(ARA) - Golf may look simple, but it is a complex sport requiring drive and determination. There are three dimensions that create a complete golfer: a solid mental game, technical skill and physical fitness.

Gary Player, professional golfer and winner of golf’s career grand slam, advocates mastering these three dimensions to improve your golf game. He has partnered with BoomerTowne.com to provide advice to anyone, especially the 9 million baby boomer golfers like himself, who strives to improve their score.

Mental Game

“The most important dimension, mental game, is often the most overlooked and least practiced,” says Player.
A lot of golfers buy into the phrase “grip it and rip it.” They assume the game of golf only requires one to grab a club and swing away. The truth, however, is that without a solid mental game a golfer will never reach his or her true potential, no matter how great the swing is or how physically fit the person.

Player reminds golfers, “By simply making the effort to start something, you will be miles ahead of almost everyone else, and after that, success lies in your determination.”

One way to improve a mental game is to visualize success. Before beginning a round, or even while practicing, visualize the desired outcome. See yourself hitting the perfect shot, reading a complicated break on the green and sinking the putt or hitting the approach shot to within a few feet of the flag.

Technical Skill

Before a golfer can succeed at golf, he or she must understand and implement certain fundamental techniques.

Often it is a lot easier, and more effective, to learn the proper golf swing from a professional golfer right away rather than try to unlearn the wrong swing and bad habits.
“Ben Hogan was a great inspiration in motivating me to practice and develop a balanced swing technique. He always said the “secret was in the dirt,” says Player. “What I understood that to mean, and still believe to this day, is that the harder you practice, the luckier you get. Better said; nothing worth achieving comes easily.”

With that in mind, make sure to get out on the practice range and do exactly that - practice! Start warming up by hitting with a middle-iron, a 5- or 6-iron works perfect, and then work your way through your entire bag. Focus on past instruction and really concentrate on making a good, consistent swing.

Physical Fitness

Golf requires a sound base of physical strength and flexibility. This becomes very apparent when you consider that in the course of walking 18 holes, one can cover over a couple of miles while carrying a 20- to 30-pound golf bag. There is no doubt that the physical fitness aspect of the sport is the most difficult for golfers to sustain.
A great place to get going with a good physical fitness routine, and low budget effort, is stretching. Before hitting the range or playing a round, make sure to stretch out and get loose. Swinging a weighted club or swinging two or three clubs at a time effectively accomplishes this. Start by taking the club back and hold it at the top of the backswing. Then swing through and hold again at the finish. Doing this will effectively stretch out the muscles used when golfing.

Article courtesy of ARAcontent