At a recent National camp for Australian amateur golfers at Moonah Links GC the players benefited from the technologies used by the coaches such as having 3D biomechanical analysis of their golf swing with Ryan Lumsden, analysis of their putting strokes with SAM PuttLab, motor pattern screenings with Ramsay McMaster sessions with sports psychologists John Crampton and Noel Blundell and a presentation on media image from Michael Blucher. They were also addressed by Tour players Rachel Hetherington, Matt Griffin, Wayne Perske and Kieran Pratt.

From the information they received from these people as well as the coaches attending the camp, there were three clear messages either stated by the presenters or implied.

1. Everything you do must have a plan. This seems obvious when considering an overseas tournament schedule or turning professional, but is often ignored in regards to daily training. The point stressed by the presenters was that daily training – physical training, golf practice, work or study, social time and recovery training should all be planned. There are going to be plenty of times when the player lacks some motivation or is fatigued. If there is no plan, then the training (or some aspects of training) might be neglected.

2. Doing things right. The player’s attitude to training and practice will influence the quality of the work done and will lead to longer-term consequences such as rate of improvement. Attention to form and technique, whether in the gym or on the golf course is critical to establishing patterns of movement. In fact you will be establishing or reinforcing patterns of movement however your train; what do you want to reinforce?

3. Doing the right things. There is only a finite amount of time available for training. Spending that time focussing on the points of greatest leverage for improvement makes sense. What are the areas of development which will lead to the greatest performance gains for you? The idea of doing the right things extends to interactions with other people, whether you know them or not. What is the first impression you would like to leave with a stranger? Your impression could see them as a life-long fan…or not.

How will you use these three lessons in your daily training?