One thing is for sure you should have a practice goal in mind before you even step foot on the range, putting green, or chipping green. Evaluate the state of your game so you can identify which area needs your attention the most. Once this is done, schedule a lesson, or work on that particular area. For example, if you are struggling with you chipping, don’t spend 80% of your time on the driving range! You would be surprised at how many people actually will do this ! When you arrive to the chipping area simulate real course conditions. What I mean by this is you can toss 5 golf balls in an area, play the ball as it lies, chip each ball then see if you can convert the putt. If you can get the ball up and down 50-75% of the time your scores will plummet.

When you go to the driving range, again simulate course conditions. Pick a specific target that will be your fairway. I can’t tell you how important it is to always have a target for every shot struck on the range. When you play the course every shot is at a target and you need them struck towards a specific target during practice. Even when you are working on swing positions, have a target you are hitting towards. Simply swinging away will accomplish nothing at all.

Give these simple stategic practice thoughts a go and see how it will help you.

If you are really wanting to stay a step ahead of the game this winter I recommend two things for you. First, swing the golf club for at least 10 -20 minutes daily. You can work on everything from your grip, flexibility, posture, etc in such a short amount of time. It is important to keep the golf club feeling comfortable in your hands.

The second thing I want you to do is commit to an instructor and do research before you do so. Let’s face it there are many different ideas and swings that promise you the world all over the Internet today. I can tell you a few proven instructors such as Andy Plummer, Mike Bennett, Mike Bender, Sean Foley would all be on my short list of guys that I would let have a look at my swing. Their teaching and my teaching are almost identical. Tiger Woods has launched into a totally revamped swing with Foley and I can guarantee you the information is going to benefit him immensely.

Have a look for yourself before committing to swing coaches and make sure your move is in the right direction !

Most golfers fail to realize what should happen or mislead when they begin moving towards impact. You should imagine the swing pattern rotating around a fixed point, which is your spine. When this happens the club will make contact with the golf ball when it reaches the apex of the circle and will then continue to exit around and on the circular path. When pressure points of upper arms and torso are maintained you should feel arms and body are working as a unit. If you attempt to swing the golf club towards your target the golf club will then be thrown out of its natural orbit around the body causing speed reduction and also requiring a great deal of timing to square the golf club upon impact.

I suggest you try this drill. Set up to the ball just like you would if you were making a golf swing. From this position turn the torso and arms until your hands are directly in front of your right pocket. Keeping both elbows straight, make the same rotary move back towards the golf ball and over the left pocket. Notice how the hands seem to travel around the waist ( or beltline) . I think you will understand the correct hand path when performing this drill and why you should not swing down the target line during the forward swing. Give it a try !

After we filmed a couple of swings using V1 software it was very apparent how the spine moved down and to the right occasionally in the forward swing. When this happens the low point of your swing moves back(therefore chunked shots) and the hand path will shift out to the right causing blocked shots or flipping through impact to get the clubhead square.

If you struggle with blocked shots you should check two positions. First, monitor your ball position. With this student his ball position was back in his stance promoting his head moving right during the downswing in an effort to feel he was behind the ball at impact. Second, have a friend hold a shaft against your right ear( assuming a right handed player) checking for movement right during the downswing. If you hit the shaft as you move towards the golf ball then you are moving the head back. What you should feel is the right shoulder stays higher through the downswing, not moving back and right.

Give this a go and I think you will begin eliminating blocked shots.

Most golfers fail to realize what should happen or mislead when they begin moving towards impact. You should imagine the swing pattern rotating around a fixed point, which is your spine. When this happens the club will make contact with the golf ball when it reaches the apex of the circle and will then continue to exit around and on the circular path. When pressure points of upper arms and torso are maintained you should feel arms and body are working as a unit. If you attempt to swing the golf club towards your target the golf club will then be thrown out of its natural orbit around the body causing speed reduction and also requiring a great deal of timing to square the golf club upon impact.

I suggest you try this drill. Set up to the ball just like you would if you were making a golf swing. From this position turn the torso and arms until your hands are directly in front of your right pocket. Keeping both elbows straight, make the same rotary move back towards the golf ball and over the left pocket.  Notice how the hands seem to travel around the waist ( or beltline) . I think you will understand the correct hand path when performing this drill and why you should not swing down the target line during the forward swing. Give it a try !

My advice would be for you to chart your rounds so you can monitor statistically where you need improvement. When I was a Touring Professional, statistics where readily available to players because we had markers walking with us to track how many fairways we hit, greens in regulation, putts, sand saves, driving distance, scrambling, and several other categories. After a couple weeks you could compare stats with other players and see in black and white where you need to improve. Most the time you had a pretty good idea, but it helpd to actually see the numbers and where you rated against the competition.

Most golfers neglect short game practice because they find it boring practice. What you may try is taking several golf balls, place them in difficult lies, or attempt shots you may not have had on the golf course. Preparing yourself for different and challenging shots can make for less boring practice sessions.

Once you begin to record stats from several rounds of golf, take a look at the weak areas and spend practice time in that particular area of your game. For example, if you are hitting 10 of 14 fairways and only hitting 5 greens, then iron play should be the primary practice. Putting consistently over 30-32 times a round is certainly a concern you should address.

I know taking the time to chart your rounds will give you the feedback needed to use your valuable practice time wisely.