![\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/susan](\"https:\/\/golfdigest.sports.sndimg.com\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/susan%20and%20patrick%20us%20senior%20womens.JPG.rend.hgtvcom.966.1288.suffix\/1789676917190.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nThe assistant pro at the club where I\u2019m a member played in the U.S. Senior Women\u2019s Open. Susan Fasoldt, who works at Stoneybrook C.C. and Dorset Field Club, shot 75 in her qualifier at Boston Golf Club to get into the field at Barton Hills C.C. in Michigan. There, she shot 75 again in the first round. Ultimately, she missed the cut by one. Watching all of this unfold, I was pretty amazed. Because whenever I see Fasoldt, she\u2019s working: teaching on the practice tee, helping run tournaments at the club, working in the shop. What I don\u2019t often see her do is work on her own game. So I had to find out: How can she play such solid tournament golf with so little time to prepare?<\/p>\n
Fasoldt says she practices putting at home, and when she does have time to go to the range or the course, she chooses playing golf over hitting balls. Even if she only has time to play two or three holes after work, she\u2019s dropping multiple balls around the greens to practice different types of short-game shots. Whenever she\u2019s able, she plays in tournaments to get comfortable with that feeling of playing under the stress of competition, of having to post a score. That way, when she\u2019s playing in a tournament she really wants to do well in, those feelings aren\u2019t a surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I have very little time to practice, I focus on my setup, routine, and mindset,\u201d Fasoldt says.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Photo provided by the Dorset Field Club.<\/p>\n
Setup <\/p>\n
Indoors, Fasoldt sets up a mirror on the ground and gets into her setup while standing on an alignment stick. \u201cThis keeps my balance, posture, and alignment correct,\u201d Fasoldt says. \u201cWhen something in my setup gets off, the rest of my swing is a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Routine <\/p>\n
When she does get the chance to practice, she works diligently on her routine. \u201cI always start behind the ball and pick a target that offers a lot of contrast [like a tree\u2019s edge against the sky] so it stays in my mind when I look back at the ball before I swing,\u201d Fasoldt says.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re not practicing often, the practice you can do must be precise and focused. Seemingly small things, like choosing a target that\u2019s an easy image to hold in your head, can enhance your focus while you\u2019re practicing. <\/p>\n
\u201cI swing without standing over the ball too long,\u201d Fasoldt says. \u201cWhen I can do this, I can trust my ability better, and my swing is more free.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mindset <\/p>\n
Even when you don\u2019t have much time to practice, it\u2019s OK to prioritize rest over using every free moment to get out on the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year I have made more of an effort to recover and rest when the season is busy, instead of forcing myself to go practice,\u201d Fadsolt says. \u201cI have done a better job at adjusting my mindset around this. In the past, I have told myself if I don\u2019t practice, I won\u2019t play well. And that actually isn\u2019t true. I play better when I am rested, with a correct setup and solid routine. I think this summer it\u2019s been a lot about getting myself in the right state mentally to use the skills I have.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The assistant pro at the club where I\u2019m a member played in the U.S. Senior Women\u2019s Open. Susan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":901364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[4225,64,63,755,138747,85,12632],"class_list":["post-901363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-article","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-golf-digest","tag-sports","tag-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}