We’re surrounded by promises of how to improve our golf; clubs that travel further and straighter and tips that will transform all elements of your game by following a few simple instructions.
But the bottom line is that we’re all different and we all know our games better than anyone else.
We might not like to admit them at times but we know where we’re losing shots and why our handicaps aren’t a couple of shots lower.
Mental performance coach Duncan McCarthy has worked with tour players for 15 years, with winners on all the main tours, and he provides some easy-to-follow instruction on how to make some simple gains this coming season.
‘The obvious answer is stats but, for your average golfer, you’re probably not going to keep stats. And if you do keep the basic ones, they might not tell the real story. So let’s assume that you don’t keep stats and you have to go off feeling what your weakest point is.
“What’s the one area of your game that you’re constantly frustrated with? That’s probably a good way of looking at your weaknesses because you’re not going to be frustrated with your strength.
So, if you don’t have stats and you just want to play your Saturday golf, and you go to the range once a week, how do you identify how you can maybe use that time better?
“Whatever element(s) of the game that it is, then it’s important to go, right, what’s the evidence? Go through your last few rounds and, for example, if you keep fatting your chips then it might (will) be technical so go and have a lesson to have something positive to think about.
“Or it might only happen when you’re scoring well, so it might be mental (and technical!). You’ll find that you go into future-led thinking and the end result and then things go awry.
Whatever it is, we need to think how to improve this in our practice.
How to improve
The first thing is to keep it simple, just doing one thing at a time and not trying to do it all at once.
So, for a month, just work on one thing. Be strict with yourself. At the driving range we jump around with all our clubs and end up hitting too many drivers when that might be the best part of our game.
So, for the next five visits, have a drill that you’re going to do over and over and over. So if it’s ball position, if it’s a swing mechanic, if it’s from a mental standpoint or not hitting a golf shot until you’re clear on what you want to do, just do that.
Then, at the end of that period, assess things. Have you improved? If not but there are signs that you’re moving in the right direction, keep doing it.
Don’t judge after every shot, good or bad, but look at it as a collective.
A pre-shot routine
Many of us still don’t pay attention to this but you can get this spot on every single shot.
If you’re at the range then you don’t have to do this with every ball but I would have an amount of your session where you say, right, I’m going to call the golf shot that I want to play, or I’m going to create a picture of what I want to play before I step in.
So if you’re on a range, there’s always the mat. Step off it. Stand behind and paint a picture of what you would love the ball to do. Realistically, not Rory McIlroy, but realistically what you’d love the ball to do.
Once you have that picture, go see if you can play it. And that would be a great place to start from. Step on the mat and go and play the golf shot.
What if you’re not someone who doesn’t work very well visually? Talk to yourself. Instruct yourself.
Right, I’m going to hit it over this flag, nice and high. Or I’m going to aim it just over here and it’s going to cut back. So you’re almost being your own caddy.
A good caddy would say, what are you going to do here? And you’d say, I’m going to start it on that bunker and fade it off it. So if you’re not visual, be vocal to yourself.
About Duncan McCarthy
Duncan is a mental performance coach who works across all sports including women’s Major champion Ashleigh Buhai.
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