomes cringe-worthy when weight is introduced; an aspiring musician looks captivating with the air guitar but completely awkward with a real guitar in hand.

The same can be said for a golfer and his or her clubs, yet, for some reason, young golfers just want to grab their clubs and start hitting balls.

Good coaches will provide golfers with various drills to go through without the club in hand and a ghost swing routine they should go through prior to striking the ball. It is imperative that golfers go through these routines rigorously in order to ensure that their real swing comes out the way they want it.

Furthermore, prior to any real swing, golfers should be conscientious of their stance. They should ask themselves the following questions.

Are my feet positioned where the coach instructed me during my lesson?
Is my balance properly distributed?
Are my head, shoulders, back, and hips properly aligned?

Finally, if golfers have been taking an interactive approach to their learning during lessons, they should be trained to know what a good swing feels like. If something feels awry, stop the swing at the top of the motion. Golf is a very intricate game, and even the most minor of glitches can lead to major trouble in your game.

One of the most significant mistakes young golfers make is that even though they are able to detect something wrong with their swing, they go ahead and complete it anyway. Not only does this put them at risk of potential injury, but it is a repetition in which bad habits are reinforced.

Golden Tip Number Nine: Don’t Practice at the Driving Range.
While the driving range does have its benefits, it is not a place where young golfers should be practicing the techniques they learned during lessons.

At the driving range, you are likely to have a limited selection of clubs–perhaps a driver, a nine iron, or a seven iron. You are also going to be hitting off a solid, flat surface and in conditions that are highly controlled. This can give the golfer unrealistic expectations of what to expect during real play.

When trying to make the most of lessons, young golfers need to practice in environments that most closely mirror the conditions in which they will need to put their techniques to use. They need to pick the right club for the conditions and for what was practiced at the lesson.

Therefore, practice what you learned at lessons on a real course with a full golf bag at your disposal.

Golden Tip Number Ten: Don’t Keep Score.
One of the final and most significant mistakes that golfers make when trying to capitalize on their lessons is that they go straight from their lesson into a game. This shifts their focus from becoming a better golfer to seeing how to get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible.

The problem with this is that their methods for getting the ball into the hole as quickly as possible often directly contradict the proper technique learned during the lesson. This can be the frustrating thing with learning a new sport or craft: sometimes, learning how to do it right can feel like it’s setting you back.

Which it will, but only in the short term.

Over the long haul, dedicated, and focused practice on the concepts learned during lessons will lead to huge improvements in a golfer’s overall game. Therefore, in order to get the most out of their lessons, golfers should avoid going from the lesson and playing in competitive games and focus on the following principles.

Scrap putting – unless a lesson was directly designed to work on putting, leave your putter in the bag. Putting can lead to infatuation and frustration that preempts a young golfer from working on other aspects of his or her game
Don’t worry about how far you hit it – it’s easy to get caught up in a driving contest. Everyone wants to see how far they can make the ball go. However, overexerting in an attempt to hit it far leads to breakdowns in technique. Focus on proper form and trust that with form, distance will come
Have fun on the course – don’t view it as practice. Be amazed that you can take part in an activity that allows you to be outside and experience all that nature has to offer
How Many Golf Lessons Should a Beginner Take?
The amount of lessons a beginning golfer should take varies largely on a number of factors. First, what do you consider a beginner? Is it someone who is relatively new to the sport, or someone who has absolutely no experience at all?

For someone who is a beginner in the sense that they are still a novice in the sport, then there is really no limit as to the number of lessons he or she should take. As mentioned earlier in the article, he or she should try to focus lessons toward a specific aspect of his or her game and spend several sessions of individual practice for each lesson received.

Once the coach feels confident that one aspect of the game is under control, then he or she may move onto another area of concern.

If someone is a beginner in that they know absolutely nothing about the game and are trying to take a crash course in golf, then some within the industry argue that there are 15 essential lessons a beginning golfer must take.

These essential lessons will be broken down into lessons that cover the basic rules and etiquette of golf, how to play the various zones of the course, how and when to use each club, proper swing mechanics, and how to navigate out of trouble.

Can a Golf Swing be Too Fast? Here’s the Truth, golfing tips for beginners.

A PGA golfer might make a golf swing look effortless and uncomplicated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Those effortless swings are the result of thousands of hours spent practicing. The more you develop your golf swing, the more apparent it becomes that the speed of your swing matters.

But can a golf swing be too fast? The only time a swing could be too fast is if it becomes uncontrolled, but that doesn’t mean that a fast swing is superior or even desirable. Most experts agree that the speed of the swing doesn’t matter except at the crucial moment when the club hits the ball. Maximum speed at this moment allows the ball to fly farthest.

In this article, I will cover everything you want to know about swing speed and swing rhythm (a close relative to swing speed), including some tips for beginners on developing a swing sped and rhythm that works for them.

How Fast Should a Golf Swing Be?
A golf swing needs to be fast enough that you hit the ball with enough speed to send it the necessary distance, but the speed of the entire swing also called the tempo of the swing, doesn’t matter all that much. There is no “should” when it comes to swing speed.

What does matter is the rhythm of your golf swing.

