Consistent contact came out on top in our first vote, with knowing what to practise close behind. To me, these are not two separate problems. Anyone can give you a drill for better contact. But my job as a coach is not only to help you hit a few better shots while I’m standing beside you. I want you to understand what your shots are telling you, so you can make better decisions when you practise alone. Most golfers hit one poor shot and immediately change something. Their grip. Their posture. Their tempo. Their swing thought. After ten balls, they have tried ten different solutions but learned almost nothing about the pattern causing the problem. So today, we are not going to fix your contact yet. We are going to learn how to read it. The Contact Awareness Challenge Take a 7 iron and hit 10 balls at around 70% speed. Keep the same target, tempo and intention for every shot. After each ball, pause before changing anything. Ask yourself: 1. Where did I strike the clubface: toe, centre or heel? 2. Did the club meet the ground before or after the ball? 3. Did anything change in my rhythm or effort? Then check whether your feeling matches the evidence. On grass, draw a small line and place the ball on it. Check where the divot begins. On a mat, place a towel around 10 centimetres behind the ball. If you have impact spray or face tape, use it to check the strike location too. Do not make technical changes during these ten shots. Your job is to collect information, not chase perfection. Give yourself two scores: Contact score: How many clean strikes did you produce out of 10? Awareness score: How often did your feeling match what actually happened? Your awareness score matters most today. Because once you can recognise your pattern, you can stop guessing and start practising with purpose. Share both scores below, together with the pattern you noticed. For example: Contact: 6/10 Awareness: 8/10 Pattern: My contact became heavy whenever I tried to create more speed.

Most golfers don’t struggle because they practise too little. They struggle because they practise without knowing what is actually costing them shots. Before your next practice session, answer these three questions: 1. Where did I lose the most shots during my last round? 2. What is the one skill I want to improve today? 3. How will I know if today’s practice worked? One focused answer is often more valuable than another random bucket of balls. This is one of the main ideas behind Play Smarter. Score Lower. I’ve just uploaded the completely renewed English version of the workbook, and this is finally the version I wanted it to be. Across 50 interactive pages, it helps you understand your game, practise with more purpose and build your own plan for lower scores. Want to get the complete workbook? Go to: Classroom → Golf Foundations Blueprint → Play Smarter. Score Lower. Before you go, tell me: Where are you currently losing the most shots? Tee shots, approach shots, short game, putting or course decisions? Comment below. I’ll use the most common answer for an upcoming community lesson.

I’ve been reading the answers from our first members. Thank you for sharing them. I don’t want to fill this community with random golf tips. I want the first lessons to focus on what you genuinely need. What would you like me to cover first? A. Making more consistent contact B. Knowing what to practise C. Making smarter decisions on the course Reply with A, B or C. One letter is enough.

Welcome! I’m Youri, a PGA Teaching Professional. This community is here to help beginner and developing golfers stop guessing, practise with purpose and play with more confidence. Introduce yourself below: 1. Where are you from? 2. How long have you been playing golf? 3. What is the number one thing you want to improve? I’ll use your answers to make the coaching inside this community as useful as possible. Let’s play smarter and score lower. ⛳