10 Reasons You Aren't Improving At Golf
In this video and post below Neil Tappin and Alex Elliott are going to look at the top-10 reasons why golfers do not get better at golf.
This will range from the mental challenges we face out on the golf course to some of the toughest shots that may be costing you.
Without further ado, let's get to it...
10. Making swing changes mid-round
This is a slippery slope especially if you decide to make a swing change and then hit a good shot. It can actually have a detrimental impact on your game in the long-term.
We would actually recommend keeping things simple during play, especially when it comes to swing thoughts. For example Alex uses two, one for the backswing and one for the downswing, both of which are easy to do.
Importantly, he does not use anything technical and does make any changes when on the course.
9. Distance
As we all know, having distance is a huge advantage and those that don't have it will find it harder to lower scores and handicap.
This is because these players will be hitting more long irons which are obviously harder to hit than shorter ones, and therefore proximity to the hole may be significantly greater.
As such, be sure to take a look at our YouTube channel where we have done videos on how to hit the ball further.
8. Being too hard on yourself
We all know golfers who do this and put themselves under way too much pressure to perform.
The very nature of golf means it is hard to play our best golf and when we don't we all get a little wound up because we invest so much time and money into the game.
The solution here, according to Alex, is to manage your expectations. Sometimes we play our best when we just go onto the course and tell ourselves to just enjoy it and see what happens. Or we may have lower expectations of ourselves and therefore play our best as a result.
7. Not tracking your stats
There is a lot of really valuable information available to you these days. This does not have to be massively complicated either as you could just keep track of your fairways hit, greens in regulation, when you miss is it more left or right, and so on.
Knowing these things will allow you to know what you need to work on, as well as how to strategise on the course as well.
6. Not having the right equipment for your game
The big mistake here relates to irons. You need to make sure you have the correct length and lie angle to help you play better.
If a club is too long, and the lie angle is too upright then the ball will in all likelihood launch a little bit left and this would get greater with the short irons.
If the lie angle is too flat then we will see shots start to the right.
Another mistake relates to the driver. We all fall into the mistake of needing the stiffest shaft and lowest loft whereas optimising both of these things for your game could yield better results.
5. Keeping things simple on the green
In putting, we often make things a lot more complicated than they need to be. A lot of players try to be too 'perfect' and as a result have no flow to their strokes.
Alex's top tip to get flow in the stroke relates to grip pressure and getting the hands as comfortable as possible on the putter grip. Then he takes a couple of practice strokes looking at the hole to tune his senses into what he needs to do on the putt.
4. Strategy
This comes down to the eight out of ten rule. What is that you ask?
Well this relates to shots you face on the golf course and whether it is a shot you feel you can pull off eight times out of ten. If not then it is perhaps an indication that you need rethink either the club or where you are aiming.
3. Not warming up
A lot of us are guilty of not warming up before getting on the first tee and this could be the reason you are not improving.
A common problem here is time as many of us don't have a lot of time to warm up before our tee times. As such Alex recommends doing five minutes putting, five minutes chipping, and then finish off a little bit on the range before heading straight to the first tee.
Many of us do the reverse of that but it makes more sense to do the driving range work last because it is the first thing you will do on the first tee.
If you don't have any practice facilities, then do some stretching to prepare the body for golf.
2. Not working on scoring shots
At every level of golfer, every player should be working on scoring shots which are most common with pitch shots and around the green.
A problem Alex sees a lot is players going straight for the most lofted club when around the green but this shouldn't be the case. Running the golf ball and chipping with different clubs is an important skill.
Technique wise he recommends putting the ball slightly back in the stance and having a narrow stance as well.
1. Practice
Most players don't use the range in the best way possible because they usually just hit 100 golf balls way too quickly.
Therefore the practice isn't efficient and does not really prepare you for when you are next on the course.
Alex uses visualisation in his practice, by playing the hardest hole at his club in his head. This narrows his focus and forces him to hit the shots he needs to when he is actually on the course next time.
He also recommends sticking to your pre-shot routine when on the range as well.
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