Lately, I’ve been getting quite a few inquiries on what to do and not do while practicing golf. Here we go:
- Do find a PGA professional for lessons. Make sure you trust him/her and that their teaching style melds with the way you learn.
- Do work on your short game. Dedicate 75% of your practice time to see the quickest improvement.
- Do simulate game conditions. This will help you transition your practice to the course.
- Do develop a pre-shot routine for every club in the bag and repeat it for each practice shot you hit.
- Do use alignment sticks as an aid for correct setup and for dialing your mind into the target on short game shots (and putts).
- Do film your swing and review it regularly. What you think you are doing often is not what you are doing.
- Don’t become a range robot and rake ball after ball into the same position shooting at the same target.
- Don’t confuse practice with warm-up before a round. Never work on swing mechanics right before you play; it will screw your head up on the course. Just get loose and relax.
- Don’t practice extraordinarily long putts. You want to see your lags get close and expunge any visions of three-putting. 30-40 footers should be the max.
- Don’t accept swing instruction from well-meaning friends. Amateurs teach amateurs to play like amateurs. (See #1 Do above.)
- Don’t work on more than one mechanical change at a time. You’ll become a swing pretzel if you do.
There you have them, now Do get to work. Good luck!
