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Pratice frequency and routine and handicap

Fat Slice

By Fat Slice,
in Golf Talk

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  1. 1. "Don't practice very much" = more hours spent playing than practicing

    • single digit / don't practice very much
      13
    • single digit / regular practice, driving range bias
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    • single digit / regular practice, short game bias
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    • 10-20 / don't practice very much
      13
    • 10-20 / regular practice, driving range bias
      9
    • 10-20 / regular practice, short game bias
      5
    • 20+ / don't practice very much
      1
    • 20+ / regular practice, driving range bias
      6
    • 20+ / regular practice, short game bias
      1

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Fat Slice Great Member

Fat Slice

I think I would be a more consistent ball striker with more practice, from driver to putter. I think being more consistent would bring down my index. I am curious about people's habits and their handicaps.

Driver: Nike Ignite 10.5 w/ Fujikura Motore F1
2H: King Cobra
4H: Nickent 4DX
5H: Adams A3
6I 7I 8I 9I PW: Mizuno mp-57Wedges: Mizuno MP T-10 50, 54, 58 Ball: random

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StixItClose Member

StixItClose

Great question! I only go to the range if I have something specifically wrong where I'll want to get the alignment sticks and/or video out or if I'm trying to get used to a new club. I hate hitting balls just for the sake of hitting balls. I've traded the range time that I considered wasteful for time at the gym. I feel better and have lost 5 strokes on the cap this year so far anyway. I don't even hit balls before a round. I would much rather get some feel for the greens with the putter and a wedge. If I wasn't particularly happy with an aspect of the short game in my last round, I'll go work on that for a few hours in the next few days after the round. Some people have to/want to beat balls constantly, and that's cool, too, but I've figured out that I'm not one of them.
In my stand bag:
Burner 09 10.5 Regular SQ Dymo 15* 3 wood A4 18* Stiff
Fli-Hi 3 & 4 hybrids; MX-20 4-PW Stiff Black Nickel 50*, Spin Milled 58* White Hot 2-Ball Belly
TP Black SG4
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golfro Great Member

golfro

I'm surprsied people don't goto the range that often..

My time at the range is what brings consistency to my game, not just to fix something specific. Sure, hitting balls for sake of hitting balls can be boring but thats how you build consistency in your swing. its Practice.
I goto the range atleast 3-4 times a week, each time 1-2 hours on the range and putting green. Back when I was down to a 2 handicap and playing competitively in HS, I was at the range every day, 7 days a week if I'm not hitting the course, 2-3 hours on the range and green. Practice doesn't make perfect but it sure does help your game.

DST Tour 9.5 Diamana Whiteboard
909F3 15* 3 FW stock Aldila Voodoo
909F3 18* 5 FW stock Aldila Voodoo
'09 X-Forged 3-PW Project-X 6.0 Flighted
CG15 56* X-Tour 60* Abaco

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shades9323 Great Member

shades9323

I'm surprsied people don't goto the range that often..

A lot of us have wives and kids and other hobbies. Plus we just like to play(most golfers) and not practice. Why spend your free time practicing when you could be playing? I don't care about improving.

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golfro Great Member

golfro

A lot of us have wives and kids and other hobbies. Plus we just like to play(most golfers) and not practice. Why spend your free time practicing when you could be playing? I don't care about improving.

I see...quite different from me than. I wouldn't be playing this game if I didn't want to be constantly improving.

DST Tour 9.5 Diamana Whiteboard
909F3 15* 3 FW stock Aldila Voodoo
909F3 18* 5 FW stock Aldila Voodoo
'09 X-Forged 3-PW Project-X 6.0 Flighted
CG15 56* X-Tour 60* Abaco

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talismand Member

talismand

A lot of us have wives and kids and other hobbies. Plus we just like to play(most golfers) and not practice.

Because (for me at least, and probably others), my "free time" usually isn't enough for a round of golf. During the week I might get a couple of days free, where I have maybe 1.5 hours MAX, so I tend to head out to the range, just to keep working on grooving my swing, and whatever short game I can stand before the mosquitoes emerge.

