Three simple ways to sharpen your game

How do you become a better golfer? As a golf coach, I hear many reasons why students feel now is the right time to get a lesson.

There’s the lifelong golfer who has survived without a single coaching session, but just can’t kick a bad habit. Or the spontaneous student who recalls their lesson a couple of years ago and reports they just haven’t hit it as well since. And of course the analytical golfer who has self-diagnosed their driver to be the issue.

Here are the three principle areas I focus on with my students which regularly result in improvements to their swing.

Rid yourself of bad habits

The main reason people fall into a slump is because bad habits, known in golf as ‘movement patterns’, creep in.

On the one hand we’re all lucky to be surrounded by so much information out there. And while it can be very tempting to try something we discover on TV, online or in a golf magazine, if not executed perfectly these new tricks become bad habits and those patterns take over.

It can be nearly impossible to change unless you have someone look at them. Next time you want to try something, it would be wise to run it by your nearest professional golf coach.

Balance your golfing life

Like with anything in life there has to be balance. You cannot expect to improve if you continually work on one type of golf club or one aspect of your golf game.

When I have a student in front of me who comes for that first lesson, I treat the lesson like an assessment, from which we map out the blueprint of their golfing future

I like to prescribe drills to be used in practice sessions, golf lessons every few weeks, as well as rounds of golf. If all of these are worked on in a balanced manner, every golfer will see dramatic improvements to their golf game.

Be kind to your body

If you are willing to get your golf practice in shape, I recommend you do the same for your body.

Regular stretching and general conditioning exercises should be an essential part of your routine. Not only will this make you feel physically better, your mind will be more open to learning and your body more receptive to changes to your swing.

So what are you waiting for? If you feel like your golf game needs work, or you want to finally identify your areas of focus, book in for a lesson with your golf professional  and map out your path to a better and sharper game.

Bobby Walia

With over 15 years of international playing and coaching experience, Sydney-based Bobby Walia has toured and coached around the world and loves the natural rugged beauty of Scottish and Irish links-style courses, which he describes as “a true test of golf – you play them in whatever weather conditions are thrown at you!”.