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The Scotland co-captain has had a difficult Six Nations from the kicking tee and currently has a record of three successes from eight attempts going into the penultimate round.
But rather than spending hours on the training pitch, Russell said getting away from rugby allowed him to process the disappointment – and find his groove again.
“It was a very relaxed week for me,” the Scotland fly-half said.
“I played with Ryan Wilson on the Wednesday and there’s probably more chat going on there than golf. I played on the Thursday with my dad and one of my good mates and that was probably a better round of golf.”
Russell, who said there are similarities between golfing and goalkicking, said the week’s break came at a good time after his Twickenham disappointment.
When he wasn’t on the golf course, Russell spent time with his family.
“Had I gone from the England game straight into the Wales game the week after, it’s potentially in the back of your mind and you’re trying to fix it too soon,” he explained.
“It was definitely good to get away for a week and do other things and not just think about rugby.
“It’s something that does take a while [to get over]. I’m lucky I’ve got a great family and great friends that help me with that. They have a laugh with me and take my mind off it.
“On the Sunday, we went back to Gloucester with a birthday party for [former Scotland centre] Chris Harris’ daughter. That takes your mind off it when you’re at a kid’s birthday party.
“Having kids, they don’t care if you hit that kick or not. They don’t understand it. They just want you to play with them. You have to put it aside for a little bit and then worry about it when you’ve got your own time.
“The more time you’ve got on your own, the more you think about it I suppose.”
But Russell, who spoke to the media after Scotland’s captain’s run at Murrayfield, is now confident he has rediscovered his best kicking form.
“Before the game against England, I was putting the ball on the grass and kicking it, I got them all five out of five for a bit of fun.
“Then on the tee I was struggling, so I thought ‘let’s just kick it as if it’s off the deck’. That’s what clicked for me this week.
“It’s not overthinking that, but at the same time if it’s not working tomorrow in the warm-up, I can go back to that kicking it off the deck mindset and forget about everything else and trust that I’ve done the work this week.”
But Russell, who is fourth on Scotland’s all-time record points scorers, does not feel he has anything to prove to those who have criticised his goalkicking in the wake of defeat to England.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a point to prove, I think it’s more me personally. It’s my job to kick well and it’s my job to help the team out with that.
“I was kicking well at Bath up until I came into the tournament and I don’t know what changed.
“It changes quickly and then it’s trying to find that trigger that gets you back into the groove as quickly as possible. Hopefully I’ve found it again.”
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