Tips To Help Your Game

THE GAME PLAN

 In today’s Professional game there is a lot of pressure both on the body and on the mind which is why you will see most top Tour stars with an entourage following them, consisting of caddie, swing coach, fitness trainer and mental coach. Of course Tour Professionals need that level of consistency to help them prepare for each tournament and especially the majors. The amateur golfer can take benefit from the Professional game and learn a little about good preparation and mental approach for a tournament and even just a social round with friends.


In order to prepare well some time should be taken the week before a tournament to visit the practice range. When on the range rather than endlessly hitting golf balls for no apparent reason, why not try and practice each shot you will be facing on the golf course. For example start at the first hole on the first tee and go through your round as if you were playing it for real, this then gives you the chance to hit each shot well and gain a positive mental picture for later use. This preparation should be done twice in the week before the tournament date arrives.


Arrive at the course early on the day of the tournament – NO RUSHING AROUND!!! Give yourself some time to have a coffee then go to the practice range and loosen up those tight muscles, after that then head to the putting green to gain some feel for the pace of the greens and again get some confidence in holing putts. Typically I will arrive at a course two hours before my start time. I will have a relaxing coffee for 30 minutes then go to the range for an hour plus and finally go to the putting green for at least forty-five minutes.

Good mental attitude when out on the golf course is imperative to good golf. Being positive is one thing actually controlling you state of mind and understanding it is another. Tour Professionals talk freely about “Getting in the Zone”; well what actually is “the zone”? The “zone” is a neutral state of mind where by your conscious mind is very quiet and your unconscious mind is the one making all the decisions.

Look at it this way lets say that your conscious mind is your boss……the one who makes all the decisions when you are awake, and your unconscious mind is your best friend that has a sole purpose of looking after you and pleasing you. With your best friend looking after you in this state of mind you are closing out all the negative thoughts that your conscious mind (the boss) will try and give you, hence you only have positive thoughts and will hit good golf shots.

There is a lot of practice required to switch on and off this state of mind, a simple way of starting the process and to show you how all this works is, the next time you are asked a question whereby you know the answer but just cant think of it, you know the one that’s on the tip of your tongue. Well the next time you find yourself in that situation try not to think of the answer…….let your mind go blank……….and then carry on with what you were doing before the question was asked. I BET IT WILL JUST COME TO YOU!!!!!

Going back to the preparation and the practice you did on the range before the tournament, it is here that the positive images in your mind that you left the Practice range with need to be used by your unconscious mind in helping you to re-create the shot for real. When in pressure situations you can always take yourself back to the practice range and visualise the shot that you hit and then try and re-produce it.

I have listed some do’s and don'ts of course management as a guide to help on the course.

DO’S

Do establish a game plan before you go out to play.

Do get a correct yardage for each shot to the flag or the centre of the green.

Do know when to attack the hole or when to play defensively.

Do play your own game and let you opponent do the worrying.

DON’T’S

Don’t discard your game plan at the first signs of it going wrong – Stick with it

Don’t attempt a “magical” shot in competition that hasn’t been practiced.

Don’t be fooled by tricky pin positions

Don’t forget it’s a game and just enjoy it.



Try some of the ideas I have put to you……..what do you have to lose?? Only strokes of your handicap.

Top Tip

Practice a single swing change for at least 3 to 4 weeks. According to experts in muscle or more appropriately, motor memory, a single swing change can take a minimum of three to four weeks to ingrain into your swing depending on the complexity of the change, how long you have been doing it wrongly and how long and well you practice. During this time it’s important to only be training the muscles for this single swing change. Follow-up lessons should be for the purpose of monitoring your progress and to ensure body positions and the motion for the change are being practiced correctly. You should not be going to your lessons expecting to learn something new each time.