* BY MIKE BARGE * Mike Barge is the Director of Instruction at Hazeltine National GC and a Class A member of the PGA of America. TIPS FROM THE PROS Charting Your Course Tracking your performance creates a road map to game improvement. N ot everyone has multiple hours during the day to spend on the range and around the green, so narrowing down the most crucial skills that need improving is key. Tour players have all the analytics imaginable at their disposal and can look at stats to see where they excel and where they fall behind. There are numerous stat-tracking devices and apps that can give all golfers valuable information on their rounds. Some popular ones are Arccos, Clippd and Shot by Shot, to name a few. But you can also go analog. You may already keep a journal tracking your fairways hit, greens in regulation, total feet of putts made, etc. Anything to give you an honest idea of why you shoot what you shoot makes sense. The benefit of charting your rounds in a journal can also be used for mental practice. We all agree that the mental game is important but very few know how to improve mentally. Write down your feelings and sensations after a poor round and again after a great round and compare the two. You will arm yourself with valuable information, thoughts and feelings that can lead to your best golf. mngolf.org Summer 2024 MINNESOTAGOLFER 11 PHOTO: MATT SEEFELDT PHOTOGRAPHYhttp://www.mngolf.org