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Everyone knows that to improve technique practice is required but everyone also knows practice can be rather dull.

The best way to make practice more enjoyable is to make it game and goal orientated. Games and goals can be extremely important as they keep the mind and golfer engaged. Often players just hit the ball for the sake of it without having goals in mind; this will not help things improve. Goals can be relatively easy to set. Aiming to make a swing change in a certain amount of balls can be a goal and will help players reach the desired number of shots with great ease. Linking that goal to a game can have even more of a positive effect.

Use this example to help create your own goals and games to help improve your golf.

Example: Golfer, Game and Goal

If you are a golfer who is struggling with a hook (a shot that starts right of the target and hooks left to finish well left of the target), the swing change would require a more neutral swing path into the ball with a club face which is square to the target at impact. The swing and grip change to eliminate the hook could take 300 balls. At the end of this 300 balls, set a target of hitting 20 balls into a predetermined target area 150 yards away. If the swing change has been successful, the ball should fly through the air without much hook movement. Take note of the ball flight and how many shots finish in the predetermined target area. At the end of your next practice session (of 50 or more balls), repeat the test and try to improve your score.

This way of practicing will link the swing change to a goal and then the goal to a game.

Golfers should use games and goals to increase the chances of making a practice session more productive.

Although you should be practicing to improve technique, dont become bogged down in the technicalities and remember to leave the range and play. People who spend too much time on the range can groove bad habits and cause more problems to their game.

Golfers do need some time to think and focus when practicing but having a practice partner and allowing yourself five minutes break when hitting balls can increase the enjoyment and productivity of a range session.

Whilst being tense and tight on the range is not a good way to approach a practice session, golfers need to work on their technique and not simply swing as hard as they can at the ball. This will groove a wild, inconsistent swing.