We all hear about golfers who never practice but we don’t hear much about the player who practices more than they play. A question I often get from my students is “why do I hit it great on the range yet I can’t take it to the course?” My answer is “you’re not as GOOD as you think you are on the range, and you are not as BAD as you think on the course!” HUH?

Think about it….on the range, if you hit a bad shot, you can rake over another ball and make it better…so you leave the range thinking you hit it great! But in reality, you hit some pretty lousy shots in your practice session! When you go to the course, you leave thinking you are terrible because you don’t hit every shot well….why don’t you think you are terrible on the range when you don’t hit every ball well? Think about it! You don’t remember the bad shots on the range, but you think about the bad shots on the course. Think about it! So…you’re not as good as you think on the range, and not as bad as you think on the course.

My advice is to try thinking about your GOOD shots in both places…on the range and on the course. The best players in the world have bad shots in both places. How do you take your range play to the golf course? You already ARE! Just look at it differently and your game will improve. How you view your game, how you view your performance, and how you view yourself can turn your golf game around…either positively or negatively….it’s your choice!

Next time you go to the range, make a game out of your practice. Start with your driver…one ball…then your fairway club selection…one ball….then your chip shot or whatever shot you choose…one ball. Pretend you are playing a hole and be sure of your intention for the shot. Learning to take it to the course from the range is a simple thing if you change your mind and view it differently.

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