"In one sense, there seems to be two large classes of golfers. One spends their life 'practicing' without ever getting around to 'playing.' The other dives right into 'playing' and disdains any 'practice' other than just 'hitting that ball.' The difference is merely where the primary attention is directed. If the points under consideration-being practiced-are the primary purpose of the action and have top attention, so that impact is sacrificed rather than disrupt the selected procedure being practiced- that is 'Practice.' And where the ball goes is immaterial." Homer Kelley, The Golfing Machine.

Mr. Kelley just, very eloquently, gave all golfers one of the keys to becoming the players they wish to become.

All players have a tendency to become either a player or a practicer. The first class is the player. The player doesn't practice much. He/she uses the range to warm up or to occasionally work on tempo, ball flight, or any other outcome oriented exercise. By contrast, the practicer spends countless hours on the range working on his golf swing. The player has a hard time turning off "feel" and the outcome oriented part of their brain. The practicer has a hard time turning on the "feel" while on the course and uses the analytical part of his brain. Both the consumate player and the consumate practicer have a hard time trusting their golf swing because neither knows enough about the difference between practice and play. In truth, they both set themselves up to let themselves down.

So, how do we all get better at the game? We get better first by learning to practice the game. We learn to grip the club, set-up to the ball, and make short swings. During this learning phase we practice these concepts indoors and out. When outdoors, we concern ourselves more with gripping the club correctly and setting up to the ball than where the ball actually goes. This phase may last one hour, one day, one week, or one year. Then we learn to become target conscious. We trust that we are gripping the club correctly and setting up to the ball correctly, and our main concern is getting the ball as close to the target as possible. When we are more concerned with the component (the grip, set-up, etc.) than the outcome, we are practicing. When we are more concerned with where the ball goes than the component(s) used to get it there, we are playing.

It doesn't matter if you are on the golf course or the practice area. That alone doesn't define practice or play. Practice is concerned with the swing while play is concerned with getting the ball in the hole. Many, many people struggle with the game of golf simply because they have been playing while on the practice range or practicing while on the golf course.

"Not me!" you might say.

But answer these questions before assuming. When is the last time you went to the range and worked on your swing without your primary concern being how the ball was flying? When was the last time you went out on the golf course and trusted “feel” alone to get the ball in the hole? When was the last time you practiced a particular part of your golf swing indoors? Do you really consider indoor practice without a ball to be practice? Do you find yourself thinking about your swing in the middle of the round?

To become the player you wish to be you must first understand the difference between practicing and playing. You must secondly understand what technical parts of your game are holding you back. Thirdly, you must be sensitive enough to recognize your tendecies to "practice" or "play." After you recognize your tendency you must then become very good at "practicing" when you want to practice and "playing" when you want to play.

Take the advice of those who have been where you are and discovered how to become the best players they could be. Don't waste anymore time. Golf can be a guided struggle or a blinded struggle. The choice is yours. The very definition of insanity is to continue to do the same things while expecting different results. Read, re-read, and re-read until you get this information in your nugget.

STEADY HEAD
RHYTHM
BALANCE