Tee-off to a fresh start

A very happy new year to you all and I wish you all the best of luck in life (and in golf) in 2013. If improving your golf is one of your new year’s resolutions, let’s discuss the first steps to unlocking your golfing potential.

Step 1 – Personal Evaluation
What are the strengths of your game? What areas of your game are inconsistent? Do you have a current ‘destructive’ shot in your game? Do you have and stick to a pre-shot routine all the time? How much practice are you currently able to fit in to your weekly routine? Do you have the will to make time to practise more often this year?

It is important to be honest with yourself and write down the answers in as much detail as possible. The more information you have, the more beneficial step three will be!

Step 2 – Decide What You Want
Write down a number of realistic goals that you want to achieve in a certain time frame. It might be breaking 90 for the first time or lowering your handicap to 15 by the end of the year. Regardless, make sure you have a number of goals, write them down and put them somewhere that you will see them regularly.

Step 3 - Book a Lesson
If you turn up to your lesson armed with the information gained in the first two steps, a PGA professional will be able to get to work straight away. After watching you hit a number of balls, the professional will likely be able to give you their feedback and discuss with you some ways in which you can achieve your goals.

In my experience, people are often wary of coming for a lesson because they think that the professional will rip their swing to shreds and they’ll have to ‘start again’. Fear not! Faults in the golf swing tend to occur because golf is so counter-intuitive and we follow our instincts as opposed to working on what is scientifically required. Often, clear improvement in golf comes more from changing your concepts than re-learning your swing.

Step 4 – Practice 
At the end of your lesson, your coach will give you a number of things that you need to work on in order to improve. If you really want to achieve your goals, this is where the work begins. You are not likely to have the time to flog thousands of balls a week on the range so make your practice count. Split your practice into sections, narrow your focus and complete the drills that you have been asked to do. Be honest with yourself and trust your coach. Once you have practised a number of times, book another lesson.

Over the coming weeks, we will be discussing the next steps on the road to improvement. In the meantime, if you are tinkering with the idea of getting some tuition, have a think about the first two steps and see if the answers can help you make up your mind!

For more information on this topic or to find out about the golf coaching services offered at Awali Golf Club, please contact me on 39761873 or visit the club’s new website www.awaligolfclub.com. Good luck!