How to Get Better at Golf: A Guide for Junior Golfers

 

Over the last 15 years, I’ve been shocked to see my game steadily improve despite the fact that I have less and less time to practice each year. Of course, there are occasional drop offs when I take a big stretch of time off, but overwhelmingly, I am still able to shoot some of my best scores. And it excites me to think that my best golf might still be ahead of me. In this article I’m going to share some of the lessons I’ve learn throughout my golfing career — many of which I first discovered when I was playing on the Harvard Women’s Golf Team.

As background, it helps to know that the two biggest difference between junior golfers and college golfers are: time-management skills and knowledge of your game. I’ve seen this confirmed time and time again in my with junior golfers and conversations with college coaches.

Believe it or not, college players have less time to work on their games than junior golfers. People are often shocked to hear this. But with all of the academics commitments, social opportunities, personal responsibilities (you mean I have to wash my own laundry now?), and near constant team tournament qualifiers, you don’t have much time to practice the way you as a junior. 

So if you’re a junior golfer wondering how to get better at golf, or what you can do to be better prepared for college golf, here are five actionable ways you can improve your practice. These tactics will help you get more out of your game with less practice. Here goes…

 

Incorporate Randomized Practice 

Randomized practice is when you hit a different club to a new target, and go through your full pre-shot routine before each shot. In essence, it is what we do when we play golf on the course.

Most people don’t practice how they play. Spending hours practicing (especially doing drills) is counterproductive if you’re hitting the same shot, over and over again. That’s not how we play golf on the course! There’s a certain amount of “block” practice needed to ingrain new swing changes, but after that, you need randomized practice. You need to know that you can execute a shot the first time, not after hitting 5 in a row. 

So when you aren’t working to ingrain a new swing change, I recommend that you make the majority of your practice time “randomized”. You’ll hit fewer shots, but the shots that you hit will be much higher quality.

 

Play More (for practice)

The important distinction here is that it’s not just about playing more tournaments, I’m talking about playing non-tournament rounds.

The reason we practice (at least for most of us) is to ingrain skills that enable lower scores. But unfortunately, there are some skills that are impossible to work on at the driving range or practice green. Scrambling, recovery shots, scoring, mental focus… all hard to simulate in a practice setting. 

Additionally, once you reach a certain level, becoming a better golfer isn’t about hitting the ball better, it’s about managing your game better and finding a way to work with what you have on that day. Being able to post a good score even when you aren’t playing well is a skill that requires a lot of practice. Better to get this practice when you’re on your own than in a tournament!

 

Know What You Are Working On

Have you ever been on the driving range and not remember the last four (or more) shots you just hit? This has definitely happened to me, and keeps happening if I’m not careful. It’s easy to go through the motions. Randomized practice helps prevent this, but it can still creep in.

In order to get better at golf (or anything, for that matter), it’s not just about reps. It’s about high quality reps. Any time you make a swing where you don’t know what you’re trying to do, not only is that a missed opportunity, it’s counterproductive. 

Spend five minutes before a practice session to map out your goals and define what you want to improve in that session goes a really long way. You’ll start with high quality practice and be able to get back on track faster if you find your focus waning.

Never make a swing if you haven’t set an intention for that swing.

 

Focus on Short Game

When kids ask how much of their practice time should be spent on each area of the game, I respond with the following question… how often do you have that shot on the golf course? And then, what percentage of the shots you hit on the golf course fall into that area of the game?

Putting makes up nearly 50% of all shots during a round of golf, so nearly 50% of practice time should be spent on the practice putting green. And within that, more time should be spent on putts from within 8 feet. Of course this isn’t a hard and fast rule (you don’t need to spend 20% of your practice time on tap ins!) but it’s a great guideline.

I always advocate for intermediate wedge practice when a player asks how to improve his or her game, too. Having confidence in your wedge game can help set you up for birdies on shorter holes and also really takes the pressure off if you’re struggling off the tee… “taking your medicine” is a lot easier if you believe you can get up and down to save par!

 

Put Away The Cell Phone 

This gets back at the concept of high quality practicing. Whether you have two hours or 20 minutes, do your best to limit distractions. Phones are one of the biggest distractions.

It blows my mind when I see kids spending half their time on the range or putting green looking at their phone. You will not get better at golf just by going to practice — what you do while you’re there makes all the difference. Really think about what you are trying to accomplish while you are practicing and get as many high quality reps as you can.

That said, a lot of people don’t understand how hard it is to stay mentally and physically engaged while playing and practicing golf. It’s important to take breaks. Use the timer on your phone to remind you that it’s time for a break, time to switch gears from block to randomized, time to transition from shortgame to full swing. But make sure that you are intentional with your phone usage. Otherwise it’s a distraction that will prevent you from being able to get the most out of your practice time.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, everyone has a slightly different “recipe for success”. Some players get better from playing a lot, others get sharp through competition, and some need to feel technically sound to play well. 

Part of your goal as a junior golfer is to determine your recipe. It’s ok if you don’t know yet what your game needs to keep developing. My hope is that by employing these five practice tactics you’ll be able to discover what helps you play your best golf and the kind of practice you need to keep getting better.

 

Bonus

From a recruiting standpoint, hearing that a junior golfer “spends five hours practicing every single day” is a major red flag. A lot of kids think that shows dedication. It does, to an extent. It also demonstrates that you are inefficient. If you need five hours of practice every day to reach your current level of play, how are you going to get better in college? For more on what college coaches look for, check out my post on What Do College Coaches Look For When They Watch Recruits?