James Edge Golf

Are you ready to PRESSURE TEST your new swing change or swing sequence? 🤔

If you are implementing your swing change on the range, practice area or in a 9 hole social & 80%+ of the shots you hit are deemed successful to your intended target then you are ready to pressure test.

Congratulations you have leveled up with your swing change & entering the autononmous stage of skill acquisition where you need to start doing more competitive practice as the swing change is now more automatic with minimal to no conscious thought to trigger.

So testing your swing change in your local members competition or even just putting something on the line with your mates for a social round is the next step & see how it holds up whilst trying to manage your decision making + emotional management on course.

I suggest putting more focus in this stage on your shot routine to keep you calm & more target orientated rather then swing focussed. 🎯

9 HOLE SOCIAL PLAY PRACTICE PLAN 📝

🕦 = 2hr
📍 = On Course
🏌🏻‍♂️= Random Practice
⛳️ = Associative Stage of Skill Acquisition

👉🏻Play the 2 Ball Ambrose format over 9 holes to give yourself the opportunity to hit plenty of shots on course with the swing change you have been working on & see how well you can manage the ex*****on of the shot in-conjunction with the constant decision making required for the ever changing golf shots presented to you.

If you want to know why your ball keeps missing the same way, look at your face angle before you look at your swing path.

Ball flight laws break down roughly like this. Club face controls about 75% of starting direction. Path controls the remaining 25%, mostly curve. Two different jobs, two different amounts of influence. 📊

That’s why early in your development, face control should get more of your attention than path. Fix the bigger lever first.

Face is king. Path is queen. Train accordingly. 🤴🫅

DRIVING RANGE PRACTICE PLAN 📝

🕦 = 1hr
📍 = Driving Range
🏌🏻‍♂️= Block Practice
⛳️ = Cognitive Stage of Skill Acquisition

1) Warm Up Process - 10mins

👉🏻(Insert mobility & activation exercises)

2) Set Up Process - 5mins

👉🏻 1 x 5 dry reps (no ball)
👉🏻Focus on set up changes or process

3) Swing Sequence Process - 5mins

👉🏻 1 x 5 dry reps (no ball)
👉🏻 Focus on swing changes or process

4) Hit Balls - 40mins

👉🏻 Aim to the same target every shot
👉🏻 Fully focussed on your swing changes or swing sequence process
👉🏻 Outcome not too important mainly internal focus rather than external to engrain new habit.
👉🏻 Be aware in this practice style you will probably only create the ball flight or outcome you want 10 - 30% of the time.

FIX YOUR SLICE 🛠️

Do you curve your ball left to right in the air as a right hander or right to left as a left hander with no idea why or how to contain your wayward misses? 🤔

To stop slicing the ball & create a more penetrating ball flight with a narrower miss dispersion you need to 1st understand how the slice is created.

The slice is created by clubhead’s swing path travelling on the downswing towards the ball from outside (yellow line) the target line exiting after impact to the inside (yellow line) of the target line in combination with the club face being very open (aiming right of green lines) promoting for a right hander a big curving left to right ball flight that is hard to score with.

Swing Path = Out to In ❌
Face Angle = Open ❌

I suggest trying to promote a motion where you swing more around yourself or rotary to create a more reliable penetrating ball flight like the draw by swinging more along the orange lines on the with a closed clubface to promote a more inside (orange) the target line to outside (orange) the target line swing path.

Swing Path = In to out ✅
Face Angle = Closed ✅

When should you try to get your golf handicap? ⛳️

Once you have completed the 3 Step Checklist as a minimum 👇🏻

1) MATCH FIT
👉🏻 Competed 3 x 18 Holes ✅
👉🏻 Completed 6 x 9 Holes ✅

2) KEEP UP PACE
👉🏻 Completed 18 holes within 4.5 - 5hrs ✅
👉🏻Completed 9 holes with 2 - 2.5hrs ✅

3) SCORE LOW ENOUGH
👉🏻 Scored 54 over par or less over 18 Holes ✅
👉🏻 Scored 22 over par or less over 9 Holes ✅

Also reach out to your coach or golfing mates who already have a handicap to help give you more guidance.

Dwelling on bad shots or bad breaks on the golf course won’t help you to perform at your best.

Instead I suggest to take more notice of the bad shot after you hit it regardless if you liked the shot or not “Be curious not furious”.

Allow yourself to acknowledge how you feel about the shot 👇🏻

“I feel angry & frustrated as the ball went soo far left to my intended target”

Then be curious & ask yourself a question 👇🏻

“Why did the ball go so far left?”

Follow up with the most logical answer you can think of focussing on the facts 👇🏻

“The ball went really far left of my target, so as a right hander my club face must of been too closed”

Finally consolidate the after shot understanding by suggesting a solution to yourself to remedy the “club face being too closed” 👇🏻

“I need to change my release or weaken my grip for to reduce an excessively closed club-face occurring again for my next shot”

If you follow the steps & can’t solve why an undesired ball flight is happening then DM me or book a lesson via my bio to find out how.

What is a handicap? ⛳️

👉🏻 A handicap is a numerical measurement of a golfers skill level. The handicap scale goes from -8 to 54, the lower the number your handicap is the higher your skill level is & visa versa.

Why should I get a handicap?⛳️

👉🏻It allows you to play in competitions
👉🏻 It allows you to track progress a lot easier in an objective manner.

Do you prepare as well as you can before you hit your golf shot?

Most golfers don’t. ❌

No matter how efficient your golf swing mechanics are, if you aren’t engaged with the target or struggle to manage your emotions over the ball you won’t hit the ball where you want to.

Building a shot routine is the answer. ✅