Whatever sport people play, they will always be looking or ways to improve. It can feel great when you are playing well, getting better and winning more and so there is a lot of motivation to do this. However, it is important to make sure that you are working effectively towards your goal. There are lots of things that you could potentially try but it is a good idea to focus and try things that will make a difference.
Assess Your Needs
We will all have different needs when it comes to what needs to be done to improve our game. Some people might need to improve their swing, some their putts and some can get away with just getting a new set of clubs. You may or may not know what would help you. If you are not sure, then ask your golf buddies to help you out. They might be able to comment on the way that you play and let you know what they think you should do to improve. If you just ask them which part of your game they think is the weakest or needs most improvement then they will hopefully be honest with you and let you know. Asking friends can be tricky as they may want to be polite and not criticise you but if you ask them in the right way, they might be able to offer a useful response. You might be able to work it out for yourself anyway.
Find Useful Training Resources
It is important to make sure that you find a good place to learn. There are lots of options and some may work better for some people than others and so it is a good idea to think about what you think will be best. You might like to try out a few things as well and that will help you to know what feel right for you.
– Get friends to help – it can be fun working with a friend and getting them to help you with improving your game. Obviously, you will need to find someone who is better than you at the specific part of the game that you are trying to improve. You will also have to pick someone that is patient with you and is willing to help. You will need to get on well with them and be willing to take advice form them. If you think that there might be a chance that you will fall out, then it is best not to ask. You do not want to spoil a friendship. It is worth also thinking about how you will reward them for their help. Friends will not normally accept payment but you might want to give them a gift.
– Professional lessons – paying for professional lessons can mean that you will get help from an expert who knows how to teach. They will not be worried about pointing out your faults, which might be hard for friends to do, but they will also know how to explain things clearly. It can be a good idea to ask for recommendations though as there are lots of teachers out there and they will vary in how good they are as well as in how much they charge and you will want to make sure that you get good value for money.
– Online teaching – There are places online where you can get help. You will find free resources such as videos, websites and blogs but you may also find there is content that you can pay for to get help as well. These can be useful and convenient but it is important to remember that anyone can post anything online. This means that you could find that sometimes the information is incorrect or will not apply to you. So check out the credentials of the person posting and think about whether you think they are offering useful help for you or not.
– Books / magazines – these can be handy as well as you may be able to pick up books at your local library. Often these will be old, but the techniques are likely to still be applicable now or at least some of them. They will be worth a read anyway as you could pick up al sorts of useful information.
Practice Regularly
It is worth remembering that, as with anything, the more you practice, the more you will improve. Even if you have a day where you think you have not played well, there will still be something to learn from that. You will also be improving your fitness with the general exercise and specific golf playing that you are doing. If you cannot get out on the course, then general fitness training and specific golf exercises could also be a help for you.