Study Habits That Help Your Golf Game

Wed Sep 11, 2013 by Dave Phillips

It’s back to school time for the kids and it seems that everyone is offering up a new study habit that can help them learn more effectively.  Here are a few tips to help your kids study and can actually help you improve your golf game.

• The most effective studying happens when you’re a little out of your comfort zone.  When you’re out of your comfort zone, the brain makes new connections and pushes forward.  It’s okay to make mistakes as long as you fix them.  In golf, it’s easy to practice what you’re good at.  But in order to push through to the next level, you have to work on the shots you struggle with.  Develop a plan for your practice and dedicate some time to working on something you really want to fix and improve.
• When studying, research has shown that repeating things over a number of days in short, precise sessions can help your ability to retain and learn.  This is known as “spaced repetition” and it’s a great way to work on your golf swing.  PGA Tour players do this all the time.  They work on something over a specific period of time in small chunks, rather than trying to do it all at once.
• When our kids get homework, they often work through one subject at a time and finish it before moving on to the next subject.  But it’s been proven that mixing things up and working through multiple subjects simultaneously can actually help them learn the information faster.  Similarly, when you go to the range to practice, you have to mix up your routine as well as your targets.  This simple step forces your brain to sort through the different options and more closely replicates how your brain processes decisions during a round.

There is a ton of great information available on learning.  If the kids come home with a new study habit they learned at school, see if you can apply it to your golf game.  We can never stop learning. 

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