Practice makes for better golf

OPINION: Once you have seen a golf coach who has given you a few things to work on, you need to get out and do some practice, writes Anthony Barkley in this week's Golf Pro.

Yes, practice is not the most exciting thing to do but you should have the motivation after a lesson. After all, you have made the effort to go see a professional so if you put the effort in, you will get the results.

Checkups are important to ensure you are working on the right things or doing the drills correctly, so take advantage of these if they are offered (usually 10 minutes and are free). Believe me, most people don't.

One area where often there is debate is: should someone play club golf just after a lesson? I look at this two ways. The first is that you play the game for enjoyment and likely the biggest enjoyment you have is playing on a Saturday in the club day. So I'm not going to try and stop you there. But, on the other hand, it takes time for anyone to make a change. Three weeks away from competitive golf may do you some good. It's up to the individual and if you are happy to play and accept that you may not play well go for it.

I am going to talk about advice from other people. What you need to do is resist listening to friends' advice as this will confuse things.

People always have the best intentions but you must block it out. Those who know a friend, wife or someone who is getting lessons from a PGA professional should resist trying to help. It will just put doubt in their mind.

The last thing is to take only one swing thought to the course. Playing is so different from practice so if you think of seven different positions, etc, you will lose your whole focus on what's important: your target. I hope this advice will help you go forward and improve your golf.

It was good to see David Klein, a former Southland representative from Te Anau, has achieved his New Zealand Tour card, which enables him to play as a professional in New Zealand tournaments.

» Anthony Barkley is a New Zealand PGA qualified golf coach based at the Invercargill Golf Club at Otatara.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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