Ron Hanson's Golf Tips

Practice: Establish Appropriate Expectations and Goals for Your Practice Time

Several years ago, I was at a facility where the pro shop over looked the putting green. As I was working away, I could see one of the better junior golfers practicing his putting. He spent at least an hour practicing 18” putts. He had apparently missed a short putt during his last round and was trying to build up his confidence again. He was making putt after putt after putt. Half an hour into the session, he missed one of those 18” putts. Then he missed another and another. I could see it in his face that he doubted himself more and more. What started out for the first half hour as a confidence builder became very destructive.
After he finished his session, we talked about what had transpired. The fundamentals of his stroke were solid. The putt he missed during the round was just a mental lapse which will occur from time to time. He realized his mind had wandered beyond the stroke at hand.
We set some goals for him. His first goal was to stay focused on each putt and his second is to not dwell on the mistake he previously made, to remember the made putts even after a missed a putt.
We then discussed his practice session and we came to the conclusion that his approach would have only resulted in a negative outcome. The rebuilding of his confidence on the short putt should have only taken ten minutes, not a half hour or an hour. His expectation was to never miss an 18” putt. That is not being realistic. Anyone given a task to repeat without a break for a long period will lose their concentration and make a mistake.

Prior to your practice sessions, establish appropriate expectations and goals. Do not think you are going to be perfect. An appropriate goal may be to perform your practice task correctly 3 out of 10 times. The next session your expectations may be to increase your performance to 4 out of 10. On the back side, realize that you do get tired both physically and mentally. If you have been performing the skill you are working on at an appropriate level and it starts to deteriorate, that does not mean you have lost it. Quite often, it just means you are tired. Don’t dwell on it. Move on and do something else.

Tip of the Month

When practicing any specific aspect of your swing, do not get caught up in the outcome of where the ball goes. Only focus on the particular skill you are working on and gauge your success by your performance of that skill. Even if you whiff the ball, it may be a successful swing because you performed the task set forth for that swing.

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Ron Hanson's Golf Tips

• Swing Changes Take Some Patience
• Putting Basics
• Practice: Establish Appropriate Expectations and Goals for Your Practice Time
• Divots
• Better Club Selection - Improved Chipping