Does Practice Always Make Perfect on the Golf Course?
Golf is a game played with the body but won with the mind – so you need to practice both areas because remember what Einstein said – the definition of insanity is to keep doing what you have always done and expect different results.
So New Year – New Golfing YOU!
My aim here is to not tell you how to practice or indeed to give you some advice on the skills and techniques you need, but to get you to appreciate why practicing is so important. It will be the mind that usually talks you out of practicing with a ton of excuses as to why it isn’t necessary or important.
It’s a New Year, so it is a great time to have a plan (especially over the next few months) before the golfing season starts properly in March/April, so you can head out knowing that you are firing on all levels with your golf.
This article is not going to concentrate on your plan, or with any technical areas - I suggest you book a session with your Club Professional and get him or her to help on that one. Make sure though you review all areas of your game, from your swing to putting, and create an action plan that will help you to work on those areas you feel need the most attention over the next few months. Winter is a great time to practice – summer is the time to play and enjoy!
What I want to concentrate on in this article is the importance of practice from a psychological stand point and how it will help your confidence. We all know we play better when we are feeling confident about ourselves and our game.
First of all, one of the pitfalls is that it is human nature to practice that which you enjoy the most – that is why you see so many amateur golfers down the driving range slugging away with their driver. This does not necessarily make them any better off the tee but boy is it good fun!
This of course is not going to help their score card in the least but as a stress buster it is great – the problem is the amount of times I hear - ‘Why can’t I hit it off the tee like I can at the Driving Range?’
The main reason for this is there is no consequence to hitting balls on the driving range and if you get one wrong you just go onto your next ball out of a basket of 60! From the point of view of the mind it is not like hitting the ball in a round of golf or during a competition at all because you only have ONE BALL and that has to get into that hole in the shortest amount of shots possible. You cannot say ‘Oh not happy with that one I will take another shot off the tee!’ That is why it is difficult to translate those shots from the driving range to your game on the golf course.
There are ways you can practice at the driving range to make the conditions as real as if you were playing a round. Again ask your Club Professional as they will be able to suggest ways to make your practice sessions more realistic.
So why is it then that those areas of your game that you aren’t good at are those you will most probably practice the least? Why do we avoid those things that we know we are not good at, yet these are the skills we should be practicing the most?
The simple answer to this is - getting better at something takes time, hard work and effort.
We all know the importance of practice, so in this section we are going to look at the mental blocks that often get in the way of us practicing and more importantly, practicing wisely. It is also my aim that by bringing awareness to you, you can start to change some of the beliefs you have created that support your reasoning that "practice is not important or not needed".
If you are expecting me to wave a magic wand on this subject, then you are going to wait a long time. I am afraid in this particular instance nothing can make up for putting a bit of time and energy into a plan that will help keep you on track to achieve your golfing goals this year.
I want you to ask yourself the following question - if you made a conscious decision to spend some quality time practicing how would that help your game this year? Self-reflection is one of the key qualities that make a true champion.
So back to the subject of practicing; the reason why I think it is so important to think about this subject now is because it will not only improve your skill set but when your skills improve so does your CONFIDENCE!
The real key here is practice by its very nature is repetitive so when done correctly it will help give your sub-conscious mind the support it needs to make good play as automatic as changing the gears on your car. Your mind absolutely loves routine.
Things You Can Do Now
TIP 1: Make any practice situation as realistic as possible. When practicing your short game or putting use only one ball and always have the intention of getting the ball in the hole as if you were playing the shot. For your tee shots and irons ask your Club Professional to set goals to practice on the driving range which will emulate the sort of pressure you feel when playing a round.
TIP 2: Get yourself a hard covered journal to write in and get into the habit after every game of writing down and re-living your best shots. This will help you gain confidence in how you play and give your sub-conscious mind the chance to remember the good shots. This will make it easier to visualise playing well when you need some positive mental in-put the most – during play!
Finally, choosing to remember all the great shots you have made in the past will definitely help you to start changing any negative perception you have about your game.
REMEMBER: You become what you think about most of the time so make a New Year’s resolution to STOP thinking negatively about any part of your game and start supporting your self-belief by choosing to remember all the good stuff!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
About the Author
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Till next week ...
Gail Smirthwaite
GOLF MIND GURU
www.golfmindguru.com
