"Relax! - It's Only A Game!"
The first point I want to make is quite simple to say and tell others to do, but it’s so very hard to actually put into practice. Relax.
I really can’t make it any simpler than that. Golf is fun. Golf is a way to slow down your world and take a few deep breaths. Not to become a place where you put even more stress on your shoulders.
One of the fundamentals that I learned when I first picked up a club is having a loose grip on the club is a basic must. A looser grip means better control over your swing. But, when you’re concerned about your distance, your stance, hooking or slicing, then your hands, your arms, your shoulders, your hips and legs will naturally tense up and not be as fluid as you need them to perform a flawless, fluid swing and follow through.
You can knock a few strokes off your game instantly if you just take the time to empty your head of how your stance is and just naturally let your body take over.
Now, I’m not saying that an incorrect stance is OK. The basics always apply, your feet shoulder width, knees bent, shoulders over your legs, torso and back straight. But, that all comes with practice and becomes habit after done correctly so many times. Once you have your stance and your swing down, leave it.
Stop worrying about changing it. There’s only one way to swing a club correctly for the best accuracy and distance.
The same thing goes for putting. Yes, there’s a lot of pressure with putting. It’s the part of your game that can really tack on the extra strokes, but that’s usually attributed to the extra pressure you put on yourself. Take your time, breathe a little.
Line up your shot, without over analyzing it. Read the green, without trying to read too deeply into physics and angles.
Take a few practice swings, take a deep breath, step up to the ball and putt. Chances are you’ve locked right onto the cup. Watch the next TV tournament, and you’ll see the pros missing more close putts than they do the fifteen to twenty yard putts.
During the tournament, and seeing how poorly I was doing, I thought I could make up a few strokes if I could only sink a long 20 foot putt. Now, a long putting game is, and will continue to be, a weakness of mine. I simply can not sink it. I know it will take at least two shots. But, I was thinking of my score.
I put too much into the putt and ended up another 10 feet behind the cup. Thus making a double bogie on a par four hole. My head was too far into that putt that there was going to be no other outcome.
The first point I want to make is quite simple to say and tell others to do, but it’s so very hard to actually put into practice. Relax.
I really can’t make it any simpler than that. Golf is fun. Golf is a way to slow down your world and take a few deep breaths. Not to become a place where you put even more stress on your shoulders.
One of the fundamentals that I learned when I first picked up a club is having a loose grip on the club is a basic must. A looser grip means better control over your swing. But, when you’re concerned about your distance, your stance, hooking or slicing, then your hands, your arms, your shoulders, your hips and legs will naturally tense up and not be as fluid as you need them to perform a flawless, fluid swing and follow through.
You can knock a few strokes off your game instantly if you just take the time to empty your head of how your stance is and just naturally let your body take over.
Now, I’m not saying that an incorrect stance is OK. The basics always apply, your feet shoulder width, knees bent, shoulders over your legs, torso and back straight. But, that all comes with practice and becomes habit after done correctly so many times. Once you have your stance and your swing down, leave it.
Stop worrying about changing it. There’s only one way to swing a club correctly for the best accuracy and distance.
The same thing goes for putting. Yes, there’s a lot of pressure with putting. It’s the part of your game that can really tack on the extra strokes, but that’s usually attributed to the extra pressure you put on yourself. Take your time, breathe a little.
Line up your shot, without over analyzing it. Read the green, without trying to read too deeply into physics and angles.
Take a few practice swings, take a deep breath, step up to the ball and putt. Chances are you’ve locked right onto the cup. Watch the next TV tournament, and you’ll see the pros missing more close putts than they do the fifteen to twenty yard putts.
During the tournament, and seeing how poorly I was doing, I thought I could make up a few strokes if I could only sink a long 20 foot putt. Now, a long putting game is, and will continue to be, a weakness of mine. I simply can not sink it. I know it will take at least two shots. But, I was thinking of my score.
I put too much into the putt and ended up another 10 feet behind the cup. Thus making a double bogie on a par four hole. My head was too far into that putt that there was going to be no other outcome.
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