Getting Better

Besides Lessons, Practice and Playing More 5 Ways to Get Better

There are many ways to try and get better at this game we love. “I need to get a lesson,” or “I need to practice more,” or “I need to play more,” are the three most common answers golfers give when I have asked them how they can get better. Those all have their place and are certainly beneficial.

But there are other ways golfers can get better, too. I have said it before in prior newsletters; lessons can be expensive; time constraints can limit practice and playing time.

You may be thinking this is crazy talk. How can I possibly get better at golf without lessons, practice and playing time? As I said at the beginning, these all have their place and are important. But there are other things you can do to enhance the effect of lessons, practice and playing.

1. Internal thinking/focus - Internal thinking or focus involves making a specific movement like clearing the left hip on the downswing or making a full shoulder turn. This can be great to learn this specific movement, but it can be disastrous thinking about this on the golf course if it becomes the focus. When practicing, it focuses the mind on what movement needs to be improved. On the golf course, focusing on the movement pulls the mind’s focus away from the task at hand which is to hit the ball to the target. The majority of golfers use internal thinking most of the time when they are practicing and playing. Many golfers would benefit greatly by being able to keep internal thinking to one swing thought.

2. External thinking/focus - External thinking/focus places focus on something outside the body. For instance, when practicing, if I’m trying to improve my contact by taking a divot after striking the ball, my focus changes to making this happen. This does not require focus on a physical action within the golf swing like it does with internal thinking. On the course, external thinking takes into account lie, wind, uphill, downhill, sidehill, etc. and focuses the mind on how to incorporate this information to hit the ball to the target. A simple way to explain external thinking on the course is don’t think swing thoughts, think target. External thinking/focus is preferable when playing. When a player is fully in external thought/focus, it is referred to as being “in the zone.”

3. Play with better players - This is hard for a lot of golfers because it takes them outside of their comfort zones which is part of the purpose of playing with better players. Being uncomfortable and learning how to deal with it helps players improve. The more you put yourself in this uncomfortable situation, the more comfortable you get with it. It is also beneficial watching better players and learning how they approach the game, how they play certain holes, how they react to good and bad shots.

4. Track your rounds - Make notes during the round. Write down what you felt when you hit a poor shot, what you felt when you hit a good shot, what thoughts crept into your mind on certain shots. Was the shot you hit out of bounds a mental error or was it just a bad swing? What part of your game was spot on for the round? What part of your game was not very good? After a few rounds, there will likely be a pattern which develops reveling strengths and weaknesses. Knowing weak parts of your game will allow you to be more efficient with your practice time.

5. Let your mind wander when you play - It takes a lot of energy to focus the mind intently on anything for 3, 4 or 5 hours. In between shots, focus on the trees, the sky, birds singing. Have a conversation with a playing partner about a restaurant or sports or whatever else besides golf in between shots. This helps the mind reset and then be able to focus intently once it’s time to play a shot. This may be one of the reasons so many golfers like to have music playing while they play. It helps clear the mind and reset focus.

These are a few ways to get better at playing golf outside of lessons, practice and more rounds. Try to incorporate at least one of these going forward. It will help improve your game.

As always, be grateful when you play. Be thankful for the privilege and opportunity to play this amazing game. Now, go golf!