Long And Loose Or Short And Straight

Virtually all golfers seek a way in which they can hit the ball further. We all pursue the dream of hitting ever-longer drives down the middle of the fairway. Most discover that this desire turns out to be a quick recipe for a less consistent direction of ball flight.

At this point many golfers reconsider their dream and accept that short and straight is a better option than long and loose. Yet that dream still exists somewhere in their consciousness and they soon return to the task of looking for some sort of a fix that will add those elusive 20 yards to their tee shots. Golfers just cannot help themselves. We always want to hit the ball further!

You see someone who hits the ball a long way and you notice his or her technique. Perhaps they stand wider or hit with a more upright swing or they have been taking lessons from a particular professional or they have bought a new driver. Golfers cannot help but wonder if these things would work for them too.

It is easy to overlook the obvious. Each golfer has his or her own unique way of playing this game. Some practice a lot whilst others do not. Some take a lot of lessons. Others do not. Some buy new equipment weekly whilst others rarely change their clubs. Some are particular about the type of ball they use whilst others will play any ball that they happen to find in the rough. Some golfers realize the benefit of getting a good mental game whilst others overlook it.

We play golf in our own unique way and so to look at someone else playing this game and pick out one element of his or her swing, body posture or equipment that perhaps "makes the difference" is totally unrealistic.

We had a ball fitting at our club the other day. I have to admit I had never heard of one before and so was tempted to glean whatever information was available. They focused upon the fact that the part of them game where you really score is in the short game and not off of the tee shots. Hence they were trying to move golfers towards a softer feel ball as opposed to hard for distance.

I couldn't help but think that although almost all golfers will accept the truth in this fact of the game, they still want to hit the ball further no matter what. This was reinforced to me when chatting later with a few low handicap lady golfers. When asked what balls were recommended, one said "but ALL female golfers want to hit the ball further". I would have to add that most male golfers want to hit their tee shots further as well.

We all know that longer is helpful upon some holes in golf...BUT only if you know that you can consistently hit the ball straight, or shape it at will to draw or fade into a prime position upon the fairway. In reality it is more beneficial to focus your attention upon the other end of the game and have the ability to get the ball up and down from anywhere within the 100 yard marker. Do this and you will really be scoring well.

Roseanna Leaton, avid golfer and specialist in golf hypnosis mp3s and author of the GolferWithin golf mind training system.

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