Putting in the Practice
Tournament days feel a little different from an ordinary day on the golf course. There’s a tee time, a scorecard, other players alongside you, and every stroke gets counted. But a few days after Clara’s first tournament, we were right back where we spend a lot more of our time—practicing.
Clara’s first tournament gave us a chance to see the things she had been practicing play out on the course while also showing some areas that could use a little more consistency. She didn’t need a major overhaul, but just a few little things that would benefit from more time, attention, and repetition.
I missed the first half hour of her practice because I was dropping off our oldest daughter, Olivia, at driver’s ed. That was one of those mom moments when both kids needed to be in two separate places at the same time. By the time I made it to the course, Clara and her coach were already well into practice, but I was able to catch the last 45 minutes.
When I found them, Clara was working on her full swing at the driving range. After a few warm-up balls, her coach paused her at setup and made a small adjustment to her grip. Standing beside her, she demonstrated the grip so Clara could see exactly how her hands should sit on the club. She wanted the pad beneath Clara’s top thumb to fold more completely over her bottom thumb. Clara had been resting it more to the side, creating a weaker grip that made it easier for the clubface to open through impact—one of the reasons her shots have a tendency to go right.
Next, her coach worked with Clara on her posture at address. Clara tends to stand a little more upright over the ball, so they worked on getting her chest over the ball a bit more, with just a slight bend in her knees. I sometimes wonder if hockey plays a small part in that. Clara is also learning to play ice hockey, where she’s constantly being reminded to keep her chest up and her knees bent. Then she steps onto the golf course and her body is being asked to move in a completely different way. It’s funny because, on the surface, the two sports seem like they should have a lot in common—you’re swinging something to send something else in the direction you want it to go. But we’re quickly learning that the similarities pretty much end there.
I think this is one of those things that will simply take reps in both sports. The more she practices each one, the more natural it should become for her body to recognize, I’m on the ice, so I move this way, or I’m on the golf course, so I move this way.
The last thing they worked on during her full swing was getting her whole body working together a little better. Her coach wanted Clara to keep her shoulders turning underneath her chin rather than opening up too soon, while also learning to shift her weight onto her front leg as she came through the swing. The goal was to help her make a stronger, more complete swing—and hopefully gain some distance along the way.
To help Clara get a feel for the motion, her coach gave her a simple drill she can even practice at home. Instead of a golf club, she uses a wiffle ball, taking it through the motion of her backswing and then throwing it toward her target as she comes through. The drill helps her feel the path her arms and shoulders should follow while naturally shifting her weight forward at the same time. It sounds simple enough, but trying to put all of those little pieces together at once is no easy task!
After full swing, they moved over toward the chipping green to work on trouble shots—one of Clara’s favorite things to practice. As we’ve learned, you never quite know where a golf ball might end up after a wayward shot. It could land at the base of a tree, underneath a bush, or on a tiny patch of grass beside the water. And sometimes even taking relief doesn’t leave you with a much better shot, so it helps to know how to get a little creative and work with what you have.
Clara loves these kinds of shots. She and her coach stood underneath a small tree and practiced what she could do if there simply wasn’t room for her normal right-handed swing. She flipped the club around and tried hitting a few left-handed, with the goal of just getting the ball back out into the open. They also practiced hitting the ball backward with one hand on the club—one of those shots that looks a little funny at practice but might come in handy one day.
More than anything, it was about teaching her to look at what was in front of her, think through her options, and figure out a way to get herself out of trouble.
By the end of practice, Clara had a few new things to work on and a few drills she could practice at home. I think what I appreciated most was how ordinary the day felt. They worked on a few things we had noticed at her tournament, but there was no sense that everything suddenly needed to change. It was simply another practice day—a chance to make a few adjustments, ask questions, hit a lot of golf balls, and keep learning.
As I watched Clara and her coach finish up, I couldn’t help but feel grateful. She has people in her corner who are willing to give their time, share what they know, and make learning the game fun for her. That is something we certainly don’t take for granted.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
