If you can be persistent, you will achieve it If you can be consistent, you will maintain it. PersisTENT and ConsisTENT - The two ‘Tents’ that help improve your game By being Persistent and then Consistent you can achieve and maintain your targets, not just in golf but in all elements of life. For golf specifically, one way to achieve the two 'tents' is through quality and effective practice. Be persistent by planning and structuring your practice, then be consistent by doing this on a regular basis... your golf will only get better. Give me a shout if you’d like some further help building your practice sessions!

1) Interleaved Practice Interleaving means switching between tasks. Switching back and forth between technical work and random practice, or driver and wedges, or draws and fades increases cognitive load (I.e. it forces your brain to work harder). Doing so speeds up the learning process, making you better at each individual task more quickly. 2) Visualisation Picturing a shot before you hit it provides your brain with a clear picture of what you want to the ball to do. This allows your subconscious mind to calculate the precise movements required to produce that shot. 3) Competitive Practice Playing games in practice that mimic pressure situations on the golf course prepares you for the real thing. Compete against others, play games that have a score attached or give yourself a task you have to complete before you can move on. 4) Self Talk You might not have noticed, but during every round there's an ongoing internal conversation you're having with yourselt. How you talk to yourself during this conversation is key to how you feel on the course and how you react to bad shots. There's a lot of nuance here, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure you're talking to yourself like you would a friend in the same situation. 5) Goal Setting Goals provide motivation and something to strive towards. Set Outcome Goals based on events you want to win or a handicap you want to reach. Set Performance Goals that identify key statistical areas you need to improve. And set Process Goals that you can complete every day and every week that form the pathway to where you want to get to.

Are you practicing with a purpose… or just hitting balls? So many golfers head to the range and hit driver, 7-iron, wedge… over and over without thinking about the course they’re about to play. Ask yourself the question as the title of this post: Are you practicing the shots you’ll actually need? If the course has tight driving holes, work on finding fairways instead of smashing every driver. If you’re going to face long approach shots, spend time on those yardages. If the greens are small, sharpen your distance control with your wedges. If you are a member of course or play the same course regularly, you should have an idea of what types of shot you come across However, if you play more nomadically and a variety of courses, do some prep on the course planned/layout via the courses website, or even use Google Earth as a worst case place to look if a courses website doesn’t have a good layout image. Practice should prepare you for what’s ahead, not just fill a basket of balls. The more your practice reflects the challenges you’ll face on the course, the more confident you’ll feel when those shots matter. And confidence leads to better decisions, better execution, and ultimately… better scores. Practice with intention. Play with confidence!

A more lengthy post today for a Sunday morning read with a coffee… enjoy and comment if necessary! On the range, you’re flushing it. Driver is bombing. Irons are crisp. Everything feels automatic. Then the round starts…the one that matters…and suddenly you’re a different golfer. Grip gets tight. Thoughts start racing. The swing you had 20 minutes ago feels like it belongs to someone else. Here’s the truth most golfers miss: Your swing didn’t change… Your brain did. Why the Range Feels Easy (and the Course Doesn’t) On the range, there are no consequences. No score. No leaderboard. No pressure.Your brain stays relaxed. But once you step onto the course, your brain shifts into outcome mode: What am I going to shoot? Don’t hit it left, I need par here, This round matters etc That future-focused thinking creates uncertainty. And your brain hates uncertainty. When your brain senses uncertainty, it releases stress hormones. Your muscles tense. Your heart rate spikes. That smooth, athletic swing disappears. This is exactly why elite golfers train their minds… not just their mechanics. And it’s where the 3 P’s come in… The 3 P’s: How Elite Golfers Stay Calm Under Pressure The 3 P’s are a simple mental framework used to keep the brain quiet when the stakes are high: Positive. Patient. Process. Let me break them down. 1. Positive: Give Your Brain a Clear Target Your brain does not handle negatives well. If I say, “Don’t think about the water left of the green,” what are you thinking about? Exactly… the water. Instead of: “Don’t go left.” Or “Please don’t go left.” Or “Just avoid the water.” Try this: “I’m hitting a smooth draw to the centre of the green.” Your brain needs a clear, positive instruction. On the course, this looks like: Standing behind the ball and picking a specific target (not just “the green”) Using language like “I’m going to…” instead of “I hope I don’t…” Visualising the shot you want—not the miss you’re afraid of Your subconscious executes what you focus on.

According to Mark Broadie (who created the "strokes gained" metric and book ‘Every Shot Counts’)... Approach shots account for the biggest scoring advantage between golfers of every skill level. Check out the data... From 150 yards; PGA Tour pros hit half of these shots within 23 feet of the hole (and hit the green 77% of the time) While 80-golfers average 40 feet (hitting 50% of greens) And 90-golfers to around 55 feet (hitting just over 30% of greens). Anything surprise you about the data above? Let me know in comments below, And to help you hit more greens from 150 yards and in? Follow the points below - Know your distances (Carry distances, NOT total) - Play forgiving equipment - Club up (most trouble is short) - Have a consisent pre-shot routine - Work on your low point control in practice - Pick better targets, the middle of the green will help with your shot dispersion There may be some obvious points above, but we golfers are quite good missing the obvious at times! And if you need help with your approach play, technically or mentally, pop me a message so we can talk about it!