Golf Like The Pros – Practice Like The Pros

Most golfers will say the hardest part of their game is focus. The mental side of golf is often misunderstood. Do you have a friend that golfs well on every round? Why is that? Practice makes perfect. What they don’t tell you, is what they practice at. They practice at mental toughness; golf has often been referred to as 10% Talent 90% mental. When overcoming that mental side of golf, do you try to change your equipment, the time at which you play, maybe even they guys you play with. Here are some tips that are going to help you be, the golfer, you always wanted to be.

The tempo of golf is often a distraction for golfers, you are stuck behind a slow foursome DISTRACTING or maybe the guys behind you are rushing you DISTRACTING and you feel that pressure to golf faster. Well Tempo of the game should never affect the tempo of your swing. Swing tempo is important if you want consistent results in your game. How do I find my tempo you ask? A golfer can find their tempo by doing these simple things:

SLOW DOWN!! I repeat slow down, everyone thinks the speed at which you swing dictates how far and accurate your ball will move. This is true is some instances, but, for the sake of this article we will not be discussing those concepts. No matter where you are playing or who you are playing with; the tempo you keep is is going to make you take the same back swing, have you contacting the ball the same, and allowing you to follow through the same every time. How are you going to get the tempo? Go to the driving range and practice with one club at a time. Take your driver and hit 20 balls, then take your 9 iron and hit 20 balls work your way in 3W-8I and on until you have hit them all. In your back Swing you want to make sure you are coming to the same point every time. When you contact the ball make sure you are contacting the ball at the same rate of speed with every club. People often think that the club should dictate your tempo, this could not be further from the truth. If you focus on your tempo you will see that by swinging all of your clubs the same your accuracy will improve drastically. When you are working on your follow through it will be the same as your back swing, you will want it to be the same with every club. Your follow through will affect your accuracy a 100% of the time. Working on these simple techniques will improve your mental game and when that improves so does your score.

This is a three step process after you are done at the driving range it is time to head to the chipping green. Work with the deep grass tools first then you can work with the sort grass irons. You need to use every club for at least 100 chips. Start with your wedges in the deeper grass and focus not on getting in the hole but just putting the ball on the green. When chipping just focus on your tempo, using the same stroke every time. Chipping is a tool to get to the green, not a tool to keep you from having to putt. Hitting a home run is great but keeping the ball in play has made many great careers. Chipping will achieve greater results if you shoot for the green not the hole. Now take your 8I and 9I over to the short grass and work on your bump and run. Tempo is still your main focus you are just using a club for a different shot, the tempo is still the same though. Your tempo is what matters!! It would be like you are still hitting one of your wedges, you change clubs not the tempo!!

Putting Putting Putting! This is so hard to understand but why? Now we have gone from the Driving range to the chipping green to the putting green. While practicing don't worry about how far or where the ball goes work on keeping your tempo the same every time. You are never going to change your swing for a putt. The only part about putting that changes is the distance. Start with 10 balls and putt then in from 1ft away from the hole. Move your self out 1ft for every 10 balls you sink in a row. Stay focused on your tempo.

The goal for these exercises is to teach your to go through the same steps every time. You are working on your tempo, your tempo can not be affected by anything because it is yours. When you take the time to build on your tempo you will see results!! The game is 90% mental; set a clock in your mind that only allows for the same tempo no matter when or where you are golfing. When your body starts to do the same thing every single time, your mind will become more focused on the task at hand.