Do you struggle to take your driving range game onto the golf course?
If the answer is “yes” perhaps it’s time to question your approach.
I was in Seville, Spain recently and was watching four Flamenco dancers. Each dance started a similar way, one of them would commence with a hand clapping rhythm, another would join in, then the guitarist and finally a dancer would pick up the vibe and begin to strut their stuff. This was not a tightly rehearsed set but more a response to the situation. Sure they had a collection of words, rhythms and dance steps but they were improvising throughout, based on years of honing their craft.
Responding to each unique situation
Playing golf on a golf course is similar; we respond to each unique situation – the lie is rarely flat, the wind blows from different directions, the temperature changes, the ground may be hard or soft, hazards are there to trip us up. Every time we need to ask ourselves, “what’s the right shot here” and draw from our portfolio of shot making (high/low, running/floating, fade/draw). The first question is “what’s the right shot here”, the next, “how am I feeling today”, what’s the probability I can execute this shot, we visualise it and only then do you make a commitment to play that shot.
So is hitting 20 x seven irons to the same target helping you develop a flexible approach? Perhaps not.
How about this next time you’re at the driving range – warm up with 10 x 7 irons. Then try to hit 3 draws and 3 fades to the same target. Then 3 high and 3 low. Take a moment to be aware of what you did or what it felt like when you hit the shot you wanted to. Then file that shot away in your memory bank.
If you’d like to explore this flexible approach to shot making in response to a given situation, do get in touch. This will take place in my all weather/well ventilated golf studio at Parley GC.
Thanks for reading my blog.
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