When someone asks you how your game is, how often do you judge how you feel about your swing versus what your skills are at playing the game? There is a difference between the mechanics of the golf swing, putting stroke or chipping a ball vs the skills to play those different shots. Unfortunately, for many of us it is a bit confusing. Here’s why, golf instruction fills our heads with the idea that if you have a perfect swing or putting stroke you will hit great shots and never miss a putt.
It is great to work towards having quality mechanics for sure, however if you do not have the time to make your swing better, I would say you may be working on the wrong thing for better golf. Golf is hard enough even for the best players in the world to control their golf ball greater than 50% of the time. If you only have a few minutes a week to work on your game, I suggest working on the skills of hitting the shots you see when you play, not focusing so much on mechanics. Now by no means am I suggesting that your mechanics are not important, because to play the game at the highest level there is a level of consistency that is needed. I am saying it is less likely that the mechanics or technique of your swing is the biggest hinderance to you playing your best golf.
Think about the shots required to score better in golf; it is putting, chipping, iron play and driving the ball from the teeing area. Are these all the shots required, no, but would being good at these basic shots improve your ability to play better golf, absolutely! If you spend a few minutes daily putting, chipping, making swings with your irons and drivers, measuring your progress, you may be amazed at how much better you get. How often have you taken a lesson from a PGA professional or a friend and focused on how to swing the club, not how to get the ball in the hole with the least number of shots. For the average golfer that plays the game they will have over 40 putts per round nearly a three putt on all of the holes they play, start by controlling your putting, this could save up to 10 shots around by not three putting. Once this is going well, learn how to control your chip shots. Getting them closer than 20 feet on average will save at least 1 shot a hole. Closer to the hole with your chip likely means less three putts and occasional one putt. You see where I am going with this. Golf is a game of skills that accumulate over time and with effort. It is worth repeating here, I am not saying your mechanics are not important, but they are only important if you have a full understanding of why they are important to you.
Here is a very simple way to think about this, if you are a player who wants to play at a high level of competitive golf, it is important to get the ball in the hole with the least number of strokes possible, fewer than the competition for sure. Understanding the controllable variables in how this happens becomes the basis of your development. Knowing why this happens is how your improvement plan will be constructed by your coach, going through a Player Development Assessment at The Golf Performance Center learning your skill sets is important, measurable, and objective as to where your skills are, not where your golf technique is. The Assessment gives us and you an “Index” that is an indicator to your skill level, it takes into account your playing abilities (scores) along with your golf, physical and mental skills. For over 20 years we have been measuring players, through our Player Development System, creating the Player Development Index (PDI), it has been amazing how we have seen players improve over the years once they know where their game is and why their games is what it is. Now, it may come down to understanding why your technique may be a factor in your ability to control your golf ball, but it is not the only factor.
If you are not controlling your golf ball well enough to score how you think you can, then you are likely not looking at the real reason you are not scoring effectively. Learn more on how to improve your game by coming into The Golf Performance Center, going through your Player Development Assessment, find out what your real Index!
Enjoy Your Journey!
