Range to Course

It’s taken me nearly a year to shed all those old habits enough to comfortably play on the course. Here’s something I wished I had learned sooner. On the range, practice with a purpose. Pick specific targets and play it as if it were a hole on the course. Pick a target (the smaller the better). Go through a pre-shot routine, and hit driver or 3 wood. Pick a closer target, go through a pre-shot routine hit long or mid iron, then wedge. Also I’ve been listening to a great mental game podcast called “The Mental Golf Show”. He recommends to place more emphasis on practice and less emphasis on actually playing a round. He says “Raise the importance of practice. Make practice serious, intense, focused and with a purpose. Lower the importance of playing. Use the round as a test of your practice performance.” This has helped me immensely. And back to the picking small targets. This (from mental coach not me) allows you to have a more committed swing. Picking large targets like “I’m aiming for that fairway” makes your brain go “Well I can miss left and end up in the right rough and I’ll still be okay or vice versa” and your brain won’t allow your body to swing fully committed which can cause all sorts of problems. Instead think “My target is that little pile of goose poop two hundred yards out”. The smaller the target, the more committed the swing. Just understand that’s no guarantee you’ll hit it, but it puts you on the right path.