Your goal when you begin playing a round of golf is to focus on making par. Think about that.

If you are trying to make up for a previous bad hole or simply trying to bring down your score, you are going to tend to press and over swing when trying to birdie a hole. Chances are you will end up hitting an erratic shot and end up with no chance of hitting par.

Play each hole with the goal of making par. Ironically it may give you a better chance of a birdie.

Golf Fatigue on the 2nd 9?

Many times the second nine holes can result in a poorer performance for various reasons.

Fatigue or a lack of hydration can definitely figure in.

You need to make sure you get a regular intake of water throughout your golf round and some foods containing some carbohydrate content to keep the energy levels up can help as well.

Tension can also play a factor. Work on relaxing. When you feel your grip tightening on the clubs, you are definitely too tense.  Learning relaxation techniques can do more for many golfer’s game than all the advice in the world and it might be just what you need to take your game to the next level.

Most of the putts you should be practicing are about 6-feet from the target, preferably 4-feet putts.  You want to practice longer putts in your regular practice, not when warming up for your round of golf.

Practice putting on a flat part of the practice green.  When ending your practice session, make short putts. Don’t quit on a miss.  Make yourself to make five or six putts in a row to end the practice session. You want to walk away with confidence.

The driving range is the best place to practice a new shot or special golf technique that you heard about but have not yet tried.

It is never a good idea for the golfer to attempt a new shot, or a new grip on the golf course. This sounds like a “no kiddin” statement, but I have played with plenty of players who have decided they want to try something new while playing their next shot.

Maybe the round is not going so well and you figure what the heck. So you give your new golf tip a try and screw it up badly, swearing to never try that again. Maybe, just maybe the technique would have worked if you had bothered to try it first on the driving range and work out the bugs.

If you read something here you want to try, or you learn about it in one of the courses or books I might recommend, give it a try. During practice. Not during your next round.