Play With Good Players

One of the best ways to learn how to play better golf is to play with good players.

Golf is a never-ending chase for unattainable perfection. This is what makes golf so much fun. It is also what makes golf so maddeningly frustrating. Break 100 and the quest changes to breaking 90 then 80 and maybe 70. We golfers always search for ways to get better. Maybe it’s trying to add ten yards or learning to putt or chip better. There are myriad ways and thoughts on how to improve. Certainly, taking lessons from a PGA professional will help. Many turn to YouTube or social media for tips and drills. You can try new irons or a new putter or a new driver and maybe they help for a bit bringing a false sense of accomplishment before the old you begins to reappear.

But there is another way to learn how to improve.

In all walks of life, one of the best ways to learn is through observation. By watching someone with more knowledge and experience, you start to learn. You learn about technique and nuance. You learn thought process and simplifying complex tasks.

So, why not do that with golf? I don’t mean watching tour pros on TV. While you can learn from watching golf on TV, it’s a better learning experience spending an entire round on the golf course with better players. You get to see everything, not just the snapshots TV offers.

For an entire round, you get to watch what they do. You get to see every aspect of their game not just some swings on the range or on the first tee. You’ll get to see the good, the bad and the ugly.

Oh, I know you don’t want to play with them. You’re worried what they’ll think. That they are going to pick apart your swing and make fun of it. You’re worried about embarrassing yourself if you skull a wedge over the green or shank a 7-iron into the bunker dead to the right. Or maybe the fear of topping a driver or, worse, whiffing a driver. How about missing a two-footer for double? Maybe it’s all of the above.

Why? Why do you care what they think?

Here’s the dirty little secret: they don’t care what you shoot or what your swing looks like. They are not paying attention to you. I repeat, THEY ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO YOU. They are focused on what they are doing. Most good players have no idea what score you are shooting. They may have a general idea, but they don’t care. And, if they do pay attention and mock you, you learn they are someone you don’t want to play with in the future. More than likely, most good players don’t want to play with them either.

Start with their pre-shot routine. Observe how they prepare to hit the shot. Different players have different routines, but you will notice a good player will perform the same pre-shot routine every time.

Pay attention to how they handle a poor shot. Do they get upset or not? Are they still upset as they prepare for the next shot, or have they moved on to the shot at hand?

If they find themselves in the trees or a difficult lie, how do they plan and play the next shot? Do they get the ball back in play, or do they go for the hero shot?

Watch them as they prepare to hit pitch shots and putts. Observe how they move about and around the green examining slope and turf conditions. Pay special attention to how they setup and play bunker shots.

Overall, notice how a good player approaches playing a hole from club selection on the tee to where they tee the ball up to maximize their natural shot shape. How do they approach holes which have trouble such as water down one side of the hole?

Here’s one more thing you might learn. Not all good players have pretty swings or good technique. I’ve played with high level players who have unconventional swings, but those swings produced quality shots over and over again. They trust their swing can repeat to produce a desired result. Sometimes just a little belief is all you need.

Take all this information and start applying it to your game. Start with the pre-shot routine. Practice it. Develop it. Make it automatic. It sets the brain into gear to hit the shot. Move on to attitude and reaction to poor shots. Apply the best of what you learned to yourself.

Find a better player or a group of better players and start playing with them. Play with as many different good players as possible. Pay attention to what they do. Observe how they approach each shot and learn how you can apply it to your own game. Your game will get better, and the improvements long lasting.

Maybe you’ll learn the one thing that helps you get to that next level.

As always, be thankful when you get to play this amazing game. Be grateful for every shot. Appreciate every moment on the course. Now, go golf!