Practice? We're Talking About Practice?
Practice. It takes time. You have a job, a family and/or other responsibilities. You would rather play when you have the time than practice. And when you do practice, you mindlessly rip through a bucket of balls like some golf zombie without any kind of plan or goal. A rhythm develops. The swing feels loose and fluid. The ball starts flying pretty good.
Or…
Nothing feels right. The swing feels awkward. The ball goes a thousand different directions. And you keep rifling ball after ball after ball getting more and more frustrated.
Either way, your game stays stuck in a quagmire of mediocre shots.
Naturally, I would encourage you to see your local PGA Professional and get some lessons.
But we’re just talking practice right now. Even with limited time, rifling ball after ball out into the range is a poor way to practice. It is just repetition without any purpose. Think of it this way, when you play golf, do you rifle ball after ball rapid fire until the round is over? No, of course not. There’s time between shots. There’s a lot of inactivity before a shot occurs. It can be 5 minutes before you swing the club and strike a ball. It can be 15 minutes before you hit a driver again. And the golf swing takes less than 2 seconds to complete!
It makes far more sense to practice like you play. Now, I’m not suggesting you take 5 minutes between shots on the range. You’re already time constrained. But you should step away for a few seconds between shots. Break the rhythm. Step away before hitting the next ball.
The other issue occurs when you decide to practice and focus solely on a mechanical issue with the swing. Working on a mechanical issue is important, but it should only be a portion of your practice. Think of it this way, a quarterback works on proper footwork when dropping back to throw a pass, but the rest of the practice is focused on running plays without focusing on the footwork. Why? Because ultimately the goal is to play FOOTBALL NOT FOOTWORK! Golf is about playing a round in the fewest number of shots, not how perfect your swing looks.
So, here are some suggestions for practice.
If you need to work on something technical in the swing, work on it for the first 10 minutes of your practice session. Assuming 50 range balls, hit 10-15 balls focused on the technical aspect of the swing. Take 3-5 practice swings focusing on the part of the swing you are trying to improve before hitting a ball.
After working on the technical, move into more of a playing mode. Use your pre shot routine. Whatever you do before a shot on the course, do it at the range. If you don’t have a pre shot routine, the range is a great place to develop one. It sets the mind on the task at hand, which is to hit the ball towards the target, not on the swing.
Change clubs and targets between balls. When you play, it’s safe to say you aren’t hitting ten straight shots with the same club. So why are you doing it on the range? Instead, make practice more like playing. Switch clubs between balls and select different targets to hit to with each ball. You can even pretend to play a round on a familiar course.
There are many other things you can do to help with practice. This is only a small sampling. Next time you practice, try to focus more on hitting shots than the swing itself. Ultimately, golf is not a game of who has the most perfect looking swing, but who makes the fewest shots.
I also recommend THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF GOLF by Jon Sherman @practicalgolf, and THE PRACTICE MANUAL by Adam Young @adamyounggolf.
As always, be grateful when you play. Get out there and Go Golf!
If you enjoyed this post, please feel to share on social media. Please also share with golfing friends and/or family. Thank you for subscribing!