5 Easy Thoughts to Improve Your Golf Game

I’ve seen so many people trying to change their swing on the golf course when all they really needed was the right mindset. Below are 5 tips that will improve your game without clouding your mind with awkward (and often tedious) tasks like tightening your left arm or stiffening your legs when you make contact.

Simply Visualize Contact - Introduction

Everyone says to visualize the shot, and that’s a good thing to ‘have an idea’ of where the ball is going, but we’re going to be more simple than that. Some people tell you to visualize your swing, which for many is bad advice. We only need to care about the contact with the ball.

There are thousands of ways your body can swing to make the golf club hit the ball, but all that really matters is how the club hits the ball. Anyone who has seen the odd nature of the “golf swing robot” knows this is true.

Step 1 is to Simply Visualize Contact

Before you hit the ball, look at the face of the club where you want contact to be and where on the ball you want it to make contact. Regardless of your swing, if you realize where you want to tap the ball your game will become more consistent. This is just as simple as using the arrows to guide your aim on a bowling lane.

Some people line up their club first and then move their body into the swing. Others draw a little dot on the ball to help them see the desired point of contact. These extra routines seem a bit too ritualistic (to me), but they understand that the point of contact is what makes the ball go. Just give it a thought when you approach the ball. It’s really that simple.

Don’t Try to Kill It - Introduction

Don’t try to kill it! It sounds so simple, but it isn’t. How many times have your watched the group in front of you on the number 1 tee box shank? It didn’t happen because they weren’t loose, and it wasn’t the new drivers fault, they simply wanted to hit the ball that extra 10 yards, so they put all their weight into it and swung the club as hard as they could.

Step 2 Don’t Try to Kill It

Instead of letting yourself try so hard to hit the ball hard, decide that the distance you get is entirely up to the club and the ball. I’ve told myself I’m trying to hit my driver ten yards shorter than it can go. I also dedicated myself to relearn my iron distances with this new approach, but I found my easier swing results in about the same distances, with much more accurate yardage results.

"Lift" the Club Head Back - Introduction

Okay, so I said I wasn’t going to change your swing- yet here I am talking about lifting the club head. For many, lifting the club head back when you start the backswing is no big deal. For others, they may just consider cocking the club head back as they address the ball.

Despite what may be a childhood influence –or- learning to play golf as a child with clubs that are too long, the golf swing isn’t intended to be a baseball swing. Too many players turn the club head back and swing through as if they are hitting a baseball off of a tee. The golf club is designed to sweep through the ball. The golf club (unlike the bat) is designed with an angle since we aren’t able to stand directly over the ball. When the clubface strikes the ground, it should sweep in and make even contact, like the wheels on a landing plane.

Step 3 "Lift" The Club Head Back

The most simple exercise to learn this, aside from thinking of the bottom of the club landing down evenly like a plane, is to make certain the club head goes straight back for the first 3 inches of your back swing. (A good back swing often mirrors a good follow through.)

If you must hold me to the plan of not touching your swing, even your back swing, just ‘waggle’ the club head straight back before you hit the ball.

Use A Putter Without Style Points - Introduction

Have you ever seen kids at a miniature golf twisting the club head left and right while they are hitting the ball? Their body is aimed straight down the middle, but the clubface is jerked to make the ball go where they really want it to be. To them, this style is fun, but for us it’s those last minute adjustments that make us miss so many putts.

Step 4 Use A Putter Without Style Points

When it comes to putting, be certain of three things:

1. Only use a putter that has a grip that keeps the club head straight

2. Don’t twist your wrists when you putt

3. Stroke the ball hard enough to reach the hole.

When you buy a putter make certain the grip will make you hold the club the same way every time, and that the bottom of the club naturally hovers the ground with your putting stroke. (More on that topic later, but that’s the gist of it.)

Use New Golf Balls - Introduction

No, I am not stretching to come up with a 5^th tip. I’ve seen too many people switch to use a “water ball” when going over a lake to not be surprised when they go in the water. If you have balls intended for the water, give them to your dog, your kid, or your local driving range. Less than ten dollars will buy you about 15 brand-new acceptable golf balls at your local discount store. Think of the new balls, as ‘good-golf’ insurance to make certain your round isn't mared with visits you planned to look in the lake.

Step 5 Use New Golf Balls

Nothing is more distracting than putting a ball that can’t be cleaned. Nothing makes you question how the ball will bounce evenly on the green if the ball looks like it’s lived on the bottom of a lake. Most importantly, it’s distracting to visualize the point of contact on a ball that appears to have been scrapped on payment. Balls you’ve determined to be intended for the lakes, the fence, or the woods don’t belong in your new game.