Golfers in northern climes generally feel pressed for time with respect to improving their golf game. In my location, we will have a max of seven months to play golf in any given year. Generally, this is six due to weather and life, but seven months is what is available. This means that the time we have to work on our golf swing is compressed and as such many amateurs try to fix golf swing challenges quickly and that just opens the door to poor swing habits!

In reality, I have about three guaranteed months of great weather to play golf. July, August and September are the golden times with April, May, June and October being at the mercy of the Mother Nature. So, you can see that I try to maximize my time to fit all the improvements needed in a compressed timeline.

This is nothing new, but as I get older I find that this limited ability to play is a challenge. Yes, I realize I could visit warmer places in the winter, but I have never really been that much of traveler to the south, so I do not see that changing anytime soon. So, I will live in the reality of my current golf season.

The challenge that we have is to be patient and worry less about making quick fixes and keep our eye on the long game. And I have the perfect example that you will be able to appreciate.

I practiced for months my hitting and chipping before opening day. It was a great plan and it invigorated me to want my game to develop faster. Because of this, I found myself quickly disappointed when I was not playing well and wanted to make instant changes. Over the past three 9 hole games, my approach shots ended up going left and I missed more greens than I expected.

So, I started to adjust my grip, stance and ball position…..slightly. All I can say is oops. That was a mistake! I should have known better than to follow in to that trap; I adjusted so many things I had to stop on the 16th hole and reset my entire swing process. I still scored okay, but I struggled with my swing for seven holes!

Well, I am happy to say that I have righted the ship and closed the door on introducing poor swing habits. And stopped trying to fix things…..instantly. The benefit of swinging my clubs for months before opening day is that I am attuned to my golf swing more than ever before. If I want to make any swing changes, I need to slow down, take my time, and analyse what really needs to be fixed. This is my only proven process to successfully improve my game and I need to let the time restraints of my golf season from influencing my game.

Does time pressure you to trying poor golf swing techniques?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!