Easy Ways to Improve Your Golf Performance

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Golf is a notoriously technical sport, and entire books have been written about how to exploit the right angles and generate just the right degree of torque to hit the ball just the right distance in a given scenario.

Fortunately for the burgeoning hobbyist, you don’t need to go through an intense golfer’s bootcamp or study a three year degree in the subject to up your game.

Here are a few straightforward tips that will allow you to improve your golf performance with minimal effort.

Play against better opponents

When just getting into a sport, or even just when playing it as a leisure activity, the temptation tends to be to go up against opponents close to your own skill level, so as to keep the competition engaging and allow both parties a chance of victory.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with this, there is also a good argument to be made for playing against better opponents — although not so much better that you feel completely demoralised by going up against them.

One of the benefits of playing against slightly better opponents, is that you’ll always feel that motivational tension to do better and catch up to them, and it’s that kind of tension that drives most any type of progress.

For another thing, playing against better opponents creates learning opportunities for you. Ideally, your opponents will be good natured enough to throw some pointers your way during your games, and you’ll be able to observe what they do and see how it differs from your own technique.

Practice at home

Golfing is a game of many different components, and although you likely don’t have a full course to practice with at home, there’s absolutely nothing to stop you from investing in a compact green and getting in some putting practice at home.

It’s well known that progress in any given area is the sum of the number of hours practice put into it. Surprise your opponents by turning up for your next game after putting away a few hours practice on your own time.

Watch the masters in action

While it’s true that you learn a skill primarily by doing, not watching, there are still some great potential benefits to be had by watching the professionals of the sport at work.

Firstly, you’ll begin to absorb and understand the subtle visual cues which point towards how these pros execute their technique and stay cool under pressure. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, you’ll feel inspired to stick at, and deepen your own understanding of, the sport.

Develop a passion for the game

As with many activities and pastimes in life, golf really opens up to those who develop a passion for it and immerse themselves in the game.

Getting to understand the culture surrounding golf, keeping up-to-date with the latest news, reading the key books, and, most importantly, playing the game as much as possible, will lead you on to a deeper appreciation for all elements of the thing.

And it is sincere appreciation and passion which, most of all, inspires effortless growth.