Historically golfers who have not practiced that efficiently, continually struggle to take their game from the range to the course. This is because they fail to practice in conditions that resemble competitive play. Granted, it is impossible to fully create competitive circumstances. However, it is your challenge to make your practice as close to those conditions as possible. Remember, the goal of practicing is to become a better player, not a better “practicer”. So when it comes time to compete, the goal is to focus on the process and trust your training. Quality practice consists of such things as setting goals for practice and making sure you spend quality time on your technique. Closer to competition more focus is on feel and controlling the ball flight.

This golf tip was contributed by Gary Gilchrist. Gary is currently the Director of Instruction at the International Junior Golf Academy where his clients include Peter Hedblom, Song Hee Kim, Nicole Perrot and Sean O’Hair. Gary has directed the development of 75 AJGA All-Americans; 6 AJGA Players of the Year; 2 AJGA Sportsmanship award winners; 2 U.S. Amateur champions; 2 U.S. Junior champions; an NCAA Women’s champion and 1 Public Links champion.

He is the author of this new book on golf training for juniors, Train Like A Champion.