I have always enjoyed gardening and have always had a vegetable garden even as a kid. I learned at an early age that in order to “reap the harvest” that you had to continuously “nurture what you grow.”
Healthy plants require good soil, plenty of water, fertilizer to stimulate healthy growth, and of course, constant weeding.
Your golf game is similar to growing a successful garden. You get exactly out of both what you put in.
To improve your game this season, you need to do a couple of important things. First you need to make sure that you have the right balance between play and practise. One round of golf for each round of practise is a good place to start. To sharpen your game add an extra practise session each week so that you can fine tune your short game. I like working on making up and downs from just off the putting surface.This type of drill will help improve both your skills and confidence around the greens.
Next, take notes about each round when you play. To lower your scores, you need to understand where you are giving away strokes. Every hole, keep track of the number of fairways you hit, the number of greens hit in regulation, total putts as well as how many birdies, pars, bogies, and double bogies you make each round.
Take your score card to the practise range, so that you can focus on the shots that you gave strokes away the previous round.The practise range is the best place to make changes and “fine tune” your swing.
Some golfers can make the correct adjustments when they practise, while others need another “set of eyes.” So the next time you are working on your game at the range, either bring a friend that understands your swing or have a trained professional look at your swing. If you are making changes or adjustments in your game, make sure that they are correct adjustments.
The next time you play, have a game plan. Look at the stats that you posted last time out and “raise the bar“. Look to hit more fairways and greens in regulation and make fewer putts. It is like the old saying, take care of the nickels and dimes and the dollars will take care of themselves.
You sometimes need to be patient with yourself. One practise round might simply not be enough to correct your swing. A second trip back to the range might be all you need to have your swing “blossom”.
Summer is finally here and it is about time to post some good scores. There is nothing better than the feeling of accomplishment you get after working hard on your game. That same sense of pride that you get when your friends and neighbours tell you how beautiful your yard and garden looks!
Next Week: Getting Your Kids Into Golf
Cameron Burechails (Teaching Professional), The Georgian Bay Golf Academy at Meaford Golf Club (705)441-0865 baygolfacademy@bell.net or www.meafordgolf.com
