When I was back in high school I used to do the same thing before every tournament. It was my pre-round routine if you will. I would stretch, go out on the range and hit about 50 balls to warm up my swing, move to the green where I would spend about ten minutes hitting different types of chips and ten minutes on different types of putts. There are a few reasons why I do the same things before ever round, regardless of whether it’s competitive or recreational and these reasons are what we’re going to talk about today.
Continuing the recent series on practice advice, I decided to look at the short game today. I talk extensively about why chipping and other shots around the green are seemingly more difficult than other shots in my article: How to Chip Away Strokes Around the Green but, to summarize, it all boils down to practice, or at least it did for me.
The reason I was successful around the green was because I spent hours and hours practicing the shots I would be required to hit. Now in the same article I also briefly discussed how I used to practice but, looking back at it, I realize that it’s not only impractical for a lot of different golfers but also somewhat unorthodox. It worked for me but it might not for you, and that’s why we’re here today. There are other, just as effective, methods of practicing chipping that require a lot less time and space than my unique method (although I thought it was awesome as a kid).
It seems like everything in my life this week has been reminding me of golf. We must be getting close to spring! Just this week after returning from New York, I came home to find no snow accompanied with a cold, windy, drizzle. What many might consider a golfer’s worst nightmare. There are a lot of reasons why rain can be detrimental to your score, not to mention the fact that most people don’t consider it nearly as enjoyable as playing in warm, dry conditions. But unfortunately, some days it just isn’t meant to be. Luckily for you, there are ways we can cope with playing in the rain.
When it comes to golf, it’s easy to get lazy with practice. After all, isn’t it enough to go out 30 minutes before your round and hit some 10 footers on the practice green? Or should you commit time for the sole purpose of improving your putting? And if so, how do you do it? All of these are excellent questions and sometimes you get a lesson that doesn’t come with a lot of extra drills to help you ingrain what you learned. So that is why we are here today.
Although work sucks, these past days have really been the inspiration behind today’s article. In life, you only have 24 hours a day which is about 170 hours in a week (it’s maybe 168? I only got good at adding up golf scores in my head). You can do whatever you want with this time each week but in order to fulfill all of your commitments you have to balance the benefits and consequences of each action. Are you going to go to work today, or skip out and play golf (tempting…)?
Either one of these options can lead to a complex sequence of events in your life. Golf relates to this idea of weighing your options if you understand two simple words. Risk and reward. Just like you have to make decisions outside of golf, you also have to consider your decisions during your round. Are you going to lay up in front of the water, or try to play over? And even without your conscious thought, you are evaluating all of your possible options. Today I want to talk to you about risk management during your round and put you inside my mind when it comes to making simple and complex golfing decisions. So now that you’re primed and ready, let’s dive into this!