One of the challenges that all golfers face is figuring out how to get the most out of their practice time. Dedicated junior golfers can invest as much as 25 to 30 hours a week practicing on the course, hitting balls, and working on their short game and putting. Learning to use this valuable resource effectively can give golfers a significant advantage over their competition.

The mistake I see most young golfers make is that they fail to plan out their practice time and don’t understand how to tie their effort back to their goals. Granted, in golf it’s not easy to measure progress on a daily basis and to understand the connection between practice and tournament play. The best way to turn your practice time into a benefit is to understand and follow the framework described below.

Golfers have to begin with clearly defined goals and then accurately measure their performance against their goals. It helps to use a statistical analysis program like the one we like – ShotbyShot – to understand where strokes are gained and lost. Once the analysis is complete, overall practice objectives can be laid out. Finally, the most important step in the process is deciding on daily practice tasks and objectives and formulating the right mix of block, random, skill-based practice, etc. (see the diagram which illustrates the different types of practice). Below is a brief explanation of each practice option to help you better understand how to design a practice plan.

• Block – Repeatedly hitting the same type of shot to the same target with the same club.
• Random – Frequently changing the target, the club, the lie, or the type of shot (high, low, draw, etc.).
• Skill-Based – Focusing on achieving a desired result independent of technique. For example, attempting to control and move the strike point on the club face.
• Technique/Movement – Working on changes to the way you swing, chip, or putt.
• Situational – Attempting to find a solution to a particular problem or situation. For example, determining the type of tee shot to hit in a specific wind direction.
• Adversity Training – Increasing pressure by adding consequences for failing to accomplish a task or goal.
• Games/Challenges – Creating games and keeping score to be able to compare results from one day to another.

​All of the types of practice listed above have value. The trick each day is to figure out the correct mix and how much time to spend on each one. Planning your practice on a daily basis should take about 15-30 minutes but the benefits far outweigh the extra time invested. Your coach should be able to help you build your practice plans.

Ball speed and distance dominate golf news headlines and TV coverage. Tune in to any pro event and you don’t have to wait long before you’ll hear the announcers discussing the mammoth drives of Dustin, Rory, Bubba and all the other really big hitters in the game. Each player’s ball speed is displayed on the screen like it’s the holy grail. This sends a clear message to players of all ability levels – get fast or get left behind. Younger players know this and talk about their longest drives like a badge of honor, regardless of how it affects their scores.

With all this emphasis on hitting the ball far, there are some things we need to understand about ball speed (the source of these prodigious drives) and its relationship to low scores and playing the game at a high level.

Do Higher Ball Speeds Mean Lower Scores?
In general, yes. More ball speed and distance make the game far easier, especially for younger golfers. Golfers that hit it a long way have several advantages. Here are a few of the most significant.

1. Longer drives make it easier to hit approach shots closer to the flag, thereby having a better chance of making birdies and avoiding three putts.
2. Longer and higher drives give players the ability to carry bunkers and cut the corners on doglegs, setting up even shorter approach shots.
3. Long hitters also are better out of the rough which reduces the penalty for offline shots.

​What is a Really Good Ball Speed for a Junior Golfer?
We track ball speed and distance for all of our junior golfers and have noticed a strong correlation between multi-sport athletes and higher ball speeds. The table below shows the top 20% in ball speed by age.

Can Players Improve Their Ball Speed?
Yes, without a doubt.  Here are some of the best ways to improve ball speed.

1. Improve impact dynamics. Regardless of your club speed, the best way to maximize your ball speed is to hit the ball as close to the center of the face as possible. Ball speed also depends on the club’s movement through the ball (angle of attack and club path) and the orientation of the club face at impact (dynamic loft and face angle).
2. Train hard in the gym. For competitive juniors, golf fitness has shifted from a recommendation to an expectation. The gains made in the gym starting with more mobility and stability contribute greatly to a player’s ability to generate and control speed.
3. Swing faster. It sounds simple but it works. Training the body and brain to swing fast produces measurable gains.
4. Get properly fitted. The right clubs can make a big difference in club speed and a golfer’s ability to find the center of the face. Poorly fitted clubs on the other hand, can have a negative influence on ball speed.

​There’s no denying that on tour, in college golf, and among junior golfers there is a trend toward faster ball speeds. The standard at all levels has changed and successful coaches and players will adapt to this new style of play.

Here’s an interesting bit of information, on average PGA pros make 80% of their money in only 20% of the events they play. This implies that playing great golf for an extended period is hard to accomplish even for the best players in the game. Because of this reality, tour pros and juniors alike are wise to select a handful of tournaments during the year in which they attempt to play their very best golf. For competitive junior golfers, the list of important tournaments often includes national and state qualifiers and tournaments, high school playoffs, and events with strong fields.

​Below are some of the most important keys to performing best when it counts the most.

