Top 10 things professional golfers do but Amateurs golfers don’t
Top golfer pros achieve remarkable performance not only because they are blessed with natural talents, but they pay more attention to little things on course. What sets professional golfers apart could be the setup postures of swing at address, the way they practice, the start line of putting, or even the mental side of the game. One of the strategies of dropping your handicap and taking your game to the next level is by watching how golfer pros deal with these nuanced stuff. An access to the info of these little things can assist you in lowering your handicap, helping you to break 90, 80 and even 70. This article offers top 8 things that are constructive to the improvement of performance of an Amateur.
The variations of golf swings can even be an indication of whether the player is an amateur or not. There is a stark contrast between how easy the pros make the game seem and how struggling the Amateur make it look.
1. Correct golf Setup
Golf pros never overly bend their knees, which otherwise an Amateur golfer usually does. An excessively bending of knees leads to flattened hips and straightened spines, which makes it hard for your top half to make good contact with the ball, resulting in topping the ball and weak shot with reduced distance and accuracy. So straighten those knees and maintain the forward tilt upper body during your setup and golf swing.
A pervasive tip in golf is that you should straighten your arm, yet a good and experienced players tend to allow their arms to hang softly because a stiff straightened arms inevitably causes excessive wrist action and prevents your body from free movement. Excessive straightening of arms also pulls your shoulders forward, making your take away almost impossible because this limits your arms to rotate externally to generate enough force in the throwing motion.
Many amateur golfers also have an excessive strong grip, sitting so far under the club, which leads to a situation where the club face is excessively delofted and pointing more to the left(right-handed player), making it challenging to hit high, soft shots. This problem is particularly salient when Amateurs are playing a driver or fairway wood.
2. Effective warming up and purposeful golf practise
A golfer pro never easily waste a single shot and always maintains composure and confidence even when they hit poor shots. The secret is that golfer pros warm up effectively before starting the game. There is a perpetuated myth that the more you hit the ball during practice, the more you’ll hit perfect shots. But many amateur still slice 20 yards in their first drive despite significant amount of hitting practice. However, professional golfers go through the routine like it’s actual course in warming up. They make quality swings and make each shot intentional to match the routine they planned. A strategic swing and shot practice also allows players to develop better distance control of each type of club. So don’t just stand there and hit the balls. Make deliberate routine, hit quality and purposeful shot, ensure no swing is wasted and make effective practice that is truly constructive to your game.
3. Great golf course management
Golf pros are very good at course management and mapping out of every shot like a architect planning a house. When it comes to plotting their route, the best players knows well exactly where they should land the ball and cannot hit the ball. They strictly adhere to their plotted routine and make perfect shots, leaving themselves yardages to the green that they find most comfortable with. Amateurs many times believe they should hit as long as they can with the club that carry longer distances like wood. However, this many times put them in a very uncomfortable place in the end.
4. Hit tons of golf wedge shots during practise
While amateur players are keen on range and they are used to hitting lots of 7-irons and a few drivers. Golfing pros instead hit tons of wedges and drivers. Wedges are very suitable for drill purpose because they are relatively easy to hit. Players are making a precise, clean, and solid contact with the golf ball while implementing the feel they like, which ramps up confidence before the game. Wedges are clubs that help you score lower, and the ones you really need to knock to ball closer to your target, more often than not.
5. Paced play
When the driver gets pulled out of the bag, for most of us, we give it a lash with full speed. This is seen to be contrast with pros, who build speed with the big dog like a plane accelerating up a runway, with their first few swings of the driver being relatively smooth, after which they’ll began to ramp up to full speed. Pros not only has a great speed control of the driver, but the whole game. A pro usually has a well planned routine and paces off the yardages every time they practice and strictly adhere to the pace in official tournament, ensuring they are not rushing or dragging the game which can cause significant influence on their performance.
6. Focus on the start line of golf putting
Pro golfers are extremely obsessed with the start line of putting. Watching a Tour Putting green, you will see all of the pros each of whom has a goal of putting their ball on an intended line. The pros are very meticulous when they choose the starting Line of putting. Some simple training techniques such as gate drill, chalk lines, string, tees, can be used to putt the line of right direction. Practising putting can be avaluable skill that adds to your repertoire of shots.
7. Work on golf mental game
Today pro golfers have a clear awareness that strong mentality plays a vital role in impacting performance on course. A strong mentality guarantees you can play at your highest level and unlock your full potential. An experienced pro golfer considers a golfing game as a marathon rather than a sprint and always maintains composure and confidence even if he or she played a bogey or double bogey on a par hole. Amateur players can consider training that helps boost mentality such as pressure practice, patience practice, emotion management, and looking at how you process a round of game. Don’t push too hard on yourself. Stick to you pace and don’t let the score of a particular handicap hole influence your next round of shot.
8. Avoid excessively stiff golf shaft
Many low handicap amateur players believe just because they have a low handicap they need extra stiff shaft to get longer distances. The fact is that Amateurs do not have enough swing speed, precision and force as a pro golfer. So shaft that is too stiff may make it challenging for Amateurs to hit straight, leading to the ball landing on the rough. So it is very important to understand your swing speed, precision and force when buying new golf clubs and purchase the ones with proper stiff level.
9. Clean golf clubs
An pro golfer is habituated to clean their club after each shot because they understand even a tiny thing between the club face and the ball can significantly impact the trajectory of ball due to the change of spin, velocity, and many other variables. So it is critical to learn to how to clean golf clubs as it not only ensures consistent and reliable outcome but prolongs the longevity of your club.
10. Place importance on premium equipment
High-level golf professionals place significant emphasis on equipment. For example, a premium high performance laser golf rangefinder provides great assistance in course management, distance ranging, and accurate shot. These golf rangefinders usually provide high light transmission and exceptional image clarity, large magnification, precise flag-lock capability and high waterpoof level for harsh weather like heavy rainy days.
Final thoughts
The difference between an Amateur golfer and Pro golfer can be salient. Yet Amateur golfers can simply take some simple steps to take their skill to the next level. Sometimes it is the nuanced stuff that determines how effective and efficient you drop you handicap and improve to the next level. Stay tuned to Mileseey golf for more interesting and useful post in the coming weeks.