daily practice tips for a beginner?

[blaylock6502]

Everyday when I come home I grab a wedge, my driver, four foam balls, and a yellow practice ball. I hit the four foam balls with my driver and the practice ball with my wedge. I mainly work on making my swing fluid and consistant (definitely not there yet). I have heard some people claim you can get a good idea of contact with the foam ball and others say to put no stock in it. I feel like I can tell to some degree but im not sure. My question is sometimes the swing feels good yet the ball may slice. Should I worry more about what the ball is doing or how the swing feels? Also for this type of practice is there any one thing you would recommend I concentrate on as a beginner? (Ie proper rotation, head stability, grip, stance, etc) I looke forward to your input! Thanks

[rustyredcab]

So glad you asked.

Get a clear idea of the swing you want and the positions you need to hit. Practice hitting those positions and holding... position one...position two.. and so on. Do it slowly and make sure you do it correctly. (For my swing -- which I'm not trying to push here but...-- there is a PVC drill that has me hit and hold key positions.)

Do the drills and don't worry too much about hitting balls. You are trying to train yourself to feel the correct positions in the golf swing. Drill more than you hit balls and when you hit balls, try to care more about your positions than the flight of the ball. Kick the whole thing up a notch by using video to see what you are actually doing.

Good luck and welcome to the wonderful game.

[blaylock6502]

Thank you so much! Is there any drill in particular? I saw one drill on you tube that talked about the different positions of the swing but i found it very hard to hold the upper parts of the back swing.? Is this something that will come with time while doing these drills?

[blaylock6502]

Also I meant to ask, are there different swings , and therefore, different drills for different clubs or the same fundamentals at different angles?

[WUTiger]

For your swing building drills, pros often recommend doing drills with a 5i or a 6i. In reality, you need to do the drills with a 3W, 5i and 9i. The motions are basically the same, but change somewhat as the shafts get longer or shorter.

Also, everyone talks about working on the short game, which is very important to the game. The second most important, however, may be getting your tee shot into the fairway.

[blaylock6502]

I tried a few drills I found online this evening along with a few stretching routines that I think will really help in the long run. My only fear is that I am trying to tackle too much at once but maybe that is the best way to do it. Is there any one drill in particular that you would recommend for a beginner to try to buid a good base from?

[BostonBrew]

Just make an effort to swing a club every day. Hank Haney suggests golfers make at least 100 swings a day and I think that's a good rule of thumb. Builds muscle memory and conditions the hands.

[rustyredcab]

Practice with a purpose. 100 good swings a day are super. 100 random or bad swing do harm.

Get a clear idea of the swing you want and practice hitting the correct positions. Start with slow motion and get the positions correct before repeating over and over.

BTW, a lesson would go a long way toward making your practice effective.

[BostonBrew]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Practice with a purpose. 100 good swings a day are super. 100 random or bad swing do harm.

Get a clear idea of the swing you want and practice hitting the correct positions. Start with slow motion and get the positions correct before repeating over and over.

BTW, a lesson would go a long way toward making your practice effective.

Yes. Obviously this. I guess I left that clarification out.

[smellysell]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Practice with a purpose. 100 good swings a day are super. 100 random or bad swing do harm.

Get a clear idea of the swing you want and practice hitting the correct positions. Start with slow motion and get the positions correct before repeating over and over.

BTW, a lesson would go a long way toward making your practice effective.

Couldn't agree more! Wish I had taken some when I first started, rather than waiting 3 years to do it.

[rustyredcab]

Now I'm going to beat this dead horse...

Practicing the wrong things will ingrain bad habits that may take years to undo. You can, and likely will, learn to hit the ball where you wish even with a bad grip, a bad setup, and a bad swing. You will create compensations that "make up for" the bad things in your swing. We all do it and all have done it to one extent or another. The simplest thing most of us do wrong is our grip. Even experienced golfer creep into bad grip habits. And then the compensations start... and often our old bad habits reemerge. We think the issue is some swing path problem when it all began with a slight change from our correct grip.

All this may sound like doom and gloom. It is the stuff that makes golf such a challenging and wonderful game. And there is hope!

Getting some instruction early can jet your progress forward. Either a lesson or some other clear instruction (a lesson from a PGA professional who teaches beginners is best) that helps you start with a good grip and setup, will make your practice fruitful and keep you moving toward becoming a confident and happy golfer. Don't wait until you are "good enough." By then you'll spend lesson time unlearning any bad habits. Best to try and create habits with a cleaner slate.

I think this horse is beaten enough.

[blaylock6502]

I really appreciate the input from everyone! If thats what it takes thats what ill do. I have a call into the local pro to schedule a lesson waiting to hear back! Im very excited! I used to be big into competative archery and it was the same way but there wasnt really anyone around to give lessons. It is a lot easier to build good habits than break bad ones! Thanks for reminding me of that and wish me luck!

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by blaylock6502

I really appreciate the input from everyone! If thats what it takes thats what ill do. I have a call into the local pro to schedule a lesson waiting to hear back! Im very excited! I used to be big into competative archery and it was the same way but there wasnt really anyone around to give lessons. It is a lot easier to build good habits than break bad ones! Thanks for reminding me of that and wish me luck!

Keep us up to date on your progress. Let us know how the lesson goes.

[PirateJim]

I know the horse looks dead, but I gotta chime in on getting lessons. I am not a gambler at heart, but I would bet there are many thousands of people that have quit trying to play golf because they never got proper instruction and became frustrated. Golf is hard enough, even with training. For me, and I believe many others, golf instruction is a lot about the feeling I am looking for during the stroke. So being able to connect with what your instructor is saying becomes a question of their ability to tell you what you should be feeling in a way that works for you. Great instructors are good at this. I believe that is a lot of what makes them great. Less great ones can 'connect' with some folks and maybe less so with others. If you connect with the first pro you see, great! If not, don't decide lessons are a waste of time. Try other pros. You will find one you can communicate well with, and it is worth the effort. With this thought in mind, you might want to take a single lesson and see how you feel afterward before signing up for a series of lessons (which are usually at a discount). If you are feeling good vibes after that flirst lesson, a series is a good way to kick-start your game. If not, move along.

[rustyredcab]

Alright. I see some life in that horse.

Finding a pro who can explain it to you in a way that connects with you is key. I had voice lessons and my instructor could describe what she wanted in many different ways until one worked for me. In my golf instruction, I have discovered golf schools and love having five or six pros all working on my swing with me. I understand a school is a big commitment so, I'd look for a golf pro who works with you like my voice coach worked with me.

[blaylock6502]

Still waiting to hear back about my lesson but I played 18 yesterday and after just working on my swing instead of hitting balls and working more on my short game the difference was amazing! I got a couple of straight drives (only one last time) and they both came when I was able to talk myself into a nice easy swing. My irons chipping and putting were like I was a completely different player! I played so poorly the first two times I played (this is the third time not counting one round of par 3) that I couldnt really keep track but I had to have dropped 15 strokes and I attribute most if not all of it to stopping hitting and working more one the feel of the swing and stepping through and making sure I reach the right points! I shot the same yesterday as I did my first round of par 3! Thanks so much!!!