My Progress So Far
I have improved from 24 handicap to 13 handicap in 18 months. I’ve broken 80 three times this year and had a hole in one! It’s not amazing I know, but it is a massive improvement and for most golfers it is a realistic and achievable goal to set yourself. I’ve played once a week (sometimes twice) and I’ve practiced in my kitchen or garden (not hitting balls) just practising swing positions and doing golf specific exercise drills with only the odd trip to the range (usually during the long summer evenings when you can also play a few holes after work).
Here follows a list of the top 10 things that have worked for me so far:
Swing model - simple swing exercises. I have used the simple 4 stage swing model from the Knightsbridge Golf School as the model for my swing and have re-built my swing from the ground up. It’s still not the finished article by any means, but there have been more than the occasional flash of brilliance this year ( ;-) ) and the bad shots aren’t as bad as they used to be! I have also had lessons from time to time as I happen to live in London. I could not recommend them highly enough.
Never, ever, ever think about the mechanics of your swing whilst playing - it is impossible to do this and to swing freely and well. It is also hard to do this (or not do this) when you are making changes to your swing. I have persevered and am getting slowly better at not thinkning about it during a round.
Only having one swing thought - The Target - This has really worked for me in all areas of my game. Especially in chipping and pitching where I now focus on where the ball has to land for it to roll out to the target.
Developing a consistent pre-shot routine during practice and play.
Pete Cowen’s Pyramid of Learning - An Advanced Swing Lesson - writing these articles for Golf International and producing a Golf DVD with Pete improved by knowledge of the golf swing by a factor of 500%!
Pete Cowen’s Ripple Effect DVD - I now know how to play a bunker shot properly using my arms and body not my hands. This makes life so much easier.
Singing/Humming on the golf course - helps take my mind off all thing swing mechanics! (See my post on this topic).
Practising properly - working on all aspects of the game. That means Putting, Short Game (including bunkers), swing - in that order of priority and giving more than 70% of my time to the short game and putting. I had never realised that since 40%+ of your shots are putts during a round, a 5% to 10% improvement in your putting can shave several shots off your score.
Mental game - I’ve read all of Karl Morris’s mental game lessons and read his book. I’ve also read Raymond Floyd’s excellent book called “The Elements of Scoring” plus Timothy Gallway’s “The Inner Game of Golf”. More than anything else, I refer to them time and time again.
Making notes. Writing a little diary of what I have been working on, what has worked, how I have played and so on. If I get more time then I may make more of these notes online.
That’s all for now. I’ll post some more golf tips and free golf video content here from time to time, in the meantime do join me in my quest to help everyone play better golf by posting the top 10 things that have helped you improve.
Here follows a list of the top 10 things that have worked for me so far:
Swing model - simple swing exercises. I have used the simple 4 stage swing model from the Knightsbridge Golf School as the model for my swing and have re-built my swing from the ground up. It’s still not the finished article by any means, but there have been more than the occasional flash of brilliance this year ( ;-) ) and the bad shots aren’t as bad as they used to be! I have also had lessons from time to time as I happen to live in London. I could not recommend them highly enough.
Never, ever, ever think about the mechanics of your swing whilst playing - it is impossible to do this and to swing freely and well. It is also hard to do this (or not do this) when you are making changes to your swing. I have persevered and am getting slowly better at not thinkning about it during a round.
Only having one swing thought - The Target - This has really worked for me in all areas of my game. Especially in chipping and pitching where I now focus on where the ball has to land for it to roll out to the target.
Developing a consistent pre-shot routine during practice and play.
Pete Cowen’s Pyramid of Learning - An Advanced Swing Lesson - writing these articles for Golf International and producing a Golf DVD with Pete improved by knowledge of the golf swing by a factor of 500%!
Pete Cowen’s Ripple Effect DVD - I now know how to play a bunker shot properly using my arms and body not my hands. This makes life so much easier.
Singing/Humming on the golf course - helps take my mind off all thing swing mechanics! (See my post on this topic).
Practising properly - working on all aspects of the game. That means Putting, Short Game (including bunkers), swing - in that order of priority and giving more than 70% of my time to the short game and putting. I had never realised that since 40%+ of your shots are putts during a round, a 5% to 10% improvement in your putting can shave several shots off your score.
Mental game - I’ve read all of Karl Morris’s mental game lessons and read his book. I’ve also read Raymond Floyd’s excellent book called “The Elements of Scoring” plus Timothy Gallway’s “The Inner Game of Golf”. More than anything else, I refer to them time and time again.
Making notes. Writing a little diary of what I have been working on, what has worked, how I have played and so on. If I get more time then I may make more of these notes online.
That’s all for now. I’ll post some more golf tips and free golf video content here from time to time, in the meantime do join me in my quest to help everyone play better golf by posting the top 10 things that have helped you improve.
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