THE PRACTICE RANGE: Consistency on the Course

By Daniel Island Club Head Teaching Professional, Ron Cerrudo

When I ask my golf students what their major problems are, the most common answer is lack of consistency. First and foremost, consistency comes from good basic fundamentals. Players should know why they hit a god shot as well as why they hit a poor shot. If you are a person that stays on the driving range hitting ball after ball with no clue why your shot is good or poor, you’re simply wasting time and energy.

Practice your weakness. Golfers are constantly practicing things they do well because it’s fun. None of us enjoy doing something badly; however, golf is a game of many facets. If one part of your game is weak it can creep into the entire process.

A good way to find weakness is to chart your game. Each time you play, keep a separate card and track the entire process.

1.    Number of fairways hit (greens in regulation)
2.    Putts per round (not only the total, but what is your percentage on putts from inside five feet)
3.    Number of putts taken from outside 20 feet
4.    Your average score within 20 yards of the green
5.    Number of times you get up and down out of the bunkers, or if you are a high handicapper, how many strokes do you average just getting out of bunkers

By tracking these, you can find where your greatest weakness occurs. If you can’t figure out how to improve these parts of your game, maybe it’s time to get some outside help.

Remember the old saying “Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!”