If you are a golfer looking to lower you golf score then I have a solution for you. I am not claiming to have thought of it, but maybe it has been mentioned once or twice over the 2200+ articles I have written at The Grateful Golfer blog. Every golf plan, regardless of complexity, has to meet four important criteria: idea, planning, execution, and maintenance. And this simple plan hits all of those categories in spades.

One of my regular playing partners, Rick, has decided it is time to focus a bit more on his golf game. He does not practice that much, but plays 4 to 5 times a week with Blair and I. Just a few short rounds ago, Rick decided to take steps to improve his game one small simple step at a time. So far everything is working very well.

Rick’s simple approach to improvement is to choose one aspect of his game (one thing only), per outing, to focus upon. He announces his goal at the beginning of the round and works on accomplishing this positive end-state with every golf swing. To date, he has been successful and has recorded some fairly good scores. Let me break this down a bit:

• Idea: Rick decided he would combine his time on the links with focused intent to work on a specific part of his game. He realized that hitting the range for endless hours of practice was not going happen, so he is effectively using his time to improve his game.
• Planning: His plan is very simple. He announces what area of his game he is going to work on during that round. How he picks is topics is likely random at first, but now that he is playing more, he can identify areas of his game that needs the most attention.
• Execution: He chooses a goal every round.
• Maintenance: He can revisit any goal at any time. Additionally, he is trying to build on each previous goal. It is not a one and done type of plan, but one that grows his overall game with small incremental steps.

To date Rich has worked on hitting the fairway, putting the ball to the hole with no three putts, alignment, and ball position in stance. Each time he picks an area, he works the entire round with it in mind. Additionally, he tries to adapt the positives from previous rounds to build a stronger all-around game. Right now it is working because his game is improving.

You may ask how Rick works in the specific mechanics to each topic, well he does not become overly entrenched in the minute how. He focuses on the big picture. I would suggest that Rick knows what to do most of time, so it is a matter of focusing on what he already has developed. If he happens to have any questions, he knows he can ask me or Blair; we will help out when or if he needs it. This plan is brilliant and simple at the same time.

The overall goal of Ricks simple plan is to consistently break 90. Once he accomplishes this goal, then I can see him zeroing in on breaking 80. However, he realizes that to reach either goal takes focused effort and he is definitely on the right track.

There are many ways to improve your golf game. Selecting one area to focus upon while playing a round of golf is simple, sustainable, and achievable is perfect for players that are scoring above bogey golf. It works for Rick and might work for you; regardless, this sounds like a great approach to lower golf scores! Thoughts?

I am a grateful golfer! See you the links!