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Most golfers will say the hardest part of their game is focus. The mental side of golf is often misunderstood. Ever noticed the guy who breaks 80 every single time? Why is that? Practice makes perfect. What they don’t tell you, is what they practice at. When you are talking about a game that is referred to as 90% mental and 10% talent you have to work on your mental toughness. When overcoming that mental side of golf, do you try to change your equipment, the time at which you play, maybe even they guys you play with. Here we go, some tips that are going to help get you on your way to being a better golfer.

The tempo of golf is often a concern for golfers. You are stuck behind a slow foursome, or maybe the guys behind you are rushing you, and you feel that pressure to golf faster. Well Tempo of the game should never affect the tempo of your swing. Swing tempo is important if you want consistent results in your game. How do I find my tempo you ask? A golfer can find their tempo by doing these simple things:

SLOW DOWN!! Let me say this again SLOW DOWN, if you just swing faster and harder you are not going to get the results you are looking for. This is true is some instances, but, for the sake of this article we will not be discussing those concepts. The tempo we are talking about today, how you are going to have the same back swing, contact point, and follow through no matter what club you are using or what part of the course you are playing from. How are you going to practice this TEMPO? Go to the driving range and practice with one club at a time. First hit 20 range balls with your driver, next hit 20 range balls with your 9 iron, Next your 3 wood and your 8 iron follow this method until you have hit every club in your bag. In your back Swing you want to make sure you are coming to the same point every time. When you contact the ball make sure you are contacting the ball at the same rate of speed with every club. People often think that the club should dictate your tempo, this could not be further from the truth. You really want to be swinging all of your clubs at the same speed, you will see great improvement on how well you make contact with the ball. Follow through is the same as your back swing you need to follow through the same on every shot. How you follow through directly affect your accuracy. When you focus on these three techniques you will find that your mental game will improve.

This is a three step process after you are done at the driving range it is time to head to the chipping green. You will want to work with your Wedge, 60deg, 8I, and 9I. You need to use every club for at least 100 chips. When you start in the deep stuff focus on yout tempo and making sure you land every ball on the green. If you are hitting the ball with the same tempo every time, your chipping will be more accurate. Remember chipping should be another tool in your arsenal and not the final result. Many careers have been made from singles and doubles hitters it is not just the home run hitters that decide how games turnout. Chipping will achieve greater results if you shoot for the green not the hole. The 8i and 9i will be used to work out the tempo of the bump and run technique. Tempo here is the key still but keep in mind that now you have too much club for such a short distance. Your tempo is what matters!! Imagine you are still hitting that same wedge, Change the Club not the Tempo!!

Putting Putting Putting! Why is this a hard thing to understand? We have now gone from Driving range tempo to chipping tempo to putting tempo the TEMPO does not change only the environment. What you want to practice here is the same thing! You want to work on your tempo. You putt the same every time, you will not be changing your swing ever. The only part about putting that changes is the distance. Start with 10 balls and putt then in from 1ft away from the hole. Move your self out 1ft for every 10 balls you sink in a row. Keep the same tempo.

The goal for these exercises is to teach your to go through the same steps every time. When you are working on you tempo you need to understand that you are separating your self from the game; you are working on you. Seeing results is going to depend on how much time you take to find your tempo!! The game is 90% mental; set a clock in your mind that only allows for the same tempo no matter when or where you are golfing. Create memory for your body and your mind will follow.

To improve putting, I have 3 tips for you to use on the practice green and you should see the same results that I did. Improve putting means lower scores on your score card.

I have struggled with my putting most of my golfing career and to be perfectly honest I was a very poor putter. I used the traditional grip when putting. I am right handed so my left hand was on the top and my right hand was on the bottom.

Using the traditional grip, my biggest problem was keeping the club head square to the target line throughout the putting stroke. I would usually push of pull my putts which means I missed allot of putts.

A few years ago I decided to change my grip on the putter and I put my left hand on the bottom and my right hand on the top.

Changing my grip gave me more control of my putting stroke by taking my right hand out of the putt. I now controlled the putting stroke with my left hand and I now used my right hand to keep the putter head square to the target line. This helped me to be more consistent with my putting and rolling the ball where I wanted it to go.

