There is a point of diminishing return on preparation for a shot, round or a tournament. The best way to find out where that is for you is to test both under and over preparing. In that way, you can find your own sweet spot.

Do you have a tendency to over or under prepare? What is the right amount of practice for you?

There is a tendency among many golfers to over prepare in every THINK BOX (before the shot). Multiple practice swings, triple checking yardages, debating club and shot selection, and being worried about making THE RIGHT decision. Then, stepping into the PLAY BOX (during the shot) still doubting the decision and being distracted.

Try the Drills below to help you discover what works best for you.

Drills for Skills

1. Test playing a round with a very simple warm-up session, and one doing a lot of extra preparation before playing.
2. Alternate playing a hole with less preparation in the THINK BOX (take out practice swings, only getting yardage once, etc…), and then playing a hole doing more in the THINK BOX.
3. Play a round making sure you have a lot of expectations on shots and outcome.
4. Play a round when you free yourself from shot and outcome expectations.

Early morning getting a feel for the course and reviewing all the good things from last week….know how you play great ⛳️ @mayariya @volviklpga

A post shared by VISION54 (@lynnpia54) on May 22, 2018 at 9:04am PDT

Train on the Course

Did you notice that these drills are all on the course rather than on the practice range? The golf course can be a proving ground when you play to perform or compete. The golf course can also be a learning ground and training space. We learn best when we train in context – ON the golf course.

Play 6-9 holes a week with intentional exercises to improve your options for good golf. Since your body-mind-emotions are variable from day to day, you want to have more than one option for what to pay attention to ON the course. There are only four areas to consider:

• Before the shot – THINK BOX (Decide & Trust)
• During the shot – PLAY BOX (Focus & Sense)
• After the shot – MEMORY BOX (Neutral or Positive)
• BETWEEN SHOTS  (Recharge time for body-mind-emotions)

What gives you the best opportunity to perform at your best?

Pia and Lynn

Lynn Marriott & Pia Nilsson are co-founders of VISION54, a breakthrough program, and golf school based at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lynn and Pia are internationally recognized, are the two highest ranked female instructors in America, and are both regularly featured among Golf Digest’s Top 50 Greatest Teachers.

VISION54’s Golf Schools, 54GOLF, have been awarded the “Best Golf School in America” multiple times. VISION54’s Coach Programs, 54COACH, have repeatedly received the highest marks by peers of training for teachers and coaches.

Lynn and Pia have coached players to well over one hundred tour victories on the LPGA Tour, PGA Tour, European Tour, Ladies European Tour, and Japan Tour. They’ve coached nine different major winners and four #1 ranked players in the world.

They are the authors of four best-selling books, including their newest release Be A Player.

For more information on Pia and Lynn’s coaching philosophy, virtual learning and exercises you can use to improve your game, visit vision54.com and follow Vision54 online on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.