andrew scott jensen

It’s a rainy friday morning, so I find myself in Starbucks reflecting over what has been happening to my game lately. Since I started reading “the game before the game” I’ve gained a greater appreciation and focus for my practice time. Each chapter in the book is full of drills and routines to use on the practice range. Along with the drills and routines, there is a great framework about how to mentally approach your practice.

I have come to the understanding that all the rounds of golf I play down here are merely practice rounds, times for me to see if the work on the range can carry over to the golf course. Each round is an opportunity for me to see if I can build on what I’m working on and carry that toward my goals for the year. Getting caught up on the results of each round as the be all and end all of wether or not I am improving is an aimless endeavor. I’m playing rounds knowing that even if I only execute one shot exactly how I have been practicing, it is the positive I need to carry back to the range, and then back to the next round I play.

This thought process was on full display with my round yesterday. I went out with the intention to see if the mental key I found on the range this week could be applied on the course. The first 10 holes of my round were awful, nothing was clicking, the ball was going everywhere, I missed every green and was 7 over par. If I allowed the results of the round be my measuring stick I would have thought that I needed to start over.

Fortunately, with these rounds I am not result driven, but process driven. I knew what I was working on, so I kept plugging away at it. From 11 to 18 things started to click, I hit every green and made 3 birdies in 8 holes. More importantly, the mental routine I was working on was actually carrying over to the course from the range. I can now carry over the 8 holes of positives to my next range session and then to my next round of practice golf.

That being said, I still need to test my progress often. To keep me sharp, I play one competitive round a week down here, a skins game on Saturdays. This round is time for me to forget about the practice and just let it happen. Wether it happens or not, thats a different story. Having this round is a great place for me to work on my focus in a competitive setting.

Here’s to tomorrow’s round being a great confidence building experience of competitive golf…(and maybe a few skins)…