Every person who has picked up a golf club and has experienced the thrill of a great shot and the agony of a “shank”, inevitably comes to the question,” why can’t I hit the ball well consistently “?
Here is my take on the answer. I think that most golfers learn how to inadvertently and sporadically make good shots out of bad golf swings. Does this mean that they don’t have fun? I don’t think so, because I see a lot of golfers who are not so good, playing a lot of golf. It is wonderful that people can play bad and have fun. That is what golf is supposed to be about, having fun.
However, lets get real. When was the last time that you played with one of your friends or someone that was added to your group who just wasn’t very good. Do you think they were happy to shoot 109? I doubt it, or worse, maybe 109 was a good score for them. In either case I think that it is common to hear those golfers ask something like this, “why can’t I get the ball to go straight”? Or, “why can I only hit the ball 175 yards off the tee”?
Here is the hard cold truth. These players won’t get better without help. Even if they find a qualified instructor, they may still not get much better. I think the reason that they may not improve is that they are, ” NOT PREPARED BY THEIR INSTRUCTORS TO PRACTICE CORRECTLY”!
Golfers who go to the range to “practice”, by and large are wasting their time. I applaud the effort, but they are generally wasting their time. The thought is that if they hit enough balls they will get better. It will not happen. You must have a solid, directed practice plan. If you don’t start at the beginning, and work at perfecting the proper sequential positions and movements, from address position, through moving the club away, to finish position, you are not really practicing you are just hitting balls.
So, in coming articles I will introduce a practice plan for any of you out there who are not satisfied shooting bad scores and are not improving. Hint, you can do this indoors this winter.
Please practice slowly and deliberately. My email if you have questions! jkhpro@pga.com.
Keith Haley Golf 