Avoid this common mistake, says Top 100 teacher Krista Dunton.
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If you are a handicap and looking for a quick and easy way to improve your resultsone top instructor gives a surprising reason why you might be struggling: the desire to be too perfect.
According to Krista Dunton’s 100 Best TeachersHigh handicap players suffer when they try to overthink things on the golf course, and the desire to be technically perfect can backfire. When you play a round, the less you have to think about the ball, the better. Dunton suggests practicing your technique before taking a shot at the range to develop your skills so you’ll feel more comfortable approaching and pulling the trigger during a round.
“I always try to get my students to engage in four things,” Dunton said. “Decide on the shot you will use, the club you will use, the swing you will use and your skill.”
Dunton encourages you to use the idea of fellow top 100 people Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott’s “Think Box/Play Box”, where you designate space to think about your shot and space solely to act.
“When high-handicap players come into the game, they should stay behind the ball, make a decision, commit to the shot, determine where they want to go, and then rise above the ball and do it,” Dunton said. “And then work on making that movement much faster.”
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Dunton says that if you need to think about your swing, it should be something simple that relates to how you feel when you play well.
“It could be that I feel free, in balance, or I am succeeding good turn– she said. “So get up, look at the target and go.”
Getting to this free and easy spot along the route is, of course, harder than it looks. And that’s why Dunton says it’s important to take some time to exercise.
“If you go to the range and work on it or do something at home, do more drills in the mirror, practice with more focus, and then play more freely, I really think the preparation stage and the commitment to the shot becomes more natural.” she said. “Right on the ball we all have problems with being too aware. You need to practice this speed to then become familiar with it.
Take Dunton’s advice and try to make 2025 the best year on this course.
