Queensland’s Top Lady Practices For Success

You’ve been playing for a while. Your handicap hasn’t moved in months. You watch the top players and their shots look effortless. You wonder: “What are they doing that I’m not?”

We asked five-time state champion Mary McMahon what separates good players from great ones. Her answer: practice. But a specific kind of practice.

Mary describes an approach that any player can use.

Work on the shots you avoid

Most people practise what they’re already good at. Mary does the opposite.

“I start with not the shots that I find easy, but the ones that I’m not the best at,” she explains. The shots you skip are the ones holding you back.

Nobody is a natural

“You might see some of the good players out there... and think that it all just comes naturally. It doesn’t,” Mary says. The players who look effortless have put in hours of repetition on specific shots. There’s no shortcut.

Practice helps achieve “flow”

When you’ve hit a shot hundreds of times, you stop thinking about the technique. In a match, your hands know what to do. Your mind can focus on strategy instead.

Mary calls this “flow.” The game slows down. You’re thinking ahead instead of worrying about the shot in front of you. The players who win competitions practise with intention.

Pick one shot you’re bad at. Spend your next practice session on that shot alone. See what happens.

Get coaching

Want help identifying what to work on? Croquet Queensland runs coaching programs. A coach can spot things you can’t see yourself.