In an attempt to help others with learning this great game, I often look at how other sports, games and skills are learnt. The idea: to see if there is anything that may help improve the game of golfers I share time with.

This year, I spent a day at Wimbledon watching the tennis. I was lucky enough to see the number 1 players in both the ladies’ and men’s game as well as countless others. Here I am going to share a few points I observed that I believe can help your golfing game.

Warming Up = EXACTLY That

The outside courts at Wimbledon are used as a place for players to warm up before games. Players go to warm up their bodies and attempt all the shots they may require that day. Technical thoughts or adjustments appeared FAR from players’ minds as they make sure they are physically ready for play. Their practice had been done prior to the tournament: on the day of play they were just getting the muscles warm and trusting skills that their practice had developed.

How much does this differ from the golfer you see on the range attempting a whole host of swing changes prior to a round? All this leads to is a cluttered mind. Instead, go to the course and use the warm up as exactly that. Try hitting a few different shots whilst maintaining creativity and then see what kind of shots you are hitting that day. Use it as a chance to build confidence, and see what difference this makes to your enjoyment and scores. Finally, give the skills you have been practicing a chance to shine and trust them. This is the only way to really tell the progress you have made and how the new technique performs whilst out on the course.

Adapting to the Situation

Whilst watching the doubles matches, after almost every single shot, the 2 teammates would speak to each other with what appeared to be a quick recap of the last point and discuss anything that they could change for future points.

I am not a fan of excessive swing thoughts on the course (or even in practice), but do think there is a real bonus to having awareness of impact.  This can lead to making small, but valuable, changes whilst on the course. For example, if a golfer I work with has their contact point consistently behind the ball, they will know from our sessions that they need to get more weight forward coming into impact to improve their contact point. Instant improvement!

How many times have you heard a golfer complaining at the end of a round that they left all of their putts short that day? How much better to recap after a couple of holes and make the small adjustment during THIS round instead of waiting until tomorrow.

Take a notepad and keep a few notes about your golf as you play and practice. This will help you to find patterns to the shots that are costing you your good scores and enable you to make the required changes.

If things work for the best tennis players in the world, why not try them for yourself and see what a difference they can make to your game.

Photo Credit: Flickr su-may http://www.flickr.com/people/su-may/