Trouble at the Golf Course?
By Jonathan McFall
Do you find yourself struggling out on the golf course at some of the basic things? Do you find yourself constantly doing one thing right then immediately following it with a mistake? If this is you, here a short guide with some tips to improving your golf game and how well you play.
First, I would suggest going to a simple course to play, and if you can’t play at a course find a driving range. While playing this round or hitting golf balls, try not to pay much attention to your score, while figuring out what you do right and what you do wrong. For instance, some golfers can hit the ball a mile off the tee, but once they get close to the green, everything goes to shambles. Understanding what is good and bad about your golf game, gives you areas of improvement that can be worked on.
If you are having trouble with your driver, fairway woods, or longer irons, then spend more time working on them at the driving range. Don’t just hit ball after ball on the range and not think about what is going on. Practice your swing before and after you hit a ball. Taking notice of the ball flight and how your body is while you are swinging allows you to make the changes needed to get the proper ball flight. For your driver, if you tend to pop the ball up in the air a lot, then move the ball further back in your stance. Also, making sure that your hands are not too far open or closed can help to give you a straighter ball flight. For your longer irons, moving the ball further up in your stance can help as well.
Trouble with your short game is not hard to fix either. For some of your shorter irons, moving the ball further back in your stance as your iron loft gets higher can help. Most driving ranges have a practice green with bunkers and rough surrounding them. Put a few golf balls down around the green and pick out a certain area or flag on the green. Try hit the balls as close as you can to your target while trying different types of shots, such as a flop shot or a bump and run. If you happen to be at your home, grab one of your favorite wedges and throw some golf balls on the ground. Pick out several targets in your yard and hit shots to them just as you would if you had your own practice green. The same concept can apply to putting at the practice green. Find a target hole, and put down 5-7 golf balls. Try and hit each ball as close as possible, and as a test, don’t move on to a new target until each of the balls comes within around three feet of your target.
If you are struggling with your golf game, your first step is to identify what is good about your game and what can be improved on. Once you figure out your problems on the course, actions can be taken to correct the problems. Most of the time, these problems can be corrected at the driving range if the proper attention is giving to each problem.
Tags: ball position, driver, driving range, golf course, golf swing setup, golf tips, practice, short game
