“I was hitting the ball great on the range but when I got on to the course everything fell apart.” How many times have you heard somebody say these words? On the range and practice green we practice all different types of shots and develop our swings until we’re hitting great shots. Then, what is it about the course that causes a golfer’s game to fall apart?

In my opinion it’s more than one factor; pressure, unfamiliar conditions, loss of confidence in the swing and not staying in the present.

Pressure: When on the range or practice green, very rarely do golfers introduce an element of pressure into their routine. Most golfers grab a bucket of 50 or 100 balls and whack away at ball after ball without much thought of the outcome. They are not setting themselves a target for each shot as they do on the course.

Here are a couple of drills you can introduce into your practice routine to build-up the mental strength to deal with the pressure you feel on course:

1. Divide your bucket of balls into groups of 10. Pick a target area on the range and set yourself a goal of how many balls you want to end up in the target area. Make it realistic! Start with the first group of 10. If you hit your target, take a different club and repeat. The idea is to build up confidence and consistency.

2. On the putting green apply the same principle. Take 10 golf balls and choose a hole on a relatively flat surface. Mark out one putter length from the hole. Putt 10 balls into the hole. If you miss one, take all the balls back and start again until you have managed to sink 10 consecutive putts. Increase the distance to two putter-lengths and repeat.

Anokh Jai
Level 4 Certified Golf Teaching Professional
Total Golf Solutionz Ltd.
+254 736 035500
www.totalgolfsolutionz.com
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Team Kenya Long Drive Qualifiers

The qualifiers for the short list of Team Kenya Long Drive 2018 took place on July 8th at the Kenya Railways Golf Club.

Each of the participants hit 3 sets of 6 golf balls – hitting a total of 18 Drives, with the cumulative yardage of the two longest drives counting towards their ranking . “We’re looking for consistency in our long drivers, it is the biggest advantage that we have being able to hit the grid and why Kenya is able to be a threat at the International Long Drive Championships” commented Team Kenya Long Drive Coach Anokh Jai.

We had a total of 25 long drive participants during the event, 2 senior hitters, 4 lady hitters and the rest hitting in the Men’s Open Category.