According to Martin Hall, a well known golfing instructor and speaker, the tempo of a swing is the speed at which you swing the club.
The rhythm of a swing is the ratio of time that it takes for you to move the club from the setup position to the top position compared to how long it takes you to go from the top position to the bottom.
The best rhythm for backswings is 3:1, meaning if the first part of the swing took 3 seconds, the last part would take 1 second. Of course, golf swings are much faster than this. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone with a four-second swing.

According to Andrew Rice, another well-known golf instructor, the average backswing of PGA Tour golfers is .75 seconds, with the downswing being .25 seconds. The whole swing takes about a second with faster swings taking a little less and slower swings taking a little more, but you’ll notice the ratio still applies. This rhythm is more important than the speed of the swing.

Can the Clubhead Speed Be Too Fast?

Clubhead speed is the speed at which the clubhead is moving as it makes contact with the golf ball. As long as the ball is well hit, you can never hit it with too much speed at the point of impact: the faster, the better in this case.

The fastest clubhead speed ever recorded is 129.2 miles per hour, according to Golf.com. This record was set by Tiger Woods at the Valspar Championship.

Can a Golf Swing Be Too Slow?
Most definitely, yes, a swing can be too slow. A slow swing will pull you out of rhythm, and you also aren’t likely to hit the ball with enough speed to send it as far as it needs to go. Remember, the speed of your club at impact is what determines the potential distance your ball will travel.

An excessively slow swing can also be a sign of overthinking. You don’t want to be thinking about every little thing while your swinging. This can result in an awkward, imprecise and ineffective swing

How Do You Know If You’re Swinging at the Right Speed and Rhythm?
So now that we’ve got out second-guessing your swing speed, you’re probably wondering how to know if your swing is out of rhythm. It isn’t easy to tell by yourself if you’re swinging fast or slow. Many golfers feel they are swinging much faster or much slower than they are.

Luckily, you have some options.

Invest in a coaching session: An experienced professional can help you work out any speed or rhythm issues in your swing. Investing in coaching can make a huge difference in how your overall swing, but if you want to focus on rhythm, let your coach know that.
Take some video: Video recording your golf swing can help you work out any number of problems that are going on with your swing if you know what to look for. Ask a friend to record you, or set up a tripod. You might even be able to post it to a golf forum for some feedback. Otherwise, check the time stamp and calculate the timing of each part of your swing.
Swing Index app: Swing Index is an app for your smartphone that allows you to video and analyze your swing.
Swing Catalyst: Swing Catalyst allows you to have your swing analyzed by computer software.
There are other apps and software out there that will analyze your swing. A quick search on the app store or online will bring up several. Take your pick based on what features are most important to you.

Swing Speed and Rhythm Tips for Beginners.
Beginners usually struggle with uncontrolled, fast swings or uncontrolled, unconfident slow swings that result in a poorly hit golf ball. It is hard to swing fast with precision until you’ve got years of practice under your belt.

Here are some tips for finding your speed sweet spot as a beginner.

Focus on Your Form.
As a beginner, it is really important to focus on what is considered proper form. Do some professionals break the rules and incorporate different forms into the swings? Of course, they do, but you can bet they learned proper form before they began trying to break the mold.

Focus on your form first, get that down, and then move on to speed and rhythm. If you don’t have your form down, having a good rhythm and speed isn’t going to help you.

For tips on how to master your golf form, check out this video by Data Animation on YouTube.

Don’t Rush Your Swing.
Having a fast swing and having a rushed swing are two very different things. You should swing the club at a speed that feels good for you. You shouldn’t feel rushed when you swing the club, that’s when bad form and silly mistakes will slip into your golfing practice.

Find a Speed that Feels Right for You.
Try not to go crazy analyzing your swing and your rhythm. If you find a slower or faster swing works for you, stick with it. Do what works, right? Everyone’s swing is different because everyone’s body is different, and many golfers approach the tee with very different attitudes and mindsets. All of these things can go into how you swing, and to try and change your swing is somewhat futile.

Practice Everyday.
You might not be able to find time to practice your swing every day, but the more you practice, the more you’ll find a rhythm that works for you, and the more fluid your swing will become. Pro golfers practice for hours a day to perfect their swings. You might not have professional aspirations, but frequent practice will be certain to improve your swing.

Find drills that you can do at home to help improve your swing. The Woosh Drill is one way you practice your swing at home in your backyard or in any open space where you don’t have kids or pets running around you. This video by Essentially Golf, PGA golfer Erika Larkin demonstrates how to do this drill.

Now you should be equipped with the knowledge that you need to develop and perfect your swing speed and rhythm, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Your buddy on the golf course might comment on the speed of your swing, but your scorecard won’t lie.

This Is Why Your Golf Swing Is Getting Worse, golfing tips for beginners.

Everyone has good and bad days in golf but what do you do when your golf swing is getting worse each time you play? How do you control your swing and turn it around? We’re going to tell you how to have a good swing, every time.

So, why is your golf swing getting worse? Simple! Stop overthinking your swing and get back to basics. A good way to doing this is by controlling your center of gravity as you swing the golf club.

