Performance Secret by Kendal Putman – GolfTEC Coach and Assistant Store Manager, Houston, TX — from the January Momentum Newsletter.
How many hours have you spent on the range hitting hundreds or even thousands of golf balls, only to find that during your next lesson you have made little to no progress with your swing? This is not only frustrating, but a waste of time and money. Here are a few steps you can take to increase the effectiveness of both your lessons and practice sessions.
During your lesson
Every successful lesson includes a key thought that is stressed repeatedly. You and your Coach should strive to find that key feeling or thought that will help you achieve your goal. This feeling is very important and different for everyone. Be sure that you understand what the swing is supposed to look like and make sure to ask questions if you are unsure of what your Coach is looking for!
During your practice session
The main thing to remember: practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent. If you are practicing the wrong things, it will do no good. Below are three key points to focus on during your practice:
- Stay on track – A lot of clients get into their practice sessions and spread themselves too thin. If you are able to dedicate a half-hour to practice, make sure you focus on one swing thought. Avoid spending ten minutes on three different things. If you are on the range, use the one feeling that helps you achieve your goal. That feeling is the only thing you should rely on outside.
- Practice with video – This is extremely important if you want to improve mechanics. Many people struggle to identify the difference between “feel and real.” Most of the time what people feel they are doing in the swing is not what they are actually doing. Using video will help develop a better awareness and understanding for what you are actually doing. This understanding is key to your ability to “bring the swing to the course.”
- Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better – A lot of clients work on a particular swing flaw and abandon it when they don’t see immediate results. This can only hurt your progress! More often than not there is more than one thing wrong in your golf swing. When you change one flaw, the compensations you were using due to that flaw may no longer work. The best thing to do is to maintain a consistent thought when practicing no matter what the result. Consult your Coach during your next lesson to get back on track.
By using these simple practicing habits you will be able to make better use of your time, and not only get a lot more out of your practice sessions, but more out of your lessons as well!
