Fear of failure is a common cause of poor golf shots. My friend Jeff Ritter who teaches at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach has a great way of thinking about it. 

Let's say you decide to go sky diving. You take a day long course and you are fully prepared to make your jump. So there you are up in the plane and about to jump.  You have two choices. You can be petrified of whether your parachute will open and have a stressful experience, or you can fully trust that you are prepared and that your parachute will open. What follows could be the coolest experience ever. 

You hear all the great players say that they trust their swings. At some point, it is time to trust your swing and let go. Jump! You just might hit your best shot ever!

British Open Champion and Ryder Cupper Justin Leonard likes to practice on the sides of the driving range. He does this because it forces him to create shots. Often times there is a net or some trees on the perimeter and he can use those as target images to create golf shots. This keeps him away from too much block practice which is hitting the same shot over and over again. After all, that is not golf. 

Next time you go to the range, have a list of trajectories and shot shapes you want to create. Practice hitting those shots. Find which ones are easier for you and which ones present challenges. This will help you communicate to your teacher as to where you need to improve. You will also be practicing golf as it is truly played. 

Today’s top players have a much more advanced approach to pre-game preparation. In fact, most pros are already fully warmed up before they set foot on the practice tee. In general they’ll spend about an hour preparing their bodies to swing the club ahead of time, whereas the average player thinks hitting a few shots before they reach the first tee will get them loose. When you’re watching your favorite stars hit balls before play, it’s got nothing to do with preparing the body, but rather honing specific shots and getting into the proper mindset for competition. It’s not only the extra time put in that makes the difference. Today’s players have made getting ready a science. Some research has even shown that basic stretching might not be as effective as you think. What golfers should understand is that there are two different kinds of stretches … either static or dynamic. Static stretches would most commonly be positions you hold for 30 seconds or longer, whereas a dynamic stretch prepares the muscle though continuous motion. Research shows dynamic stretching can lead to a 1.6 percent increase in vertical jump height (a common test for explosive power). But static stretching right before golf can actually diminish a player’s explosiveness. Dynamic stretching with light resistance using elastic bands and tubing can lead to up to a 5.6 percent improvement in driving distance. This upgraded stretching practice can even keep the increased power output elevated for up to 24 hours after the warm-up. With evidence like that, it’s no wonder players are paying more attention to their preparation. So what does a typical PGA Tour player warm-up look like? It normally begins with a cardio warm-up on a treadmill, bike, stair climber or elliptical machine to help get the player’s heart rate elevated and blood flow moving. Dynamic and (elastic-band) stretches often focus on glute activation, hip and shoulder mobility as well as balance. Also included are myo-fascial release therapies such as massaging muscles with a foam roller or other trigger-point devices designed to break up tightness or knots. The key is to plan ahead and put in some effort. If you’re playing to win, the extra time will definitely be worth the effort! 

I like to play games with my junior golfers to keep them entertained and learning. One of my favorite games is to set up alignment sticks in the ground as if they were goals. I stick one on the target line and then one on each side of it. At the top of their swing, I call out which goal they have to hit it through. This gives them a sense of clubface awareness as the clubface is king when it comes to where a ball starts. Occasionally I ask them to knock over the stick right on the target line. In many cases, they do! If you can knock it through the goal on the left and then the goal on the right, its just a matter of time when you get the feel for a dead straight one.