Editor’s Note: The Golf Digest 1 Percent Challenge will present a new challenge every weekday in January. Catch up on Week 1 here.
It can be really hard for amateurs—and even pros—to make the moves they want in their golf swing while swinging at full speed. This makes it hard to implement real changes and improve.
Solution: Do what a lot of pros do: Rehearse the move you want to make in slow motion. If there’s a change you’ve been trying to make, set up with a club in your yard or in a room in your house with high enough ceilings and make the move over and over again, painfully slowly.
Today: You can do this in the summer, in the winter, in your living room, in your backyard, anywhere, any time. All you need is a club. Start today by doing 10 swings in slow motion, focusing on areas of your swing that you know need work. It can be helpful to do this near a mirror to make sure you’re on the right track.
And then…: Increase the number of swings you’re doing, so that you’re doing 50, then 100 per week. As you get more comfortable, increase the speed. Soon, that move that felt impossible at full speed will become part of your swing.—Keely Levins
Coming Tuesday, January 9: Identify the gaps in your yardage
Week 1 of the 1 Percent Challenge >>
More on the 1 Percent Challenge
Look, every golfer has big goals—30 more yards, 15 fewer pounds, tighter lines and better scores. We’re not here to tell you those goals are out of reach. The problem with most New Year’s resolutions, though, is they start you at the foot of a mountain without a clear map to the top.
The Golf Digest 1 Percent Challenge, meanwhile, is meant to be both ambitious and achievable. None of the daily individual tasks will be so arduous that you’ll need much time to cross them off your list. These are the type of modest improvements intended to make you just 1 better percent than you were the day before. But they’re also meant to provide you with a new skill that over time, can make a meaningful difference in your game.
The way it works is simple: Our team of expert editors in golf instruction, equipment and fitness have devised 23 challenges for each weekday in January that can be completed at home with minimal equipment. Things like checking your posture at address in the mirror, identifying yardage gaps in your club setup and testing the strength of your golf muscles. All of these challenges will have immediate value. But each challenge also comes with a suggested follow-up task that can lead to better habits, and ultimately, better performance.
It is the perfect way to get ready for the next golf season, even if you live somewhere where “real” golf is still months away. The more you follow along, the better your headstart on everyone else. —Sam Weinman
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
