A Simple Reminder For Anyone Trying to Get Better at Golf

The other day at the driving range, I overheard two amateur golfers working through “a coaching session.” One man was hitting balls while the other stood behind him offering a rapid-fire stream of swing advice.

To be fair, he meant well.

But in just a few minutes, he diagnosed everything imaginable.

“The turn is your problem. If you’re not turning through it, you can’t launch it.”
“But before you worry about the turn, we’ve got to fix your plane — you get a little upright, and then your lead shoulder has nowhere to go.”
“Alright, hit a few. Let’s see what that does.”
“Okay, now you’re hanging on. When you hang on, the weight doesn’t transfer and the arm flips.”
“Actually, the real issue is the slide. Mix that with the flip and you’re just wiping across it.”
“That one was better… but the face was totally shut.”

And then came my favorite line of all:

“Now, not to throw too much at ya, but let me see your grip.”

Too much? The grip was the moment he decided it might be “too much”? Everything before that was already enough material for a month of lessons. He wasn’t trying to sabotage his friend; he genuinely wanted to help.

And here’s the part nobody likes to admit

We all do this to ourselves, too.

It usually starts innocently. You’re working on weight transfer. Then you happen to feel a little more extension in your backswing and realize it keeps you more on plane. Now you’ve added a second swing thought. Then you remember something about shoulder tilt. Now you’re at three. The ball starts going sideways and you think, “Okay, maybe I should revisit my grip.” Suddenly, you’ve recreated that driving-range conversation, except this time you’re arguing with yourself.

The one reminder most golfers need

Here’s the simple reminder:

The fastest way to get better at golf is to work on ONE thing at a time.

This concept is backed by decades of motor-learning research. One of the most widely accepted frameworks, the Fitts & Posner model, explains that when you’re early in the process of changing a movement, your brain is already overloaded.

You’re trying to learn what to do and how to do it at the same time. Add more than one swing thought, and you drown your ability to learn.

Across sports, research built on this model has shown the same thing. Athletes improve faster when they focus on one priority, not five.

How to choose and stick with your “one thing”

If you struggle with this concept, try these tips to help you get focused:

1. Let a professional define it for you.

Your buddies mean well but golf instruction isn’t always best when it’s crowd-sourced. Let a qualified coach identify the thoughts/moves that will actually lead to improvement.

2. Stick with it longer than feels comfortable.

Most golfers abandon good changes too soon. One bad session doesn’t mean the change was wrong. It could just mean the change is new. Repetition is what makes it stick and where you’ll start to see better shots.

3. Write it down and keep it in your golf bag.

A handwritten reminder is the best way to anchor a swing thought. I’ve always liked the note in my bag over a note on the phone or a text message. The paper in your bag is simple, visible and harder to ignore.

4. Quiet your mind before every shot.

Take one breath. Think about one intention, then swing.

The more you simplify the moment before the club moves, the more the work you’ve done on the range can actually show up on the course.

The bottom line

Golf gets easier when you stop trying to fix everything and start fixing one thing. That’s the reminder. And if your buddy is the one throwing out five swing changes at once, maybe make sure this article finds its way to their inbox. Or put a written note in their bag.