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TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT B Y D A N PA S Q U A R I E L L O A N D L A I R D S M A L L 104 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 New Year, New Golf Resolutions s we start 2017, it's a common practice to make an audit of the past year, and commit to making some changes for the New Year. So what do we change in our golf game? How do we do it? Where do we start? The first piece is to realize that golf is a game, and in all games we play, the object is fun, enjoyment, diversion, recreation and competition. One of the prime objectives in all games is that we want to win! Wins can be meas- ured in many different ways, and it's not necessarily a first-place finish. Perhaps your awareness improved over your last practice session, or you know more about your swing and what causes the ball to go off- line, and you have a way to fix it. A win can also be the ability to control your emotions more on the course, or that you are having more fun playing the game. As you can see, we have many barriers that we need to overcome and that's par t of the challenge—it's what keeps our inter- est and curiosity. One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is, "How do I practice?" This is often followed by, "What do I practice?" We have found by observing amateur players at all levels that they don't have a way to practice that makes it fun, interesting, challenging and, most importantly, productive for the time spent. In our observation of PGA Tour professionals, we see how they practice and it's very different from amateurs. Here's what we see the pros do: Commit and manage the amount of time they practice—they don't over-practice. Professional golfers schedule their practice times, much like we would do for an appointment. They have specific times for starting and ending, an agenda for their practice and key things to accomplish in the practice ses- sion, e.g. work on alignment by placing clubs on the ground and making sure each shot has the correct alignment to the target. They will split their practice time in different areas, such as 30 minutes on putting, 30 minutes on chipping and one hour on the full swing. Their ses- sions will be more frequent with less time in each session, not a marathon session on the range. Once they have met their goal, they stop and make notes of what was accomplished and what to work on for the next session, which allows them to stay on track. They make sure their practice is time- balanced based on their needs and they do this for all parts of their game. Most of us spend too much time in one area during a marathon session. When we do that, it's easy to lose our focus, get frustrated and not accomplish much. This can lead to a lack of motivation to practice for most amateurs. Golf has a skillset and swing mechanics (e.g. how we move the club) and we can call this the outer game. Golf also has an inner game, though! How much are we training the inner golfer? Tour players train their inner golfer all the time in their practice. They play situational games on the range to simulate on-course play. One way they do this is to play the course on every shot—first a tee shot with defined fairways and target area, then an iron to a green, then putting the ball into the hole. They include their pre-shot routine each time and change the club and targets on every shot they strike. They will also invite pressure in the practice session, such as, "This putt must go in, oth- erwise I star t over again," or "I need to take one more shot to validate the drill or session." They strive to get as close as possible to the on- course experience. Many golf professionals practice curving and changing the trajectory of the shots they practice—one hook and one fade, one low and one high— as that is what they will face on the course. Many will practice the nine- ball drill. If you look at the shot shapes we hit, there are really only nine basic lines that the ball will take—either a high, medium or low trajectory, and the ball will curve left, right or go straight. How many shots will it take to complete one cycle of this drill? "Perfect" would be nine golf balls! If you are unclear on what to work on or how to practice, visit your PGA or LPGA Golf Professional for direction and coaching. It will be time and money well spent on your growth and enjoyment of the game in pur- suit of your goal. Happy New Year! Treat yourself to a New Year's gift of golf! Please contact the Pebble Beach Academy & Practice Facility at 831/622-8650 to schedule a lesson with the teaching staff. A