Golf is a great game. A maddening and often cruel game, but great. Since its inception, golfers have been seeking perfection. Wondering how to get better and shoot lower scores. By following these 7 simple tips, any golfer, whether it’s a beginner at her local club or an elite pro on the LPGA Tour, will see an improvement to their game.
Master the Fundamentals
Grip. Stance. Ball position. Go to any golf lesson and it’s the first thing the pro will drill into you. And with good reason. If you don’t have the fundamentals mastered and setup correctly to the ball, then how can you ever expect to positive results?
The correct grip allows for the clubhead to remain square through impact, optimizing distance and accuracy. A correct stance will improve balance and allow for proper weight transfer. Ball position will affect where in the swing plane the ball will be struck and the amount of compression that will be imparted.
The fundamentals aren’t the sexiest thing in golf. They’re methodical. They’re boring. But those who take the time to master them will see major improvements in their game.
Improve Alignment
Almost tying into Master the Fundamentals is Improve Alignment. If someone isn’t aiming at the target, how can they ever expect to hit the ball AT that target? Ensuring thefeet, hips and shoulders are all aiming at the one place seems like common sense, but it’s often overlooked or forgotten about.
Taking those extra couple of seconds to ensure correct alignment is simple to do and won’t just improve accuracy, it will also give feedback on bad shots. Golfers will start tounderstand more about their shot shape and what their usual “miss” is.
Practice Putting
Putting. The most important part of the game. On average we take around half our shots with the flatstick, yet we don’t practice it enough. By spending a couple of hours each week on the putting green or carpet at home, golfers can build up a solid stroke and better feel. In doing so, they will hole more putts and shoot lower scores.
It is especially important to focus on shorter putts. It is estimated that a 15-handicapper holes 84% of putts from 3 feet, dropping down to only 27% from 8 foot. Improving these statistics alone will save multiple shots per round.
Develop a Pre-Shot Routine
It’s important for golfers to be settled over the ball and in the right frame of mind when hitting a shot. To do this, they should have a pre-shot routine. It doesn’t have to be complicated and could be as simple as standing behind the ball and visualising the shot before hitting it. If it gets the golfer in the zone, that’s all that matters.
The best shot routines are simple and repeatable.
Go to the Range More
Obviously going to the range more is just common sense for any golfer. The great Ben Hogan used to say the secret to his swing “is in the dirt”. In other words, the more he practiced hitting ball after ball, the more he trained his body and muscles to swing the club in that way.
The driving range will help golfers to develop that consistency of swing. They can go through various drills and exercises using aids such as alignment sticks, something they are unable to do on a golf course.
Get Lessons
There really is no better way to improve your golf game than by getting a lesson from an experienced professional. Sure, there are tens of thousands of golf instruction videos on the internet, but these are intended for the mass market rather than to suit individual games and swings.
A teaching professional will immediately be able to spot issues in a swing and work with golfers through a variety of different drills to correct this. They take many different factors into account to ensure the best results.
Keep a Record
This final tip might seem like a tough thing to do but if golfers are really serious about improving, they should keep a record of each round they play and, if possible, each shot they hit.
Doing so will help them figure out exactly what they do right in their rounds and what they do wrong. They can discover weaknesses of their game and even pinpoint how they were feeling at various points of the round. It’s a very in-depth way to look at the game and many might see it as unnecessary, but if a golfer is truly serious about improving then it will be a huge help.
There are the 7 Most Critical Things You Can Do Right Now to Improve Your Golf Game. Time to get practicing and get playing!!!