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Golf is a well-beloved sport in the UK and one which has seen growing participation from younger players in recent years. It is a perfect mix of light exercise, competition, and skill, and a fantastic laid-back way to engage in sport.
Of course, many desire to improve their play – and professional golfers are a common yardstick for measuring such improvement. While not everyone can play like Rory Mcilroy, there are certainly ways of approaching golf that can help you play a little more like the pros.
Choice of Clubs
‘A poor workman blames their tools’ is a well-worn phrase, often used by golfers with decades of experience – and, funnily enough, some profoundly expensive clubs in their golf bag… While there is certainly a lot of truth to this statement, as the following sections will keenly address, your choice of clubs can have a significant impact on your play style and comfort.
Naturally, different brands lend themselves better to different gaits and styles of play. If you are unsure where to begin with this, it can help to look at the choices of professional golfers. For example, Dylan Frittelli has been seeing particular benefits from a Callaway wedge handmade to his specifications, which gives him less spin and more control over yardage.
‘Worst Ball’ Drills
Of course, the amount of improvement a new set of clubs can give you is more or less capped on your abilities, from technique to reading the game. But before you throw yourself into playing practice rounds, there is something you should address about how you intend to train; specifically, how to avoid “survivorship bias”.
Survivorship bias is famously summed up by an anecdote from WW2, in which engineers examined the damage on planes returning from aerial battle, in order to find out where to reinforce. What they didn’t realize was that the planes they were analyzing were those that made it back. But what on earth does this have to do with golf?
If you continually practice with rounds, you are reinforcing a play style with which you are familiar – and weakening your adaptability. If you barely land your ball in a bunker during practice, how will you extricate yourself from a bunker in a championship scenario? As such, you should endeavor to put yourself in the worst possible positions and strengthen your weaknesses. You can do this with ‘worst ball’ drills: playing a round with two balls, but starting your next shot from the location of your worst previous shot.
Your Swing
Your swing is an unavoidably crucial element to your golf game and deserves as much attention as you can give it – especially early on before bad habits begin to form. To find the best results, narrow down your points of focus.
In essence, your swing has three components: the setup, the backswing, and the finish. The setup looks at your grip and stance before you take your shot, while the backswing ensures you have the right coordination of movement to best conserve momentum. The finish is the swing itself, and involves the precise coordination of shoulders, back, hips and legs.
Golf Variations
Want a variation of the game quick is quickly growing in popularity? Try disc golf.
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