Every golf shot requires a certain amount of thought before execution. Sometimes it is a straight forward process, however more often than not, it takes a bit of brain bites to hit the appropriate golf shot. There are many different stressors on each shot that should be evaluated, however most of those challenges can be mitigated through one thought on tough golf shots. Yup, I have narrowed the multiple influences down to one thing can control to help make challenging shots.

The fix I have for all golf shots, especially the tough ones, is selecting a landing area. By selecting the proper landing area, I remove many factors that would create a challenge for me in the past. In my case, I decide what type of shot (high or low flight) and how I want to execute this shot. Additionally, I am reduce stress by committing to the shot I want to hit and the roll out I expect to get the ball close to the hole. For a clearer description, the video below will help explain things further:

Interestingly, when most golfers talk about landing area, they are focused on hitting the ball around the green. I respect that because it is very important. However, many amateurs do not realize that this technique is useful on long shots or off the tee. Selecting a small target and visualizing your ball landing in a specific spot will also help with longer shots. It seems challenging, but actually it is much easier than we think. By focusing on a small area (at any time) our mind a body automatically adjusts our swing to make it happen. The trick is to focus on the landing area and keep it at the forefront of our thoughts. The rest will take take of itself.

Right now many of you are shaking your heads saying that it is more complicated than what I describe. I thought so earlier in my career as well. However, using my landing area as my primary focus, many of the previous thought processes faded away. I was able to focus on a small target, swing to land where I choose, and watch the ball roll out. To be fair, I still miss because I miss my landing area. Like what the video says, my misses are less drastic and the end result is much better than aiming for something other than my landing area. In most cases, it is all about reducing poor misses into something that is useable. Focusing on my landing area lowers my golf score. If you give it a try, I believe it will lower yours as well.

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