Making The Right Choices When You Play Golf
By Paul Wilson
As I was getting ready for my day of teaching the other day,
something hit me as I was putting on my shoes. What hit me was
the many choices golfers have to make in this game. There are
literally hundreds of them. If you think about it for a second,
making wrong choices can severely hamper your game. Hopefully,
in this tip I can get you to make the right choices when they
are presented to you.
The Game of Golf in General
At one moment in your life, golf, as a game, was presented to
you. Maybe you had a parent that played or you saw it on TV.
However you came about it, you made a choice to play it. In
making this choice, you also presented yourself with a lifetime
of fun and/or a lifetime of frustration. If everyday is fun for
you when you go to play, then you made a great choice. If
everyday you go out there and you're frustrated with your swing,
yourself, your clubs, the golf course etc. you didn't
necessarily make a bad choice, you just cannot blame anyone else
or anything for this frustration. Now, in order to turn this
around and thoroughly enjoy your future golfing experiences,
just make some different choices. You cannot keep doing what you
are currently doing.
Clubs and Equipment
The choice you have here is to continue to play with the mis-matched
set of clubs you picked up at that garage sale last year or you
can visit you local club fitter and have your clubs, shafts and
balls fitted to your game. Using the proper equipment is
important to playing good golf so make sure you have your swing
analyzed as soon as you can.
The Golf Course You Play
There are a few ways of looking at this one. A choice here would
be to play at the best golf course that you could afford, or the
best course for doing business at. Another choice would be to
play at the course you liked to play at or encouraged families
to play. If you were trying to become a pro, or better player, I
would suggest joining one that had great practice facilities and
a bunch of better players that are also members. Take a look at
what you want from your course and make the right choice based
on what your needs are.
Learning and Practicing
Making the correct choices here could dramatically improve your
game. The first choice you have to make is how you are going to
go about learning the correct fundamentals of the golf swing.
This could be from reading books, watching DVDs, or regularly
visiting a qualified golf instructor. Keep in mind that
different teachers have different swing techniques that they all
teach. Do some investigating or call them to find out if their
technique is going to mesh with your ability and your
personality. Once you determine which instructor you are going
to go with, you have to decide how much time and effort you are
going to put into it.
I know that today's lives are busy so you don't think that you
have to only do your practicing at the golf course. If you lead
this busy lifestyle, choose to do some of your practicing at
home. You can easily set up a putting/chipping/pitching station.
A wise choice would be to do practice swings in a mirror or
watch your reflection in a window on a nightly basis. You don't
have to let your game suffer just because you can't find the
time to get out to the course.
On the Course
As you take your game to the course, there are a million choices
you have to make. An example could be something as simple as
choosing to line up on one side of the tee box or the other to
hit your drive. Or choosing to take 1 more club than normal to
make sure you get your ball over the trouble. Unfortunately, I
cannot go through everything with you so I have listed a few
below to get you thinking:
1. Choose to practice your full swing plus hit a few pitches,
chips and putts before your round.
2. Choose to swing easier than you have in the past as you warm
up before your round. Just get loose.
3. Choose to forget distance when you go to hit your first drive
of the day, just get the ball in the fairway.
4. Choose to take an extra club when hitting your approach shots
so you don't keep leaving your approach shots short.
5. Choose to ignore the pin and go for the center of the green.
The more greens you hit the more confidence you gain.
6. Choose to get the ball back in play whenever you get into
trouble instead of trying to pull off an impossible golf shot.
7. Choose to forget your score until the round is over.
8. Choose to not pressure yourself. You don't pay for a living
so just have fun out there!
As I said, it is impossible for me to list all of the choices
you are going to have but if you recognized when a choice is
presented to you, and take a little extra time to make a wise
decision, you may find yourself paying some better golf in the
future.
Paul Wilson
Creator - Swing Machine Golf
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