I do try to play when I get the time though, but it's just not as often as I would like. Granted, if I won the lottery and didn't have work or other obligations, I'd probably be spending more time actually playing though.
Driver: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo 10.5*
Hybrids: Nickent 4DX 3+, 4, 5
Irons: Ping G15 5 - PW
Wedges: Mizuno MP-R (52*, 56*, 60*)
Putter: Cleveland Classic 4 (34" and 35")
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double_j Dedicated Member

double_j

Like most others here, I don't practice that much. I'll hit the range maybe once or twice a month if I want to try something out, but other than that I don't mess with my swing too much.

That said, you do need to develop a consistent swing before you can really start slacking in the practice department. I got lucky in that I was able to play 4 times a week for 3 or 4 months last summer and that really helped me learn a repeatable swing.

My goal this year is to get to a 7 hdcp or so, but that will require more short game practice than anything else. I just go to the course an hour or two before I play a round. I'll hit a bucket at the range to loosen up and work out kinks if necessary and spend the rest of the time chipping and putting.

I can't see spending multiple nights per week working on my game between work and everything else, but given my goals it's really not necessary. The important thing is to make sure that you use whatever practice time you do have wisely (e.g., don't just hit putts on the putting green, you have to consciously focus on the thing you're trying to improve).
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TN94z Super Member

TN94z

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A lot of us have wives and kids and other hobbies. Plus we just like to play(most golfers) and not practice. Why spend your free time practicing when you could be playing? I don't care about improving.

That is the difference between being a -14 handicap and a -2 handicap. Many people just want to play and have fun and if they get better from that then so be it, but they aren't shooting for scratch. Then you have your golfers like me who's goal is to get as close to scratch as I can and become competitive in tournaments. With that being said, I don't practice as much as I should to reach my goals, but I am working on it.

Bryan A
"Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to stay the same"

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golfro Great Member

golfro

That is the difference between being a -14 handicap and a -2 handicap. Many people just want to play and have fun and if they get better from that then so be it, but they aren't shooting for scratch. Then you have your golfers like me who's goal is to get as close to scratch as I can and become competitive in tournaments. With that being said, I don't practice as much as I should to reach my goals, but I am working on it.

Agreed. Fun for me is the improvement part. Playing the game is fun and all but add the constant practice and goal to be a scratch player is what keeps me hooked.

DST Tour 9.5 Diamana Whiteboard
909F3 15* 3 FW stock Aldila Voodoo
909F3 18* 5 FW stock Aldila Voodoo
'09 X-Forged 3-PW Project-X 6.0 Flighted
CG15 56* X-Tour 60* Abaco

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imtomtomim Great Member

imtomtomim

I try to practice as much as possible. In a week, I'd like to either get to the range around 3-4 times, and maybe play 9 holes once or twice a week, fitting in 18 here and there. I just try to get a club in my hands and swinging at least one session a day. Weekends, I usually reserve for time with the wife.

Each range session I do is around 2-2.5 hours, if I can help it. Sometimes I'll just squeeze in one quick bucket and some short game practice in an hour.

My typical practice session, I start with my 4 iron, get my contact, tempo, ball flight down. Work some shots, and then hit another 40 balls or so, just playing with different clubs. Then I'll head to the chipping green, hit maybe 35-70 greenside shots, then go do some long putts for 15 min. Then I go back to the range and start hitting some pins, from 3 sides, high/low, hit some escape shots, 50 yard benders, and short game between 60-100y away. Once I finish the second bucket, (maybe another 100 balls or so), I go back to the chipping green, hit maybe 20 random short game shots, then finishing on the putting green for 20-30 min of short putting.