Every golfer has tips for other golfers. Sometimes those tips work and sometimes they don’t. But here’s the secret – you have to remember the fundamentals, and practice, practice, practice. Read on to learn how to get your swing back, and keep it working.

Your Center of Gravity Triangle.
Having too many thoughts or conflicting information when you swing the golf club will make it impossible for the average golfer to improve their swing. Fortunately, to have a really great swing, you only need to think about your center of gravity. A good, simple method was developed by Rob Bernard and is called the Center of Gravity triangle.

The geometry of the center of gravity triangle is pretty simple and controlled by 3 things.

Boss Fingers, Your Feet, Your Face.

The principals are easy. The boss fingers control the clubface. The feet control the ground and the center of gravity triangle controls the geometry of ball flight and consistency. We’ll delve into each of these and tell you how you should be doing each.

1. Boss Fingers.
Boss fingers control where the bottom of your swing is every time. Your target side hand (the left hand for right-handed golfers) is the boss of the golf club. On the target hand, the top three fingers assume control of the golf club. The top three fingers are:
Pinky, Ring finger, Middle finger.

Leave your index finger and thumb to rest lightly on the grip when you take your swing.

Your trail hand (right hand for right-handed golfers) should not be in control of the golf club. It will only slow down the swinging process. If your boss hand loses control of the golf club, the weight of the clubhead rests on the index finger of the trail hand. Once that happens, your downswing motion is too steep and your shots will travel too low and too far for the club you’re using at the moment.

Your target hand will control the face of the club. Your trail hand will control the path of the club. However, most of the ball’s flight direction is based on the club’s path. Focus on squaring the clubface up at impact.

2. Your Feet.
Your feet control the base of your triangle. For your starting position, your feet should be shoulder-width apart.

Try these tips for a better stance.

Flex your knees, Widen your stance for longer clubs, Bring your stance in for shorter clubs.
Angle your front foot slightly towards your target, Spread your weight evenly, Don’t bend at the waist – use your hips.

Do not try all these tips at once. You will get frustrated and you won’t have a lot of progress. Instead, try them one at a time. Spend one practice at the driving range just flexing your knees or widening your stance. Master that and then move on to the other items.

Your feet should anchor you in your golf swing. Use them to your advantage.

3. Your Face.
Your face controls the side to side motion of your triangle. It’s a myth that you should keep your head down when you swing your club. A golfer’s head should always come up during a golf swing, just after you make contact with the ball.
Follow the ball using the center of gravity. The trick is to keep your crown (top of your head) as level as possible from the start to the finish of your swing. This habit will make sure you have a consistent spine angle and a straight clubhead path to hit straighter and more consistent golf shots.

Simplify.
It’s all about control when you swing your golf club. If you’re having a problem with your swing, you’ve probably forgotten your basics and you’re overthinking it. Control where you put your fingers. Control your stance. Control your face. Do this consistently. Do it at practice. Do it at play. Your swing will improve.

You may be trying to fix too many things at once with your swing. It’s best to bring it back to basics. Take one item at a time and practice that one item. Practice your hand movement one day. Practice enough that you’re comfortable with it and retain muscle memory of it. Then, move on to the second item, such as stance.

In order to get better, though, you have to practice. How much practice is good for your game? Let’s delve into it.

How Often Do You Need to Play Golf To Improve?
Most of us don’t have 20 hours a week to devote to golf practice. We’re not professional golfers or the idle rich. We play when we can or when we can afford it. That being said, you need to practice consistently to be better and ultimately reduce your handicap. For a good balance and to improve your game, go to the driving range once or twice a week and hit the greens a few times a month.

Before you hit the driving range or the course, the most important thing you can do to improve your golf game is to develop a practice plan and follow it through. Start with one item you want to change about your golf game. Perhaps your stance is not where it needs to be. Go to the club and work on your stance. Don’t overthink it. Don’t try for any other skillsets on that day. Just work on your stance until you get it right.

Each day you go to the course, make up a practice plan. Once you’ve mastered one item, incorporate another item into your practice plan until you have a complete swing. Be consistent. This is key.

If you have an hour to spare, head to the driving range and practice your plan. Remember that it’s important to strike a good balance between the driving range and the course. The driving range won’t test you in the same way a course will. You need to increase your experience with both.

Get A Pro.
When you feel you’ve hit a plateau in your game or if you feel you’re worse instead of better, consider golf lessons. Golf pros are there to help you in just these situations.

Golf lessons can vastly improve your game, if you attend them consistently and practice what the pro teaches. Remember that one golf lesson will not correct 10 years of bad habits. And if you’re like most players, you will play well while being coached but forget your lessons during play. So, don’t just sign up for one lesson and never go back.

Sign up with a pro and sign up for extended lessons. This gives the teacher a chance to drill those needed skill sets into you and gives you a chance to absorb them. This is going to be one of the best ways to improve your game.

Enjoy Yourself
You should be enjoying yourself on the golf course or driving range. Loosen up. Don’t overthink. Bring it back to basics. Get a lesson if you need one. Above all, have fun. The best round of golf are those where you’re relaxed and able to enjoy yourself. Hit ‘em straight!