1. Gather the relevant facts, in this order: a) Check the lie; b) Determine the direction and strength of the wind; c) Calculate the critical distances to the flag, front of the green, the group of trees lining the fairway, etc. and adjust for elevation changes; and d) review notes for unusual situations like slope of the fairway or green.
2. Evaluate the opportunity and risk (e.g. there is a good chance for birdie, but I must avoid the deep bunker left of the green).
3. Choose the goal (e.g. land the ball four yards right and three yards short of the pin).
4. Develop a strategy for achieving the goal that incorporates the facts while avoiding any unnecessary risk (e.g. hit a high draw that that works with the right-to-left wind).
5. Select the shot that offers the best chance of success (e.g. a high 7-iron that starts at the middle of the green).

​When young golfers make their pre-shot process a habit, their play is likely to become more consistent. They will create more opportunities and reduce errors. They’ll also get better feedback and an increased understanding of what parts of their game need work. Even with a pre-shot process, junior golfers still can get into trouble when they skip steps in the process, have unrealistic expectations, let emotions influence their decisions, or have poor strategy.

The ultimate goal is to become so familiar with the process that it requires less thinking and becomes automatic. By doing that, the process can be completed in less time and, in the event that there’s a more complex situation, players are more likely to select the right shot.
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Each of the steps above need to be trained and practiced so they can be relied upon in a competitive environment. I suggest working separately on each of the steps in the process. I also recommend that younger golfers solicit the help of their coach who can go on the course to review each of the segments and to help refine the overall process.

If you’ve been around the game for any length of time, you’ve surely said or heard, “I don’t know why I can’t seem to take it from the range to the course.” That statement is filled with the frustration associated with hitting the ball better on the range than on the course. Younger golfers, who spend much more time working on the range than do adults, are especially prone to this type of complaint.

The difference between the range and the golf course is obvious. On the range, players often hit the same club to the same target. With enough time and repetition the environment on the range is conducive to finding a rhythm or a groove. The golf course offers an environment that is quite the opposite – no two shots are the same and keeping score creates a mix of negative emotions (nervousness, anger, frustration, etc.) that can affect performance.
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So, what’s the trick to allowing the skills a player develops in practice to transfer to the golf course? The key is to have training and practice sessions with the same kind of pressure and conditions that players will experience on the golf course. Players must be engaged in the same mental process during practice that they will draw upon when they play.​

Simulate the Golf Course
Even the best ranges lack the characteristics and challenges that the course presents. To overcome this, players need to use their imagination to recreate shots that they find on the course. For example, two flags on the range can represent the edges of the fairway. I also recommend playing an entire round on the range by creating fairways, picking greens, and changing targets and clubs with each shot.

Use Your Entire Process
Routines are the glue of the golf swing. Both pre-shot and post-shot routines need to be practiced and refined so that they can become habits that can be relied upon during competition. Other mental skills can also be practiced while hitting shots at targets on the range. We recommend that young golfers use the 1 in 1 rule – hit one shot per minute – to leave enough time to go through the same process they use on the course.

Practicing with Adversity
Adding adversity to a practice session is one of the most important elements of the transfer process and is also one of the most difficult to implement. We know that the course offers adversity in many forms – difficult lies, hazards, the pressure of counting every stroke. You can add pressure to your practice sessions by engaging in games, creating challenging scenarios, and adding consequences for poor performances. A consequence that involves additional practice time or extra reps can be very effective.
In summary, the basic formula for getting the work you do on the range to transfer to the course is to:

1. Simulate holes from the course or play range rounds;
2. Go through the entire pre-shot and post-shot process on each shot;
3. Add consequences for missing targets or for not accomplishing objectives.

Although there are differences among the best junior golfers, one thing they almost certainly have in common is that, when compared to their peers, they have more tournament experience. The benefits of tournament play are numerous and include:

• Valuable learning opportunities that can’t be found in practice.
• An opportunity for younger golfers to test their skills under the pressure of competition.
• The statistical feedback that’s necessary for improvement.
• Automatic national ranking based upon tournament scores.
• A chance to meet and make friends with other competitive junior golfers.

We realize that most parents understand the value of competition in the development process but still need guidance as to the frequency of play and the types of tournaments that are appropriate for their child.
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Periodization and Timing
We like to use a model and a few simple rules to help parents get a better feel for the frequency in which their child should compete. Most high-level athletes use some form of periodization to peak at the right time and avoid over training. In golf, the model below works well for both juniors starting out and for more experienced golfers.

There are four phases within a cycle and the duration of each phase and the time in between each phase can vary throughout the year. Here’s how the timing might work for a young golfer who plays a two-day tournament on the weekend and has two weeks until his next tournament.

1. Compete in a tournament (two days)
2. Evaluate the results and allow time to rest and recover (one to two days)
3. Work with your coach and train the areas of your game that need improvement (approximately five days)
4. Prepare for the next tournament with most of the time being spent on the course (approximately five days)

Tournament Selection
Now that you have a better idea of how to manage a competition cycle, let’s go over the specifics of putting together a tournament schedule.

For younger players, the goal is exposure and experience. At this stage, score is unimportant, so parents can schedule several tournaments in a row even if it’s not possible or practical to play practice rounds at each course. For older, more competitive juniors, parents need to be strategic when selecting tournaments because of their implications to national rankings. Parents should lean toward events on familiar courses, with strong fields, and that will allow adequate preparation including playing at least one practice round.

