In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by PGA professional Alex Elliott to look at the main reasons why golfers get stuck at the same handicap for long periods. Alex offers some insights into the traps golfers fall into and provides advice on how to move forwards and possibly even to get your handicap down.
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00:00Hello everyone and welcome to the London Club in this video
00:02We're going to take a look at the top 10 reasons that golfers do not get better
00:07Looking at everything from the mental challenges out in the golf course to some of the tough shots that costing you right
00:13Let's head out get started
00:18Right so number 10 on our list and the first one we're gonna look at Alex is making a swing changes mid round
00:25Yeah, I think this can work both ways like you could make a swing change actually hit a decent shot
00:31If you've been struggling throughout that round, but then you sort of question yourself
00:34Well, what did I do differently you try it again? And then the ball goes off in a different direction
00:38So have so question for you then Alex. How many swing thoughts do you think is the right number of swing force?
00:45I like to have to just in the sense of like having a back swing thought and then a trigger thought
00:51Okay, like okay, for example, like mine would be take it wide and then felt buckle to target just to make sure
00:58I'll get through the ball, but the two
01:01Feelings that are something that are easy to do right? Okay. It's not like move. Let's do this
01:06No, not a really technical complicated move
01:09Exactly that and just actually if you're gonna make a swing change either
01:13Maybe get it from a YouTube video or get some advice from a Peter. Yeah
01:16So as Alex said to swing thoughts stick with them while you're on the golf course if it hasn't worked then make a change
01:23Don't make that change while you're on the course
01:28So number nine on our list is about distance Alex, what is it?
01:32Yeah, I mean this might be a bit of a contradiction to what you probably heard on online before and if you don't drive it
01:39Far enough. It's actually hard to lower your skills, right? Okay
01:42So let's say you've got somebody out there who hits it 200 yards, but pretty straight
01:47What sort of handicap would you say they could get to before they start to struggle to get any lower from that point?
01:52I would say trying to access single figures potential right because you're gonna drive it to a point where you're always going to have a
01:58Medium to long iron into majority of par fours
02:01Whereas we know long irons are hard to get greens and it's hard to get close to your proximity to the hole
02:07It's just generally harder to lower your scores that way
02:09Now Alex has got some advice on his YouTube channel about how to hit the ball further off the tee
02:14We have plenty of videos about the same topic on our YouTube channel
02:17If you are struggling on that front, take a look at some advice to help you hit the ball a bit further
02:21It could be the thing that is stopping you from shooting lower scores
02:29Okay, so this one is about being too hard on yourself putting too much pressure on your shoulders to perform
02:35What do you think is the mistake here that sort of causes players to play poorly
02:39I think obviously we all want to play our best golf
02:42We all invest a lot of money a lot of time and we put the pressure on ourselves to perform
02:47And if it doesn't happen, we get a little bit wound up sometimes potentially and it's a downward spiral
02:52I agree with you, right and I've definitely fallen foul of this in the past, but we're all human beings
02:57It's kind of natural to want to play your best every time you go out, especially if you've been
03:01Investing in clubs and in lessons. So how do you take pressure away from yourself?
03:05I think it's basically managing your expectations. So it's going out there going actually
03:10Well, I'm gonna just enjoy today and see what happens. Right, you think about this
03:14I bet you've done this exact scenario. You've not played for two or three weeks. You've come out played your best golf
03:18Yes, it's been raining. You've gone out with waterproofs on, wet gloves on
03:22Expectations, no one will shoot a good score today. Probably shot a good score. Yes, expectation levels are lower
03:27You can relax and actually let your creative juices flow. Yeah, so don't be too hard on yourself
03:33Golf is a difficult sport
03:35maybe sort of try and feel your way into the round and then see how things are going before you start building any
03:40Expectations because trying to go out there every single round from the first shot trying to shoot your lowest score is very difficult
03:49Number seven is not
03:51Tracking your stats a lot of really valuable information that you might just be giving up on by not tracking your stats
03:57Yeah, what should people be looking out for Alex here?
03:59I just think something things simple like how many fairways are we hitting?
04:03How many greens regulation and then on that are we missing it more left or more right?
