Golf Swing Tips - Use Your Mind Don't Lose It!
By Steve Donelly
We are all used to dissecting our golf swings in an effort to straighten out our drives or hit more solid iron shots but how often do we work on one of the most important parts of the golf game? That's right the mental part. Now I'm not referring to the temporary insanity we may experience from time to time - skulling chips across the green or 3-putting for a par - I am talking mainly about course management. So while loosely speaking these are golf swing tips, all you need to "practice" them is your mind.
There are a few different course management tips that should help knock at least a couple strokes off your round.
First, and this may seem obvious but we are all guilty of ignoring it; play away from trouble. One of the easiest ways to visualize this is with approach shots to the green. If there is a bunker or pond guarding the front of the green do not try to get cute even if the pin is up front - make sure you have enough club and just play for the middle of the green. Which is better, a long birdie putt or trying to get up and down for bogey?
This brings up another important aspect of managing your game and that is knowing how far you hit every club. This should be your average distance not that career-best 3 iron you struck two summers ago! Going back to the approach shot mentioned earlier you also want to guard against taking too much club as you will tend to decelerate as you approach the ball and probably not make good contact.
Once you have come to terms with how far you hit your clubs on average you can begin to make smarter decisions on the longer holes. If you are facing a long par 4 that you have no shot of reaching in two this should factor into your club selection going all the way back to the tee. Perhaps you are not confident with your driver or maybe the landing area for your 3 wood is more generous. Why not hit the 3 wood and then a mid-iron to leave yourself a comfortable distance for your approach shot? Minimize risk and maximize your chances for success whenever you can.
Finally, while not strictly course management there is certainly one more important aspect of the mind game. The importance of visualization along with positive thinking. How many times has the last thing to go through your mind been "I always go into those trees" or "I went into that hazard the last time I played here"? You should always pick a specific target and not focus on where you don't want the ball to go. Actually stand behind the ball and try to picture the flight of the ball and see it land where you want it to.
The mind is a powerful tool that we can either use to help us or hurt us. Hopefully, following these tips before ever making a golf swing will help you eliminate some careless mistakes.
All the best,
Steve
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Steve Donelly has compiled many of the most effective golf swing tips on his website http://www.tipsongolfswing.com. If you don't have time to check it out right now why not just take a minute to sign-up for the FREE golf tips email newsletter mentioned above.
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