There are probably not too many better players for amateur golfers to take advice from right now than Nelly Korda, with the world number one having one of the greatest seasons of all-time on the LPGA.
Nelly Korda sealed her seventh win of the year at The ANNIKA last week. The 26-year-old produced a masterclass on the back nine at Pelican Golf Club as she made five straight birdies.
Remarkably, there had been quite the gap between that and her previous win. Korda won six times in seven starts before the end of May, with her second major title coming at the Chevron Championship in April.
Korda is definitely one of the biggest superstars across the game right now. So many may have been taking notes when she was asked in her press conference ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship what advice she would give to amateur golfers looking to break 80 for the first time.
Nelly Korda suggests two tips to help amateur golfers break 80
Rather than anything technical, Korda suggested that how casual golfers often practice stops them realising their potential.
“A lot of people that I see that are ams never have a stick down on the range. If you don’t know where you’re aiming, there’s a high chance you don’t know where you’re aiming out on the golf course. So that would be tip one,” she said.
“And tip two is I see a lot of people stand on the range just drilling golf balls or just practicing a lot, instead of going out and visualising. At the end of the day, golf is a game of creativity and you’re never going to have your A game, and one day, the wind’s going to be off the left, one day, the wind’s going to be off the right, the hole’s going to play completely different. It’s all about creativity, so going out and playing a lot.”
How Lexi Thompson answered the same question
Another great of the game, Lexi Thompson was asked the same question in her own press conference. Of course, Thompson is getting ready to bow out from playing full-time at the end of the year.
And like Korda, the 29-year-old – who won the Race To CME Globe in 2017 – suggested that aimless practice does golfers few favours.
“I always say the biggest tip that helped me out the most was when I went out and practiced, always have a goal in mind, always have something that you want to improve on,” she said.
“It could be the smallest of things or the biggest of things. It could be the mental side; as we know, golf is such a mental sport. It could be on the mental side of visualising some shots out there. But going out there with a purpose, don’t just go out to the golf course and be like, oh I’m just going to hit some balls today or play. Have a goal on something that you want to improve on, so that way you’re not wasting any time.”
Of course, the worry for us mere mortals will be that the likes of Korda and Thompson going anywhere near 80 represents a pretty dreadful day at the office. So perhaps they do not exactly remember what it was like standing on the 13th tee, for example, knowing that only a par on every remaining hole would get the job done.
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