For some reason, everyone thinks they should be a good golfer and that golf is an easy game. On its face, it is an easy game. All you have to do is hit a stationary ball with an oversized club a few times until it gets in a hole. Anyone who’s swung a golf club even once knows it’s not that easy. Everyone wants to have a better game so they don’t embarrass themselves on a Sunday in July. When we talk about getting better at golf, most people gravitate toward the big, expensive stuff, like joining a country club or a league and getting better clubs and balls, for instance. But smaller changes can effect a big difference in both your mental outlook and your game. Wearing great-looking game attire, like that men’s patriotic polo shirt you’ve been eyeing, will give you a boost, as will working with a pro and getting lessons. The top ways to improve your golf game are simple tweaks and habit-forming behaviors that literally anyone can do.
Stretch Your Hammies
Golf isn’t a physically demanding sport, but stretching your hamstrings is important for your game. Our increasingly sedentary and seated lifestyle combined with the dominance of our front leg muscles shortens our hamstrings and effects the golf swing. When the hammies become chronically short and tight, it wreaks havoc on our swing. Stretch them out daily in your home to give them some life and length, then stretch out before hitting the links.
Hold That Pose
Have you ever hit a majestic drive that traveled forever right down the middle of the fairway? Did you hold that finished swing pose for a second longer and admire your shot? If you didn’t, you should have. For one thing, it shows up your playing partners and lets them know you’re the man. After a great shot, you should hold the pose and remember how it feels. The reason is that your form was probably perfect and that’s why you hit a good shot. Think of it in terms of muscle memory; let your brain and your body savor the flavor of a well-struck ball.
Throw a Ball Sidearm
The last top way to improve your golf game involves understanding the physics behind a great swing. Most amateur golfers don’t swing the club in the correct sequence. They don’t shift their weight properly and never develop a good swing as a result. Take a tennis ball and throw it sidearm against a wall as hard as you can. Notice how, without thinking, you automatically shift your weight to the leg farthest from the wall? Then you feel a weight shift toward the lead leg while your arm is still behind your body, and you rotate your chest toward the wall and let your arm hurl the ball. That’s a similar sequencing and motion needed for a good golf swing.