04:07Okay, so it gives you an idea about how to work on your game
04:10But then also an idea about how to strategize while you're on the golf course. Yeah, like take this flag here
04:15It's a right-hand side flag. If you miss more to the right, it's probably not a good idea to short side yourself
04:19Yes, so you could build in knowledge about your game as well as working on the correct areas and not just the areas you like
04:26To work on. Yeah, and so you might have a theory about where you miss
04:30You might have a theory about how many fairways you hit how many greens you hit actually backing it up with the data gives you
04:35That framework doesn't it exactly that and then you actually start to see improvements because you're actually working on the areas that need work
04:42Yeah, okay Alex. You're gonna have to hit this one for me. So we've got 191 Alex has got a very very skinny
04:50Cobra four iron in his hands. This is really gonna test you out, isn't it? It's cold and it's cold
05:00You've taken it on Alex
05:02You've actually committed exactly the crime that you were guarding helping people guard against. Yeah, but it's got a good shot short games
05:09I'm sure you'll be fine
05:13This one is about not having exactly the right equipment for your game Alex, what's the big mistake here?
05:19Yeah, I think there's two one with driver, which most people probably think about when they go for a driver fitting
05:23But also with irons, it's having the correct length and lie angle. Yes help you play better golf
05:29Okay, so if you get it wrong, what will players see?
05:32So if a club is too long and therefore the lie angle is too upright
05:36We'll start to see that golf ball launch a little bit left
05:40Majority of your shots and even more so with lofted irons if it was the opposite if that angle is too flat
05:46We're gonna see that shot starts the right now where do most people swing this golf club?
05:50Yeah a little bit over stand up create it a little bit flatter
05:54Yeah, so having the right equipment for you crucial in terms of your accuracy with your eyes. What about with the driver with a driver?
06:00I think we all have this thing about we have to have the stiffest shaft
06:03We have to have the club with the most or the least loft to act like we can hit it a long way
06:08We're actually
06:10Optimizing the correct shaft and possibly more loft for most golfers. It's gonna make it a little bit further
06:15Yeah, so that low loft low spin performance might be good for your best swing and your best strike and your best shot
06:22Yeah
06:22But how often is that going to actually cost you when you're not got your best swing and strike on the ball?
06:28And that's where we want to play our better golf, right?
06:30We want to be able to get around the golf course round our handicap when we're not playing our best golf
06:34Yeah, some really handy advice there for getting the right equipment for your game
06:37So
06:42Number five on our list is about putting and Alex I everyone could do with holding a few more parts
06:48It doesn't matter what handicap you are. But what's the sort of advice here? What's the mistake that people make?
06:53I think we always try and get a little bit complicated because we think now our golf game is based on such fine margins
07:01It's now a hole not a fairway and not a green. We've got to be really perfect. Okay. Yeah, but so you tell me
07:07Well, not really. No, I think a lot of us try and be too perfect and then we don't have any flow to our stroke
07:13Okay, so if flow to your passing stroke is so important then give us a quick tip. How do you get it?
07:18So I like to think of it like this. I think a lot of it comes from grip pressure
07:22I always picture tiger now the analogy that I have hands look comfortable on the club
07:27Yeah, so we're in there hands looking comfortable
07:29Maybe give the shoulders a bit of a waggle and I have the practice swings looking at the hole
07:34Just tuning myself into my senses about what I've got to actually do
07:39Yeah, and if you can do that, then you don't have to think too much about how hard you're hitting the ball
07:43It should happen. Actually. Yeah, and come on. I'm gonna put you under pressure make make it for us
07:50Although greens are perfect. I'm giving you no excuses
07:58Oh
08:01They're not enough flow not enough flow but a lovely pot
08:08Okay, so number four on our list is about strategy and Alex it's about the eight out of ten rule explain
08:14Yeah
08:15I think no matter what level you are
08:17It's using this strategy where if I have a shot that I'm about to hit if I can't pull it off eight times out of
08:23Ten then possibly it's rethinking either the club or ever raining. Okay good. So how does it apply in this scenario?
08:30Well, this is a tough hole at the London Club right water all down the left one place
08:35You can't go is left now most club golfers. We hit it with a bit of a slice
08:39So you might think you know what meet it this fairway. I've got a at the trouble
08:43Yes, let it come in. Whereas actually we know if I aim down the middle, maybe hopefully we hit the bullet straight
08:49But worst case scenario, I'm in the right row. I'm in play. Yeah, and you can always
08:54Recover, you can always make a sort of four or five to further up to get up the hole
08:58But if you're in the water off the tee because you've hit that brilliant tee shot that's gone dead straight
09:02Then you're not gonna be able to recover that exactly
09:04Yeah, so I think about the eight out of ten rule while you're out on the golf course use it to your advantage
09:09It could really help
09:14So number three is not warming up
09:16Okay, how many of us are guilty of not doing anything before we go and play golf to warm our bodies up?
09:21It's really important
09:22Also, the other point here is that not everyone is gonna have a facility like there is here at London Club where you can go
09:27And hit balls if you do have a facility like this
09:30What's the best way of doing it kind of?
