If you have not played golf for a period of time whether
due to work illness or injury, the situation is the same.

You wonder how you are going to play.

How many trips to the trees on the side of the fairways.

How many bunkers are you going to visit.

Whether you can still get out of a bunker.

Whether you can get off the tee, and how is your putting
going to be?

You are quite a serious golfer and you give much thought
about how you should return to this wonderful game.
What you decide to do is go to the practice fairway and hit
a heap of balls.

You go through the routine of starting with your pitching
wedge and then work up to your driver. So far so good and
you will certainly benefit. This is a good plan, but there is a better one.

During your session which you no doubt enjoyed,
you have probably hit too many balls and your
muscles are not up to it.

You will know this by how you
feel next day if you go out onto the course.
The very fine muscles have to have time to recover.
Until they do, you will play dreadfully.

OK, you still have to go out onto the course and get over
the mental block that is probably affecting your game.
Just feeling a bit negative.

If you are not feeling negative, you probably soon will be
as you duff and hit with hook and slice into the trouble on
each side.
If you dont do this, then well done.
Most of us will.

Then again you may have a great round on your initial
return to the game, but on your second, the wheels will
fall off. Has this ever happened to you?
It certainly has to me.
You become a little disheartened and you begin to dislike
the game a bit.
All this is leading up to a suggestion that you may find to
your liking.

You love playing golf dont you?

Well, why dont you go out onto the course straight away
and have a good time. Dont try to beat the world on this
round. Just enjoy yourself. Just relax.
However, take notice of where your weaknesses are. Where
the changes in your game have crept in during your absence.

Have a couple of rounds and write down your weaknesses.
THEN go to the practice fairway.

Now, you have a plan of attack.
Have a look at your first weakness.

Perhaps you are duffing your chips a bit.
Well, spend a practice session with your pitching wedge and hit
short shots, long shots, hit over imaginary bunkers, hit
high shots that stop quickly and so on.

Become totally confident with this important scoring iron again.
Then on your next practice session, address your next weakness.

Spend time on it and do not go on to the next
until you have mastered this aspect of your game to your
satisfaction.
OK, it takes a bit of time.
So does learning any skill, and
this one is one of the most difficult isnt it?

The time spent will return huge dividends.

Also, having a plan will strengthen your mental attitude
and you will play with much more confidence when you start
competitions and more serious play.

You will be able to
fill your mind with the good shots you hit at practice
making it impossible
for any negative thoughts to exist.

By: Bill Maitland

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