Yes, it’s a fair question: what’s the best thing that will improve your golf game? I know people will rush to say golf lessons, but I don’t think lessons alone will drastically improve your game. Even a brand-new set of golf clubs won’t make a great difference. I believe the single most important thing that will improve your golf game is consistency. I can hear your response already: “Ah, cop-out!” But it’s true.
Here in the UK, the golf season typically runs from April to September for most players. The average golfer plays around 12-15 rounds a year, although there was a surge in 2022, with some players reaching 37 rounds. Golf club members, on average, play 30 rounds a year, while non-members or casual players manage just 5-10 rounds.
Now, think about this: if you take lessons or buy new clubs but only play 12-15 times a year, how much improvement can you realistically expect? Sure, you can head to the driving range every day and smash ball after ball, but with limited time on an actual golf course, how much can you really grow? If you’re only playing 12-15 rounds a year, you need a long-term strategy over a couple of years. Be honest about your progress, and don’t beat yourself up over a bad performance.
Fitness also plays a massive role. If you’re not regularly going to the gym and you’re carrying your clubs for 18 holes, expect your consistency to drop off even more as fatigue sets in. That magic number of consistent rounds might be harder to achieve than you first thought!
And just when you think you’ve cracked it and got the hang of things, there’s always a YouTube golf tutorial video ready to send you down the wrong path… lol.
These points might sound obvious, but let’s face it—we’re not pros. We don’t have the time to practice like them or the resources for massive swings in improvement. The one thing that will improve your golf game more than anything else is playing more golf.
Golf is addictive. The more you play, the more consistent you’ll become, and the better you’ll get. We all have those days when the stars align, and we play our best golf ever. And then there are those days when it feels like the stars have abandoned us completely.
This year has been my greatest year of improvement, and it’s all down to one simple thing: playing more regularly. Everything else falls into place when you play more. Golf lessons start to make sense. Golf clubs begin to “talk” to you: “I need this club for that distance and that one for this lie.” Your fitness improves. You’ll see better scores! Trust me—it took me five years to figure this out.
So, if you’re serious about improving your game, forget obsessing over expensive lessons and shiny new equipment. Just get out there and play more golf. The rest will follow. And who knows—maybe this will be your breakthrough year too.