09:31Quickly because most people out there don't have hours to spend before they do I would if it got to facility like this
09:36I'd do five minutes putting five minutes chipping finish off a little bit on the range head straight to the first tee
09:42Whereas most people actually do it in the reverse
09:44Yes
09:45But I want to do the last thing on the range the first thing I'm gonna do on the first thing, right?
09:50So you're imagining that first tee shot that you're gonna be hitting
09:52Okay, and then if you don't have a facility like this so you don't have any practice facilities whatsoever
09:58How should you do it stretch him just use your locker room like you can actually mobilize your body quite easily
10:04Just by going in the locker room doing a few dynamic stretches
10:08and if you're wondering where to get that advice my TPI's got loads of different exercises and I use them quite regularly if I know
10:15If I'm going playing a tournament with a golf course, that's got no range. I'll go and spend ten minutes in the locker room
10:20Yeah, it's really simple stuff
10:22And again, it's the sort of preparation that we all know we should do but we often fail to do it
10:26If you do commit to doing it chances are those first few holes, you might just score them a bit better
10:36So number two on our list and it's something that stops a lot of golfers from lowering their handicaps lowering their scores
10:41They don't have a shot for a scenario like this. They don't work on those scoring shots
10:47Alex yeah, and I think even for a higher handicap right in a scenario like this on a long par four
10:53We're gonna be in a situation where we're gonna have this 30-yard chip for our third shot more often than not
10:58Yes, and even for higher handicappers, you want to be getting it up and down every now and again
11:02You certainly never want to be getting down in four which means executing this shot a little bit better
11:07So Alex give us a tip
11:09So I always think most people would resort most lofted club to probably get a shot like this
11:13I use the rule if I can chip it run it last resort get it in the air
11:17Okay, so nice and simple or slightly towards the back of your stance narrow stance pull with apart and wait on your lap
11:24Okay, this makes it more of a long chip rather than like a pitch. Okay, so which club would you go?
11:30So I've got pitch. Okay, go then. That's it. There we go. I'm looking for around about
11:34Two to three feet on running it up there as much as possible
11:38Yeah
11:40Yeah, lovely and just notice how simple that action is
11:44It's something that every golfer can try and replicate themselves. Keep it simple. Hit it a bit closer
11:49You might get it up and down a bit more often
11:55Okay, so number one the number one fault that is holding golfers back and stopping them from scoring their best is Alex practice, right
12:03Yeah, so not using the range in the best way possible like I call it like machine gun fire people get their hundred balls
12:10It's gone in 30 minutes
12:12Yeah, I think
12:14Most people watching this will have heard this sort of tip before and they go to the range myself included with the best intentions
12:19Yeah, but before you know it suddenly you've hit 30 shots very quickly and you've stopped thinking about anything that you're working on
12:25So what's a good way of kind of thinking about it and committing to doing it properly?
12:29I think playing your hardest hole at your golf club in your head is a great way to actually well get over that hole
12:36But also tune yourself in to actually playing some shots rather than out there
12:40Just trying to make a perfect swing and oh, that wasn't good right and just do this
12:44Yes, you get out there and do something that reflects what you're trying to do on the golf course
12:49So let me ask you then Alex. So you've got driver in your hand here
12:52You're imagining the fifth hole or whatever it is at your course. Are you actually picturing the fairway?
12:57What do you what do you say? I'm quite a person a visual person. So for me, it helps me picture the fairway
13:03I picture the shot and I'll set a boundary between let's say the two red flags in front of us, right?
13:08Let's test you out then. So what is the boundary? What's the shot that you're hitting? Okay, what can you see?
13:12So we'll use the fifth at my golf club. It is as narrow
13:15Oh, it perceives looks as narrow as these two red flags. So I hit a fade
13:20So I'm thinking right can I fade it off the left flag into middle that fairway? Okay, that's right a trick
13:27So I would do this as well going through my full routine
13:31Because that's really important you reflect and you mirror what you want to do in a medal round on a Saturday
13:37Yeah, so you're more comfortable in all of those scenarios out the course
13:48Beautiful
13:49Beautiful and it's it's simple processes like that
13:52If you are serious about shooting those scores a bit more often than preparing yourself for the pressure of these scenarios
13:58Getting you the most out of your practice time. It's absolutely essential
14:02There you have it. That's our look at the top 10 reasons golfers do not get better at the game
14:07Hopefully you found some of Alex's tips in there
14:10Helpful some useful things to take out with you on the golf course going forward if there is anything that you think we've missed
14:16Please do leave some comments below. We'd love to hear what you think. But that's it for now from London Club. Thanks for watching
14:21We'll see you next time