Blog — coaching tips
Most golf advice is decoration. These five habits — the ones a good coach builds every plan around — are the ones that take strokes off.
Ten balls at a specific towel is worth fifty at a general fairway. Range sessions that never ask "did that one work?" are exercise, not practice. Every drill in the PrivateGolfCoach library ends with a number to beat — that number is the session.
Towel at 50 yards, 15 pitching-wedge balls finishing on it. Cue: same length swing, let the loft do the carrying. Target: 9 of 15 landing within a clubhead of the towel.
Grip, posture, takeaway, transition and finish are five thoughts — which is four too many. Pick the one drill the coach gives you and run only it. The other parts of the swing ride along; that's what a coach-built plan is for.
Short game is where strokes disappear and where they're won back fastest — no swing speed required. A 20-minute chipping session beats an hour of drivers for almost every handicap between 10 and 25.
Lead arm to 8, 9 and 10 o'clock, 10 balls each, write down the three carry distances. Cue: chest turns through, weight stays forward. Target: three reliable wedge distances you trust on the course.
"I hit it better today" is a feeling; "18 of 20 gate putts holed" is a fact you can chase. Measurable targets tell you when a fix has landed and when you're ready for the next drill — they're the difference between practising and guessing.
Two tees just wider than the putter head, 3 feet from the hole, 20 putts. Cue: eyes over the ball, shoulders rocking. Target: 18 of 20 through the gate and holed.
The same steps before every shot — target, practice swing, breath, walk in, play — hold up under first-tee nerves and closing-hole pressure far better than any swing thought. Routines are practised, not decided.
10 shots on the range, full routine each time, under 20 seconds behind the ball. Cue: commit at the top of the backswing. Target: routine unchanged on all 10.
Tell the coach your handicap and your misses, and get tonight's session with drills, reps and targets. Free 48-hour trial, no credit card.
