All professional golfers of the modern era have a staff of nutritionists, physiotherapists, mentors and their caddy working to make the most of the golfer’s capabilities on the course. The professional training regimen attempts to increase energy levels, strength and flexibility of the player. Amateurs do not have the disposable free time to complete the same level of off-course training, but they could still use the following key on-course performance approaches that the professionals use.

Hydration

If you watch any professionals golfing you will always note them sipping water throughout a round. At most tee boxes in a professional championship there will usually be a cooler full of bottled water for the players. One of the caddie’s tasks is to regularly offer their player a bottle of water. The key with staying hydrated is to take sips of water throughout a round at regular intervals. The moment you start feeling thirsty is too late, in scientific terms, as your body is already performing in a sub-optimum manner.

The professionals will generally not use sugar or caffeine rich beverages as they cause blood sugar level fluctuations that affect you how you play (for example, over hitting greens on one hole, short putting on the next).

Nutrition

All top athletes rightly realize that the nutritional content of their food prior to and during a game of golf can strongly affect their energy levels and performance in a round. Professionals normally choose to take several small meals throughout a day in order to maintain a consistent energy level and rhythm. Prior to a round of golf a favorite choice would be a small pasta/chicken fillet meal.

Once they are out on the golf course, the professional golfer ensures energy levels stay topped up by eating fruit (bananas are a favorite due to the fact that they release energy slowly into the blood stream).

Stretches

All athletes use low impact exercises such as Pilates and Yoga and stretches to maintain muscle flexibility and reduce the risk of muscle strain. Staying flexible around the stomach and back for golfers is essential to making the back swing consistent and reducing the risk of muscle strain.

The average golfer should complete some stretches of the lower back, legs & calves before a round of golf to warm up the muscles up and reduce the chance of the back/legs stiffening up thru the round.

Awareness

These on-course performance techniques are not ground breaking. However, by becoming actively aware of what your body is telling you while golfing you give yourself the chance to remedy it the next time you head out for a round.

Feeling thirsty or becoming tired during golf are indications that you are not getting the water and food your body needs. Receiving muscle strain is a sign that your muscles are being over worked and would have a better chance of handling the exertion if you performed some stretching exercises.

Trying to perfect your golf swing at the driving range is one way of improving your game, but you should also look to improve your golfing performance through the use of nutrition, hydration and stretches.

Discover more golfing tips on Stephen’s book review website, the Perfect Golf Swing HQ .

One problem I see frequently with a lot of amateur golfers is their lack of effective putting practice before a round of golf. They often make the same putting mistakes over the opening 6 holes of a round. Mistakes such as the following:

Putts that barely make it 50% of the way to the hole Putts that take a trajectory away from the hole Putts that run past the hole leaving difficult second putts

For all amateur golfers, performing a 5 minute drill before going to the first tee can really pay off in your match. The following is a short drill that will give you confidence in the alignment of your putting and in your assessment of the speed of the greens.

Alignment

Line up for a long put using whatever preferred technique you regularly use. Place a short iron against the toes of your shoes then step away from the club and look down its line. Is it the line you had intended in your setup? This line is going to show the starting trajectory of your putts so you want to have this as accurate as possible. If the line is off then maybe your technique for lining up shots is a little off. Try picking a point closer to the ball instead of closer to the hole to start lining up your shot.

Distances

The importance of performing a distance drill is that it establishes in your mind how the speed of the greens is over 3 distances. You can practice several distances if time allows but it’s usually simpler to focus on the feeling of putting a long, medium and short putting distance.

Begin with a long putt. Try to make 8 to 12 of these putts and focus on making the distance the ball travels as close as possible to the correct length to establish long green speed.

Next choose a medium length putt around the 10 foot distance and preferably a distance which you experience often. Again, take up to 10 practice putts and try to get to within a meter of the hole. Being accurate is important with this drill so you wish to have some putts going in.

Lastly, pick some short putts within one to two meters of the hole. You will want to get a confidence boost here by seeing a high percentage of putts going in.

Using these simple drills helps to fine-tune your putting accuracy and distance control before you head to the first tee and allows you to leave your mistakes on the practice green, rather than the course.

Discover more putting tips by visiting Tom’s site, the Perfect Golf Swing HQ, as there’s a great putting guide with the Simple Swing eBook.