Pre-season preparation...
Although the season still seems a long way away, I'm increasingly motivated to get out and play some competitive golf at the moment so I've entered some of the region's Winter series events. Next week is the start of a three week stint for me playing at Weston, Clevedon and Saltford. A good mix of courses with each presenting their own challenges. It's been difficult to get out and practice in the daylight so most of my practice time has been under the lights of the range using our Flightscope launch monitor. I've been setting myself skills challenges on it which has really helped to vary my practice, instead of hitting ball after ball at the same target. I'd recommend anyone who takes their game seriously to try varying their practice. It doesn't have to be with a launch monitor, it can be done in any form you want. One of my favourite ways is to play the course on the range. For example, to prepare myself for an upcoming competition, I'll rehearse specific shots or play out certain holes on the course I'm next playing at whilst I'm practicing on the range. I'll try to be as detailed as possible with building a picture in my head of the shot at hand.
It might be a first tee shot I want to rehearse, so I'll even imagine the starter introducing me on to the tee, there might be a small crowd there, I'll imagine where the hazards are or what the temperature is. I might even put another twist on it and imagine I'm just coming off the back of a birdie or bogey and how this will affect my mindset. Then when it comes to the actual shot in competition I'll be able to feel a lot more comfortable as I've rehearsed as many different scenarios as I can already. This type of practice not only trains your technique but also your subconscious which is an often overlooked part of your game. Hopefully I can get some touch back around the greens and shoot some good scores. I'll update you next week with how I get on.
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