Football provides a fun twist to practice

The other morning I was lying in bed when at 6am I received a text message from Richard (my coach) telling me that he was on his way around my place to talk about my golf. Sure enough Rich rocked up and we got to chatting and discussing various aspects of my game. He mentioned that he wanted to put a little twist to the way I practiced. He didn't give too much away but he said to meet him the following day at the local football oval with a sand wedge and one ball. My interest was immediately sparked as I love football and I am always interested in learning.

So the following day I met Rich at the football oval and he explained to me exactly what we were going to do and what the purpose of it was. I would perform a series of sprints chasing down a football and delivering it back to Rich in as short amount of time as possible. Following six chase downs I was then to hit on shot at a target about 50 yards away. We repeated this several times. The purpose was to see how my mind and body reacted under a stressful situation. I really enjoyed both the football and then the challenge of hitting a good shot following. I learned that I perform my best when I am reactive. Occasionally, I can take a little long over the ball and as a result I am not as reactive to my vision. Being put in a stressful situation forced me to act naturally. Now the goal is to take this natural, reactive process to the practice tee and the golf course.

We were on the oval for a little under an hour and I was active the whole time. Altogether, I probably only hit about 10-12 shots which just goes to show that you don't have to beat balls for hours on end to have a productive practice session. I think the key to successful practice is having a purpose. Rich tells me that tennis is next. Again I'm very excited to try this and learn more. Keep an eye out for more to follow.

Happy New Year to everyone.