Tag:

skills assessment

Improvement

Know Your Tendencies

by Ryan Gager
written by Ryan Gager

For four years as a college player, I recorded my stats after each round. As a result, I knew my strengths and my weaknesses. Afterwards, as a team we would have a game plan going into our practice sessions — knowing exactly what we need to be working on. As I’ve transitioned out of being able to play every day, I’ve looked to SkyTrak to help me streamline my practice sessions because I simply don’t get to practice as much as I used to. In my opinion, the most underrated feature of SkyTrak is the Skills Assessment. Why? Because I use it multiple times a month to help address those weaknesses I see in my stats.

Skills Assessment

Completing a Skills Assessment and learning your tendencies will help you during your practice sessions and on the golf course. After going through my personal Skills Assessment my tendency is a short left miss. I found that my strengths are from 7 iron to my wedges. Knowing my tendencies allows me to game plan for any course I play. Knowing I have a short left miss allows me to make minor adjustments out on the course to fix my miss. By aiming right and taking more club I fixed the issue. Seeing my strengths are from my 7 iron down allows me to take a more aggressive approach to make birdies.

When you complete a Skills Assessment, keep a record of your Dynamic Handicap and set a goal to see how many strokes you want to lower your handicap throughout the month. This allows you to practice with a purpose! Having a clear goal in mind during your practice sessions will allow you to focus on what you are working on. 

Skills Assessment Results Screen

During the Skills Assessment you can choose which clubs and distances you want to use. To get the most out of my sessions I pick out the clubs in my bag that I struggle with the most. In my bag I know I tend to have issues with the long irons. So, when I use the Skills Assessment I like to use the Randomizer feature. I set my distances from 180 – 225 yards. I will hit a variety of shots from those distances with each club using different swing lengths. This helps when I have this distances on the course. I don’t feel tense or anxious when I get a long iron in my hand because I know how to plan for my tendencies.

To get the most out of your practice sessions use the Randomizer feature at least once a month! You will see big improvements in your game after seeing what your tendencies are and how to fix them!

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Launch Monitor

Skills Assessment – Practice With A Purpose

by Ryan Gager
written by Ryan Gager

As golfers, we have all experienced hitting the ball great on the range, but then it doesn’t seem to transfer to the course. When that happens, we tend to try and find a fix by hitting more balls, but instead it leads to more problems and the score is nowhere near where it should be. I definitely struggled with this issue, as I would hit 50 – 100 balls before a round, causing my head to spin with too many swing thoughts as I approached the first tee. When I did have a good range session, my ball striking was not being transferred from the range to the course. However, with SkyTrak I have started implementing a new approach to my practice.

Setting Up a Skills Assessment

Set up Skills Assessments of varying lengths ensuring you practice with different clubs

So, what do we mean by ‘Practice with a Purpose’? We are talking about setting an expectation for each session. Having a clear goal in mind while practicing will help you transition your range sessions to the course. 

Recently, I’ve struggled with my wedge game from 75 – 100 yards. Also, over the past couple of months, I have been struggling with excessive curvature with my irons and driver. So, my initial goal was to work on my 75 – 100 yard shots and hit about 50 balls each day. My secondary goal was to work on my overall shot shaping. 

We understand that life might be very different now than it was when we were younger. In years past, I could practice whenever I want. Now, making it to the range is more difficult, and will become much harder as you advance your career, start a family, etc. But, this is where it’s beneficial to have a SkyTrak. Even using it over a lunch break or at night before bed can have lasting results. Utilizing the Practice Randomizer feature, I started hitting 50 shots daily to my problem yardage – 75  to 100 yards – while also working on my shot shaping with longer clubs.

As you keep working on Skills Assessments day after day, you will start seeing your proximity to the hole decrease and your overall confidence in your wedges and irons will grow. These Skills Assessment practices will help you play stress-free golf on the course because you put in the work with your SkyTrak. Having a clear goal while you practice will lead to better results. Going to the range and hitting shots just to hit them will only go so far. The phrase ​‘practice smarter not harder’ is one to take to heart, and SkyTrak will help you do just that. 

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Improvement

From the Range to the Course

by John Spagnola
written by John Spagnola

One question I always received as a teaching professional was, ​“why can’t I take my range game to the course?” As golfers, we are always trying to mess with our swing, mess with our equipment, or we mess with our setup. But we often neglect how to transfer our practice sessions to the course.

One mistake I see is that most players spend too much time on block practice. ​“Block” is the type of practice where golfers tend to hit a full bucket of balls without having any purpose or goal in mind. Most of the time it is to just to get the body loose. Block practice does have some creditability if you are working on a swing movement and you need repetition to get comfortable with the new movement. Your practice sessions should align with what you will do out on the course.

  • Pre-Shot Routine
  • Commit to the shot
  • Post shot feedback

On the range you should go through your pre-shot routine. You visualize the shot, measure your distances, and take the conditions into account. After you go through your pre-shot routine you commit to your shot. Finally, you analyze your shot and assess what you did good and bad. Out on the course you will not hit the same yardage multiple shots in a row. It is always random distances for every shot. With SkyTrak, you have the Randomizer feature that allows you to hit random distances with each shot. This allows you to take your practice sessions to the course easier.

You can access this feature on the Practice Range or the Skills Assessment feature. When I am struggling in the long or short part of my bag, I turn on the Randomizer and see what my shot tendencies are. That way I can plan for any course I can play. This helps me eliminate any pressure or nervousness I feel out on the course. I challenge all #SkyTrakUsers to use the Randomizer each week. You will see dramatic improvements in your ball striking and your scores!

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