Hi Dave

I try and commit to all 4 as much as I can without work getting in the way. One other thing I do playing off of 4 is to have some coaching at least once a quarter wether I am playing well or badly I find it stops those silly little swing faults creeping in.

The biggest improvement ive seen for myself was over the last few years has been consistency through practice, i still dont practice enough but im happy with where everythings at

Currently playing off 4hcp, won my home clubs scratch championship back in 2020 with the mindset of just hit fairway and hit the green. This then made me pick yardages i like and my club selection changed for the better.

Evening Dave.

Sounds like you have a plan in place and best of luck to you.

Last year I took my eye of the ball and my golf went down hill, so I’ve committed myself to the above 4 with a lesson every 6/8 weeks even if it’s a basic check up in case any nasty habits come into play.

Best of luck for the season ahead.

I find that having a good short game helps me play better all round. I try and practice as much as a full time job and 2 small children will allow but I do focus on my short game.
It can really help if you have confidence in with all the other parts of the game being able to get up & down regularly.

Would recommend, wholeheartedly, reading the Jon Sherman book "Four Foundations of Golf"

It opened my eyes, not necessarily on practice stuff, but more mindset and acceptance. 100% worth a read.

I’ve taken the punt and bought the kindle version - looking forward to the read as I know most of my bad golf comes from the top few inches!

Could not agree more.

Amazing book. Getting that relationship between skill and expectation is key.

Don't know if you follow him on Twitter but have had some great interactions with him and the Chasing Scratch guy on there.

The book is a great read.

Ian

My copy should arrive this afternoon thanks to Jeff Bezos and his crew. I have a wild weekend coming up! Haha.

I struggled last year but a combination of life being busy and injury curtailed my golf just when it seemed like it was coming into something decent.

This year, the plan is to make sure that I keep an eye on my health. I played me best golf when I was my fittest. I would be surprised if I could ever get myself that fit again - I was single, lived alone and would only occasionally need to work in the evenings. Let's just say, that is not the case now but if I can improve it even just a little but also do a lot of maintenance work to make sure I don't get hurt when I get the chance to practice then that would be ideal.

Beyond that, a more detailed dive into keeping stats is on the agenda just to give me the chance to be more specific in my practice.

Sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck for the season.

Well this year I have gone from +0.6 to +2.5 but just having fun and not taking it as seriously! I used to spend many hours practicing, and this year I have just gone out and played instead. When I'm not hitting it well or chipping well, I go and practise for a bit. Before,I was putting in practice for practise sake. I honestly think that as I have not taken it so seriously I have relaxed more as its taken the pressure off. Will see what 2023 brings!

Today I took my first lesson with my new coach.

It really is amazing how knowledgeable these pros are.

Small steps but this year I’m going low Lol

My golf improved once I stopped taking stats and just went out and enjoyed myself. Having a young family I only get maximum one practice round a week in summer and then club comps on Saturdays. So I just try to enjoy myself and practice putting 3 times a week at home on the carpet.

Despite the reduced practice I’ve come down 1.5 shots each year the last two years so somethings working!

My golf improved once I stopped taking stats and just went out and enjoyed myself. Having a young family I only get maximum one practice round a week in summer and then club comps on Saturdays. So I just try to enjoy myself and practice putting 3 times a week at home on the carpet.

Despite the reduced practice I’ve come down 1.5 shots each year the last two years so somethings working!

Each to their own, but the two things made the biggest difference for me when I was playing at my best were:

1. Play with people better than you, not only will you pick up the odd bit of advice, either consciously or subconsciously, but you may also find that you apply yourself a bit better.
2. Regular on course practice, I played my best golf when i was able to get myself on the course during quiet spells, even if just for a few holes. I would play those holes with two balls and also spend a bit of extra time on and around the greens. Very rarely would anyone have issue with this, but it's important to stress the need to look after the course and be aware of other players. Players should be doing it anyway, but when playing several balls I make extra efforts to replace divots and repair pitch marks, and also ensure that I'm not interfering with anyone else's pace of play.

I definitely need to play a lot more, practice what’s that, for years I’ve just rocked up 10 minutes before my tee off time, this season im going too put in some hours on the range, get loosened up before rounds.
I too have also booked some lessons, got help the pro trying to sort me out haha
Play well all and I hope you have the best season ever this year! ️‍♂️