I'm pretty competitive, even if it's just for fun, I like it. When I'm on the course, I don't want to fix what I've got. Just see it, go to it, and then execute. No more than 6-8 seconds from stepping next to the ball and sending it. The range is where you hone your actual skills. In the 2 years I've been playing, my scoring range has gone from high 80's to mid 90's, down to low 70's to low 80's. It's a low chance shot to think you can get a lot better by not working on it.
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Stretch Super Member

Stretch

Maybe it's weird, but I quite enjoy practicing just for its own sake. If you don't have four hours to devote to playing a round, 45 minutes outside in the sun at the range is a pleasant enough break from the rest of the everyday bull****. Moments of zen etc.

Stretch.

"In the process of trial and error, our failed attempts are meant to destroy arrogance and provoke humility." -- Master Jin Kwon

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natp0wers Well Established Member

natp0wers

Great question!

I don't practice nearly as much as i play, mainly because i only get to play when i go home from college... I graduate on August 5th though, and will be moving home to start working. I plan to hit the range every day and practice much more than i play, hopefully playing around 2-3 rounds per week. It will be interesting to see how much improvement i see as a result of this, as i have never really practiced and/or been coached... I played tennis all through high school and would only pick up a golf club to play with my dad maybe once every 2-3 months.

I started playing more golf when i got to college, guess i got the golf bug. I play every time i go home and have been doing so for 4 years. My best round to date is a 73 and i average between 75-87. I know that i will get to being a low single digit player within the next year because I plan to work at it. My biggest problem is eliminating the big number holes. If i could get my double and triple bogey holes down to just a bogey, I should be able to improve my game tremendously.
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DavidFehertysBike Great Member

DavidFehertysBike

Ill practice for about an hour 2 or 3 times a week. Usually short game and putting. Ill practice full swinging maybe 2 or 3 times a month.
THE WEAPONS CACHE..

Titleist 909 D2 9.5 Degree Driver| Titleist 906f4 13.5 degree 3-Wood | Titleist 909 17 & 21 degree hybrid | Titleist AP2 irons
Titleist Vokey Wedges - 52 & 58 | Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 Putter | ProV1 Ball
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Kieran123 Great Member

Kieran123

I'm hovering around 10 at the moment.

I started going to the range twice a week for one hour sessions in March, and I really noticed it. I stopped for a month or so, and started struggling again. So the past 2 weeks I've been at the range 3-4 times a week and hoping to see some improvements again.

Want to get back into single digits.

:tmade: SLDR X-Stiff 12.5°
:nike:VRS Covert 3 Wood Stiff
:nike:VRS Covert 3 Hybrid Stiff
:nike:VR Pro Combo CB 4 - PW Stiff 2° Flat
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leo3 Well Established Member

leo3

I play at least 3 rounds a week, maybe practice chipping and putting about 1 hour a week, but usually only work on the long game if I have a real problem, prefer to work it out on the course.

:tmade: 09 Burner
:cobra: Speed LD F 3 wood
:cobra: Baffler 20 degree hybrid
:cobra: Baffler TWS 23 hy
:ping: G15 5-UW
:snake_eyes: 56 deg SW 
:snake_eyes: 60 - 12 wedge  
:scotty_cameron: Studio Select Newport 2

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BallStriker Great Member

BallStriker

I absolutely love hitting balls at the range (not more than playing, but I don't have the time)......That said, when I am hitting it well and not working on something, I believe I have a pretty low point of diminishing returns for the range and, as a result, I only hit balls once a week.....I do keep the putter in the family room and will putt a couple times/week on the carpet...it is slow, but pretty true and I do think it has really helped quite a bit (firm wrists, rock the shoulders)

That said.....I am at a 4.0 right now, with once a week trip to the range and semi-regular putting on my carpet....playing 3-4 times/month.....that is about all I can squeeze out of my life right now....one additional point is that I ALWAYS give myself at least 45 minutes at the course before my tee time to hit balls and run through some short game practice....

"Getting paired with you is the equivalent to a two-stroke penalty to your playing competitors"  -- Sean O'Hair to Rory Sabbatini (Zurich Classic, 2011)

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