Full length of male golfer hitting a tee shot on the course against the sky.
GettyImages
Want to break 90 this golf season? It might be easier than you think—and your road map doesn’t even have to require a shake-up.
To make your big breakthrough in 2025, all you need to do is learn some basics for better practice and with the right tools, you’ll start increasing your endurance and cutting results in no time.
Dial in your practice sessions this season with these four simple keys.
Set process goals
If you want to make your practice sessions more effective, you need to start by setting process goals. In a video with TitleistDr. Mo Pickens, sports psychologist to Keegan Bradley and other high-level players, explains that process goals help you focus on the method or procedure rather than the goal or end result.
“What steps need to be taken to give you a realistic chance of changing your stats from where they are to where you want to be?” Dr. Pickens says.
By shifting your focus away from a result (like, ironically, breaking 90 or winning an upcoming interclub match), you allow yourself to better analyze your game and understand what you need to do to make them happen.” outcome goals”.
A great way to set realistic process goals is to take a look at your stats from previous rounds—nothing crazy, just fairways, greens, and putts per round—to see where your game is and what areas where you need more improvement.
Process goals are also a great tool for measuring progress. For example, your goal might be to do 30 quads in a row. If you can only get to 20, you have a baseline for your next practice session.
And remember, you don’t always have to reach your goal during practice sessions. If your goals are ambitious enough, chances are you won’t achieve them until you’ve put in a few hours of practice.
Stretch before you swing
A quick mobility warm-up is one of the best ways to fuel your body and can even help improve your swing over time.
And according to Dr. Troy Van Biezen, Scottie Scheffler’s fitness trainer, this is what amateurs need most in their fitness routine.
“While they (amateur players) are in the gym and training, they just don’t have the mobility and flexibility to move the way they should in a golf swing… you have to be able to turn and move,” Dr. Van Biezen said in an interview for GOLF.
And it shouldn’t take long. it three-minute stretch routine it will increase your mobility and prepare your body to swing a club.
Focus on the basics: posture, grip, stretch
In an episode of “Warming Up,” five-time major champion Brooks Koepka revealed that there’s a key he thinks about every time he’s on the driving range.
“It’s really simple: the PGA. Posture, grip and stretch,” Koepka says.
It’s a key Koepka was given when he was young and has carried throughout his golf career. And it’s something you can steal to level up your practice sessions.
To get your proper golf stance, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees, and hinge at your hips to create a slight forward bend.
Grip is more personal, but if you need a refresher, here’s a quick one guide to grip the club by Sean Hogan, a GOLF Top 100 Teachers.
And when working on your stretch, Tina Tombs, a top 100 GOLF teacher, says to remember three things:
1. Always point your clubface at the target before setting your stance and aligning your body.
2. Your body should be parallel to the left of the target line (for righties) and parallel to the right of the target line (for lefties).
3. The position of the ball affects the alignment of the body. Playing the ball too far forward opens your shoulders, while a ball positioned too far back closes your shoulders.
You can read Tombs’ full explanation on targeting and scope here.
Add pressure to your practice sessions
Performing under pressure is a skill you have to practice, just like anything else in golf. One way to do this is to simulate the pressure you feel on the course by incorporating boundary-based drills into your practice sessions.
Boundary-based exercises place a limit on the task at hand, usually requiring you to complete the exercise or start over if you make a mistake. A good example of this is the Trillium Rose chipping drill, a top 100 GOLF teacher, shared in a video with Titleist.
To test it, smash five balls in the same place. Your ultimate goal is for all the balls to end up within a flag of each other. If you hit one out of flag distance, start over. You should feel your nerves build as you slowly perform the exercise.
It may take you a few tries to complete it, but that’s okay. Remember, you’re not only practicing your chops, you’re also improving your ability to perform under pressure.
MARINE
$79
100% Genuine Hickory Length: 45″ / 3/8″ Diameter Medium-Dark White and Mixed Color Stain Gloss Pickguard High Quality Golf Nickel End Caps
Buy now
View Product