The second thing I changed to imporve putting has had the most dramitic results for me and is responible for me to start lowering my scores on the golf course.

I was preparing to play in the final qualifying round of the ESPN 2 Man Best Ball Tournament that was going to be held in Las Vegas. I was playing a practice round with my partner the day before the finals. We were playing at Bears Best which is where the qualifying finals were to be held and that course just happens to be one of my favorite golf courses.

We were paired up with another twosome which decided to use one of the course’s caddies for their round. About half way through the round I was complaining about my poor putting like I normally did when the caddie told me that I was picking my head up to quickly while I was putting. He told me to keep my head down a couple of extra seconds after I stroked the ball and not to be in a hurry to pick it up to see where the ball was going.

That caddie sure knew what he was talking about. Keeping my head down a few extra seconds after stroking the ball helped me to keep my ball on line and if I  had lined the put up correctly the ball was starting to roll in the cup.

The next day while playing in the qualifying finals I follow that caddie’s advice and I kept my head down for a few extra seconds while putting. By following hes advice I one putted thirteen greens and ended up shooting the best round of my life. My partner and I went on to play in the ESPN Tournament Finals. By the way, I shot a 73 that day. Not bad for a 10 handicapper.

The third and final tip to improve putting is to relax your hands when gripping the club. The fact is, you should have a relaxed grip on all your shots when playing golf. Relaxing your hands when gripping the club will help to improve all your shots and not just your putting.

Using these 3 tips has helped me to become a much better player on the greens than I use to be. Give them an honest try on the practice green and see if they improve your putting the way they did mine. Improve putting is the easiest way I know to help lower your scores and your handicap.

Ralph Miller is the creator of this article and How To Golf For Beginners and Advanced Players. You can visit hes site at http://www.HowToGolf-Rm.com and while your there you can register to receive 7 Free Swing Lessons.

How to golf for beginners and having your own set-up routine is important. Whether your a beginner or intermediate player you have to have your own unique set-up routine that you use to prepare yourself for every shot.

Everyone has their own perspective and outlook about golf. It is how you approach the game that will determine how good a golfer you will become. You have to prepare yourself for failure when playing golf because it will happen. It is the greatest game there is and if your willing to put in some practice and develop your own routine while your playing you can become very good at this game.

I am going to give you my step by step set-up routine and this should help you as well. For myself, golf is a very relaxing game. It doesn't matter if I play a good round or a bad round of golf, I just enjoy playing the game. I enjoy the beutiful scenery, the smell of the fresh cut grass, but the one thing that attracts me to golf the most is the fact that this is a game that can never be mastered. You always have room to improve.

I always go to the golf coarse early enough so I have time to warm up on the practice tee. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting loose and warmed up before you start play. This is when you will start your mental preparations for play. I
have been playing this game of golf for so long that I have developed my own set-up routine for addressing the ball. You should develop your own personal routine as well.

While on the practice tee I usually place an iron on the ground help align me with my target. This helps me when I set my feet to make sure they are placed properly. I will position myself behind the ball and visualise the shot in my head before it happens. When I am setting up for a shot I start out with my feet together and I check my distance from the ball. Once that is done I will position the club face behind the ball, making sure it is square to the ball and aligned with my target.

I then set my left hand first making sure it is in the proper position. If my left hand is in good position than my right hand fits right into place. I then spread my feet apart starting with my left foot first. I continue to start with my left foot because it determines where I place the ball in my stance. This will also make it easy for me to make any adjustments of the ball to my stance.

After I have placed my feet correctly, I will slightly open up my left foot towards the target. This will allow me to clear my hips easier since my flexibility has tightened up over the years. it is not that easy for me to turn my body when swinging the club as it used to be.

My set-up is done and I am ready to complete my swing. If everything is done correctly the ball will go where I want it to.

Golf is all about repetition and repeating the same swing over and over. If you develop your own set-up routine this will take you one step closer to being a more consistent golfer.

Ralph Miller is the writter of this article. You can visit the site he created called Golf for Beginners and Advanced Players. You can visit his site at          http://www.HowToGolf-RM.com and while your there you can register to recieve 7 Free Swing Lessons.