The NTPGA (www.ntpga.com) has a full schedule of nine-hole prep and 18-hole medalist tournaments. These tournaments are a great starting point for players that need experience on the golf course. The TJGT (www.tjgt.com) is a great regional tour that offers competitive juniors the opportunity to test their skills on championship courses and against strong fields. The most serious juniors can consider playing on a national level. The AJGA (www.ajga.org) offers a full schedule of events throughout the country.

My recent blog post "Are You Coachable?" which can be found below contained some content from a published article by Matt Wilson and Corey Lundberg entitled "Coachability: Traits and Tactics of Super Learning Students." In my original article, I failed to site Matt and Corey's article which can be found at www.curiouscoaches.com. I apologized to Matt and Corey for that omission. They are excellent coaches who have worked hard to provide useful information to the coaching community.

In golf, where fractions separate the best from the rest, junior golfers can’t afford to get off track and let days and weeks go by without making progress. Heeding the ongoing advice of an experienced coach can literally make the difference on whether a young golfer reaches his goals or not.

Now that we understand the importance of trusting your coach and following his or her guidance, let’s determine how coachable you are. There are several traits that coachable athletes share. Among the most important are the following:

• They are motivated by the challenge of mastering a skill rather than by the goal of beating someone else or achieving some external reward.
  
• They persist through challenges. They are not discouraged by the fact that golfers lose much more than they win, and they understand that even practice can become a grind.
  
• They are disciplined and stay on task. They accept the fact that to become a skilled golfer, it requires thousands of repetitions and the work is often tedious.
  
• They are conscientious and careful when they train and practice because they know little mistakes add up over time, especially in a sport that demands precision.
  
• Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they are self-compassionate. They understand that by its very nature, golf can be brutal and to maintain effort over a long period of time, they must avoid self-criticism and maintain a positive outlook.

In addition to possessing the personal traits above, coachable athletes use tactics that increase the likelihood that their hard work will pay off. Here are some of the most significant ones:

• They organize their work and lay out a detailed plan for each day of training and practice.
  
• They reflect on their lessons, practice, and play and this reflection often manifests itself in journaling.
  
• They set goals and measure their progress against those goals.
  
• They track their stats regardless of their performance.
  
• They communicate frequently with their coach to ensure that their coach has all the information needed to be effective.

To summarize, being coachable might be the most important quality that a golfer can possess. It doesn’t come naturally and most of us have to work hard to be good at it. From a coach’s standpoint, it’s an absolute pleasure and gift whenever I get to work with an athlete that is truly coachable. If you’re ready to start being more coachable, I suggest that on your next lesson, you walk up to your coach and make the following statement: “Please tell me exactly what I need to do to reach my goals.” Your coach might be surprised but I can guarantee you that you’ll be on your way to a better golf game.​

Perform an Annual Review
This process will enable a parent to look back and celebrate the victories (I’m not necessarily referring to tournament victories), evaluate the failures, and decide on the changes or shifts that are necessary to make 2018 more successful for a young golfer. This can best be done by writing the answers to the following three questions.

1.       What went well in 2017?
2.       What didn’t go so well in 2017?
3.       What does your son or daughter need to do differently so that 2018 will be successful?

Create a System and Forget about Goals
Most of us attempt to set some goals but struggle year after year to accomplish what we outline on paper. A far more productive approach is to commit to a process of improvement – in other words a system for accomplishing goals.

Here’s an example:
·       Your child’s goal is to win a tournament. Their “system” details what they do at practice each day.

You can keep things simple and reduce stress by focusing on the daily process and sticking to a schedule, rather than worrying about big, difficult-to-achieve goals. Goals are strangely at odds with long-term progress. Goals are about short-term results. Systems are about the long-term process. Goals suggest you can control things that are uncontrollable. Forget about predicting the future. Build a system that is reliable and signals when adjustments are necessary.

In summary, goals are good for planning your progress. Systems are good for actually making progress.

Prepare Your Child’s Tournament Schedule in Advance
After completing an assessment of 2017 and putting together an improvement system for 2018, it’s time to plan out your son or daughter’s tournament schedule. Preparing the schedule in advance increases the chances that your child will perform well when it counts the most and will help you save on travel and other expenses.

When exploring which tournaments to play, it makes sense to follow these guidelines:

·       Register for a mix of tournaments so that your child can be tested by strong competition in some events and then can compete to win in other events. I recommend competing on one of the regional tours like the Texas Junior Golf Tour (tjgt.com). They have a variety of tournaments to test competitors of every level.
·       If your son or daughter plays high school golf, be sure to check the team schedule to avoid doubling up on events. Also check their exam schedule. It’s hard to compete when preparation or sleep are in short supply.
·       Make sure your child’s instructor knows which tournaments are the most important so that he or she can ensure that your child’s game is peaking at just the right time.

If you follow the three steps outlined above, you will be putting your junior golfer in position to have a successful and rewarding 2018.