Any player who has played a fair amount of golf understands that there are limitations to their golf game. This comes as no surprise, yet many (including myself years ago) do little to change this situation. I am not talking about conducting exhaustive research to fill our knowledge gaps, although that is always a good idea, but developing an understanding of what we can and cannot do with our golf clubs. This stage in our developmental process is often overlooked. Regardless, I have one sure fire tip that will help fix your woes and improve your overall game.

Every time we hit the practice area, we usually grab our favourite clubs and swing away. We will hit the majority of range balls with these clubs and feel good about ourselves leaving the range. Feeling satisfied, we head to the first tee thinking that things will be different during the upcoming round. What we find is that our score is almost the same as normal with a few variances on how we arrived at the end of our journey. Does this sound familiar?

To be fair, there is value in practicing with clubs we can already hit consistently. This does help build the foundation of our golf game. However, I would suggest that 40% or more of shots on the golf course require a different club than the ones we used at practice. What we do is modify how we hit this different shot with a club we are comfortable hitting. Unfortunately, if we always do what we always did, we will get what what always go! Something needs to change!

This is where my sure fire tip comes in to improve your game. Are you ready: “Practice with clubs you do not normally use!” It is that simple. To improve our overall game, we need to learn how to hit all the clubs in our bag. We need to develop confidence pulling this different clubs to make routine shots. We need to understand that each club has a purpose and it is our task to find that purpose. I realize that this simple tip sounds daunting, but trust me when I say that it is not. It is as simple as changing our mindset and approach to practicing and playing.

If you are carrying 14 clubs and never use three of them, why carry those clubs in your bag. I recommend learning how to hit these clubs because of the residual successes it will have on our game. First, we will have confidence hitting all clubs which usually results in less mishits. Second, you will be able to focus on a constant swing routine instead of changing to hit different shots. Finally, you will be able to develop a stronger course management strategy that will lower your golf scores. There are many other benefits hitting all your clubs and it challenge you to find out what they are and how they help your golf game.

Knowing what you know and knowing what you do not is important to understanding your golf. Just blindly hitting the ball does not help improve your golf score. It might be fun and all you are looking for, however if you want more, learn how to hit all your golf clubs. It will do wonders for you score.

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