Welcome to Play Smart, a game improvement column and podcast from editor Luke Kerr-Dineen to help you play smarter, better golf.
We’re all about improving our golf games without overhauling our swings around these parts. Obviously, there are limitations to doing that. You’ll probably need to make some technical upgrades to your golf swing, at some point. But there are also plenty of ways you can improve now changing how you play, but how you practice and prep for your next round. Ingrain a few good habits away from the course, and you’ll play better the next time you’re back on it.
One way you can do this is to employ an interesting concept called “habit stacking.”
What is “habit stacking”?
It’s a pretty simple idea: Think of something you do every day, or multiple times a day, already. A habit you have, like brushing your teeth, or in golf terms, hitting a driver on the range before you go play. Habit stacking involves introducing one new habit every time you do an existing one. Here’s a few golf related examples of how that might work:
GOLF Top 100 Teacher Dave Phillips suggests doing one-legged squat to strengthen your hip flexors and glutes as you brush your teeth.
PGA Tour player Max Homa says to taking a few minutes checking your golf posture in the mirror before leaving for the course.
GOLF Top 100 Teacher Kellie Stenzel says to take do your full pre-shot routine before each driver you hit on the range.
Short Game Gains founders Hannah Gregg and Frederik Lindblom suggest taking 10 minutes before you go to bed to work on your putting alignment with an at-home setup.
You’re not trying to build an entirely new habit from scratch, because that is difficult and requires discipline. Instead, habit stacking allows you to introduce a new habit and help it stick, faster and easier. You may even come out a better golfer at the end.
You can listen to a full 12-minute Play Smart episode below, and subscribe to the Play Smart podcast on Apple here, or on Spotify right here.