Guest post by Clifton Stewart
Golfing can be such a frustrating game. It can also be an extraordinarily rewarding and satisfying game. You could go 9 straight holes of nothing but bad shots and mishits. Frustration mounts to the point where you convince yourself that you hate golf and will never play it again. Then, in one shot, everything changes. You hit a shot so clean the sound is exhilarating, and the ball lands dead center of the green just a few feet from the pin.
The frustration, so prevalent just 30 seconds earlier, is a distant memory, and you begin scheduling in your head when you’re going to play next week. It’s amazing how one good shot can wipe away dozens of terrible shots in your mind.
The majority of golfers spend most of their time hitting bad shots with the occasional really good shot here and there. But it doesn’t have to be this way. For one golf season, I implemented two things that helped me improve more in a few months than I had in the previous several years. And these are two things anybody can implement starting next week (weather permitting).
Go to the Driving Range Weekly
The driving range is relatively inexpensive, and many driving ranges offer a punch card, or a season pass to make it even more affordable. It also doesn’t take too much time. You can easily hit through a bucket of balls in under 30 minutes if you want. Commit to going once every week. If you can do more, that’s even better, but just once a week will do wonders for your consistency.
Find a driving range that’s on the way home from work or some other place you visit at least once a week. Then decide on the day and time you are willing to commit to going, and then put it on your schedule. Pick one club to practice each time you go, maybe two if they are similar clubs (e.g. 8-iron and 9-iron). Be sure you rotate through your clubs, giving equal practice time to each one. And golf balls hit on the range as a warmup before playing a round of golf do NOT count!
Record Your Swing Often
Virtually every cell phone these days comes equipped with a high definition camera. This makes it easier than it has ever been to record anything you want. So, let’s use that camera to record you swinging a golf club. When you’re at the driving range, you can prop your phone up against your golf bag, or you could get a little tripod.
When you’re out on the course, have a member of your group video your swings, every swing if possible. At the very least, make sure you get a recording of you swinging every club in your bag, every round. You can get cell phone mounts that attach to the bars on the golf cart. They are easily adjustable and can be quickly rotated to make sure your swing will be in view. They can also transform your cart from a no GPS to a built-in GPS cart. You can check out other great accessories and equipment for golf at https://www.golftreasury.com.
The technology available at our fingertips makes it so easy to record your golf swing. Every golf swing if you choose. You can learn so much about how you swing a golf club, bad habits and tendencies, that you just couldn’t learn any other way. Even if somebody else can spot them, they still must be able to communicate it to you in a way that you can envision it in your head and that is easily comprehensible. When you see it for yourself, your brain comprehends it almost immediately.
Conclusion
Some of you may be balking at my promise of marked improvement for spending 30 minutes or less every week at the driving range and recording your swing consistently. Others of you are wondering where you’re going to find the time to spend 30 minutes every week hitting golf balls at the range and watch your golf swing. What I can tell all of you is, if you commit to doing these two things, you will be amazed at the improvements that will manifest in your golf game. You will develop into a much better golfer.
Author Bio : Clifton is a husband and a father of two. He has been playing golf his whole life and is passionate about the sport. He enjoys golfing with family and friends and loves helping others find their passion for golf. He is also a junkie for the latest and greatest in golf equipment, technology and gadgets, much to his wife’s dismay.
golf is more than just a game