Monday, March 1, 2010

Are you improving at golf?

Simple question but I think it is a fairly important one.

What is the measure of our improvement in golf? Is it about hitting a long drive way past your playing partner? Is it a about hitting a wedge from 140 yards? It could well be the fact that you have not hit it the lake you normally do for the last 5 rounds. Is it changing your swing from a 2 plane method to a one plane method?

For me as a golf coach I measure the success of my pupil’s by

• A reduction in their stroke average/improvement in their stats
• Reaching or surpassing pre set goals/targets
• Have they enjoyed the game more?


I hope you noticed there was no mention of improving how their swing looked, or improving their ball striking.

Having a great looking swing is nice, but that’s about it. It's nice.
My first golf pro told me “a good golf swing is one that works efficiently and repeats under pressure.”

To this day I still teach with this thought in my head, I ask myself, am I making this pupils swing nicer to the eye or am I improving him/her as a golfer?
Keep that in mind also folks, this game is about the score you have and nothing else. It is called a scorecard because that’s where we record how well we have done in the round.

If the scorecard can record our scores and tell us how well we have done why do we not carry scorecards to practice? Is it not important to also study how well we have practiced? Or should practice just be about, did I hit it good or did I hit it badly?

Trying to be subjective about your golf game is difficult. Let statistics be your friend. Score your practice sessions. Check out www.linxtracker.com for more help.

Using a programme like Linxtracker can only help you understand your weaknesses but it also allows you to be honest in your assessment of how you are doing. Using this information and discussing it with your golf pro will allow you to work on the areas of your game that are important, and also help you

• Improve your scores
• reach /surpass your goals
• enjoy your game more


Happy golfing

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