When you first start playing the game, it is a little confusing. There is a lot of instruction involved, and it’s easy for the new player to feel overwhelmed. One thing that makes this process easier is good practice. But what, precisely, constitutes good practice? Many golfers have no idea, and that leads to a lot of problems with their game.
Create a foundation
The first step in practicing golf is to create a foundation. I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying practice makes perfect. The same applies to golf. The more time you spend on your basics, the better player you will become. A good way to start off on this foundation level is by using drills and games that focus on the fundamentals. This will allow you to correctly practice golf and it’ll prevent you from developing bad habits that may hinder your progress in the future. Use your driver to build a solid, stable platform on which you can reach the next level. Build your swing around the driver by mastering your grip and the way you set up to strike the ball. There are excellent resources online that can help you improve in a number of ways.
Learn how to aim
An important step in practicing golf is learning how to aim. Since most people play by power and not by aim, this is good news and bad news at the same time. It’s an important step because, without proper aim, you’ll be missing a lot of beginners level long-distance putts, shorter iron shots, various irons, and even some 3-woods that you could easily reach. Aiming is a very important part of practicing golf, but it is not so easy to master at first. Once you know how to aim properly, the rest is easy. My suggestion is to hit the ball and wait to see where it lands. Once you find out where it landed, you establish a pattern and try to hit the same ball in the future but with more focus on where you need it to go. After you have done this dozens of times, you will surely get better at aiming.
Change things up
Most people have a “routine” suited to their playing level. People who are just starting to play golf might go to the driving range for the first time and hit a bucket of balls, then maybe spend some time working on their putting stroke. Once they’ve completed those necessities, many of them will start hitting balls in a pattern that may look like this: drive, kick, chip, putt. Over time, as your abilities improve, your approach may change but the basic pattern will remain. With a more accomplished player, that pattern might shift over to: drive, mid-iron, fairway wood, short iron or wedge, and finally an easy putt. The important thing is to try different things out and see what works for you.
