Improve Your Golf Game With 3 Simple Tricks Before Hitting the Ball

What is the difference between a Tour Professional golfer and a 16 handicap? It has less to do with athletic ability and natural born talent, but rather the understanding of their mental/emotional state before hitting a golf ball. The pros know the importance of having a good routine, which includes returning to an appropriate place mentally before hitting the golf ball – controlling their emotions as needed. Here we will break down three very easy ways for anybody to improve their game before hitting the golf ball by building a better routine and controlling emotions.

Picking the Right Target

How often do you make a perfect strike of the golf ball, sending it right where you were aiming, only to have it end up in a hazard or an area that leaves a terrible approach into the green? To me, there is nothing more frustrating than making a poor decision on the course, because on paper it should be easiest part of the game. It does not take any athletic ability to decide where you want to hit the ball. Here are three main things to consider before deciding on your target for each shot:

1.       Best Angle for Next Shot – where do you want to be hitting your next shot from? How can you take hazards out of play for your next shot? Do you have a specific distance you feel most confident from? Based on the pin position, what side on the hole is the easiest approach?

2.       Distance (adjusted) – how far does this ball need to go? Is the target uphill or downhill? Are we into the wind or downwind? How much will the ball roll once it lands?

3.       Hazards – are there any hazards we need to avoid? Based on the distance we need to hit the ball, will the trajectory with that club result in a carry that will take the hazard out of play? Is one side of the hole much safer than the other? Will my normal ball flight work toward or away from the hazard?

Once you answer these questions, you can then make the most informed decision about where you want to hit the ball. The more you focus and ask yourself these questions, the faster they become an automatic part of your routine. Eventually you will find yourself doing this quick analysis without thinking about it.

Having Confidence

Picture the difference in body language between someone that is upset or pessimistic vs. someone that is exuding confidence and positivity. Typically, the person standing over the ball with more confidence has better posture, balance, and focus. Not only will a feeling of confidence greatly improve your critical decision making, but it will also help get you into the right place at setup.

Before you walk up to the ball, ask yourself whether you are feeling pessimistic and uncertain about how your next shot will go, or optimistic and confident? If you are coming off a less than ideal previous shot, you may need to give yourself a little boost. Think back to a time you had a perfect strike of the golf ball, sending it exactly where you wanted. Remind yourself that YOU did that! Now tell yourself that you can certainly do it again. Once you begin feeling confidence in yourself, get into your setup. You should feel yourself standing over the ball in a balanced position with good posture, feeling confident that you will have solid contact. Now go hit a great shot!

Releasing Tension

Do you ever wonder why your worst shots occur when you are feeling nervous over the ball, and your best shots happen when you are loose and swinging easy? The reason is most likely tension. Having too much tension in the body throughout your swing will cost you distance and cause trouble for your ball striking. It is a common problem that most of us face – having to hit a shot to a tight fairway with trees on the left and water on the right. In an effort to gain more control of the club, we grip it harder, and build tension in our upper and lower body. This rarely leads to a good shot. To be successful, we need to trust our swing and remain loose.

Before you get to the ball, take a breath in, and feel the tension leaving your body on the breath out. Tell yourself that you can hit the fairway by trusting your swing. If you often feel yourself becoming more tense while standing over the ball, try to keep something moving before starting your swing. This can be a club waggle, shifting your weight back and forth, rubbing the grip with your thumb, or anything else you find helps to prevent tension from building while standing over the ball. Experiment to find what works best for you and go hit more solid shots!

By practicing these three simple tricks, you will be on your way to better golf and lower scores!