I am just like you an amateur weekend golfer who would love to be able to get out and play 18 every day, but settles for the weekend and sometimes afternoon weekday round. I struggled for 7 years shooting in the mid to high nineties, and the odd time over a hundred. I hit bucket after bucket of balls at the driving range, never understanding why I couldn't duplicate my performance at the range on the course. It wasn't until I got serious about my golf game and sought out some golf swing instruction that I really began to improve my consistency and my scores.
For me, it wasn't golf lessons that taught me the skills that improved my game, but rather a range of video golf instructions produced by a golf pro that believes in teach amateurs how to play as an amateur and not attempt to get them to swing like the pros.
This article is dedicated to covering a few of the realities about the game of golf and instruction I realized on my journey to become a better golfer and lower my score.
You are not Tiger Woods
I took a couple of private lessons from a local golf pro. He was very nice, and definitely knew his stuff, how ever I felt he wanted me to formulate the perfect swing. I kept hearing different name dropping about the pros and how they swing here and there. To me it seemed kind of silly, I wasn't a pro golfer so why the heck should I be trying to emulate the swing of someone who is.
Don't worry about trying to swing just like the pros. You can learn some great stuff watching a round on the weekend and observing their mechanics how ever remember they hit a thousand balls a day to tweak their performance, when we play only once or twice a week it's difficult to master the game. So learn a swing that fits your skill set and build on it.
The driver is not the be all end all of the game
Remember how I mentioned above how I would whack an entire bucket of balls at the driving range with my driver, only to discover I couldn't emulate the same swing or drive when I was playing a round with my golf buddies. This is a common issue many of us have, when you swing the same club over and over you will tend to get a consistency about you. The darn thing is when we're playing we don't hit our driver fifty times, hopefully on a par 4 or 5 you hit it once off the tee and then it goes back in the bag until the next hole. So why the heck do we start hitting our driver when we're at the driving range? Personally I think it's an ego thing or at least it was for me.
Next time you're at the driving range give this a try, consider you're playing a hole on your favorite course, imagine the layout and the club selection you'd make for each shot. Hit your driver first, or what ever club you'd normally hit on that hole. Then grab the club you'd use for your second shot. If it's a par 5 maybe a long iron, or a fairway wood. Do this right up to the green then start over. This will give you more practice with your varying clubs rather then just hitting aimlessly when you could be having a great practice session.
Each part of the game is different
This took some time for me to understand, and it wasn't until I watched some quality video golf swing instruction that I understood. There is a lot of talk about swing mechanics, correct setup and the likes. This is important for your full swing, and you need to master your technique in order to play consistently, and keep the ball in play. How ever just as important as your full swing is the correct mechanics for a chip or pitch shot, as well as putting. Like I mentioned in the previous point about the driving range not just becoming an expert about one club. Don't do that with your swing technique either.
Spend time learning the correct setup and swing control to make varying length pitch shots. Also while you might think you know all there is to know about putting, learning how to correctly hold the putter and setup for a putt can save you a stroke per hole if you're used to three putting. Your score is made on and around the green.
It was these three realizations that brought me to the next level in my golf game. Once I began treating every hole as separate parts, and learning the required skills to be good at each part my confidence grew. I knew every shot I was going to make (did I make every shot? No but I had the confidence to not doubt myself).
If you're frustrated with your performance, or seem to be stuck and unable to break through a particular barrier with your handicap I suggest looking into golf swing instruction, and if at all possible focus on each part of the game. Your full swing and driver, short game, and putting.
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