Practice 'games'

I was reading the thread on how fast people practice at the range, and it started me thinking of the different 'games' I play at the range to keep from machine-gunning (which I think is totally counter productive).

So, what kind of games do you play when you practice?

One of the popular ones is playing a course in your head - I find this to be a very effective way of practicing, as it reinforces the important elements of the game on the range. The important thing here is to be honest. If you slice your drive, your next shot should be a recovery shot.

Another one I like to play is the shape/trajectory game. I play this with my son a lot. We move through the clubs in our bags and we will take turns calling out a type of shot: straight, draw, hook, fade, bannana slice, high tree-clearing, low knock-down. We each take 3 balls trying to hit a particular shot. We sometimes spice it up a bit by puting a little money on each one.

On the practice green, another is the standard 3-ball closest to the hole pitching/chipping/putting, or get the ball up and down in the fewest strokes game.

I guess these are pretty standard, but I wanted to put them out there, especially for the newbs on this site, but there have got to be some more creative ones?

First I always have a goal for any practice session.  As you say just "machine gunning" doesn't accomplish much.  I also never (well almost never) hit a practice ball without going through the pre-shot routine.  One of my favorite games for the short game is an inverse ladder drill.  I'll hit a full wedge and then see how many balls I can hit without hitting one longer than than the last one.  I do this mostly with my PW but with longer irons too at times.  Since I have a tendency to get a little quick at times I do a "tempo" drill.  Hit a driver, hit a wedge over and over and try to keep the tempo the same.  Of course I always have a specific target for each shot for any drill.  But those are the two I do most often.

Usually not for practice, but as  warm up, I often try to play one or two of the more difficult (for me) holes on the course as a final few shots.

So, you keep hitting balls shorter and shorter with the same club? Sounds interesting, I will have to try that one.

I do but the point is to develop distance control and there are other ways to do that.  But I have to  compete with myself in practice so sometimes I take two clubs (say and 8 & 9 iron) and alternate playing this game as see which club I can get the most balls between me and the "full" shot.  But however you do it I find playing a game and competing with myself keeps the practice interesting.  Other wise I get bored and don't keep the first concept of having a goal for every practice and every shot in a practice.  It can be better if you have a buddy to practice with but that often turns out to be a macho contest and not consistent with improving the entire game.

BTW I like your avatar.  I am an engineer but not a Chemical Engineer.  I'll have to look up that molecule.

On the range I usually don't hit anything longer than a 9i. I pick a target that is the max distance for that specific club and hit balls towards it in 10-15y increments and then back. Distance control and mimicking different approach shots being the goal. If I go to beat balls, which is rare, I typically bring 8i,6i, 22* hybrid and a driver.

At the range, I generally do the same warm up as a pre-round session - start with say my 52*, hit 2-3 shots, then move up 2 clubs, hit 2-3 shots etc. until I get to my driver.  After that, I 'play' the first few holes of the course I'm playing next - I set up fairway boundaries, tee off, then play from my new 'lie' until I'm within pitching or chipping range.

If I'm purely practicing, I may hit a number of the shots with the same club while trying to dial it in, but I always go through my full pre-shot routine before every swing.

I also like to go from my driver or 3w down to a wedge, where my tempo is much better.  I hit a couple of smooth wedges, then move to the driver and try to repeat the tempo and smoothness.

Now, if I could only make a pass at the ball that matched my practice swing tempo, I might start getting somewhere.  I wonder if hypnosis would do the trick, LOL.

I had started another thread about how fast people practice and tried something today that someone posted there.  I hit shots on the range in the same way that I would on a course I play.  I hit driver on the "first hole" pretty well ,leaving an 8 iron to the hole.  I picked a spot on the range equal to the distance that I hit my 8 and hit it "pin-high" but 10-15 yards to the right of my target.  I hit a little chip to about the right spot and gave myself the "par".  Way different than my usual practice routine but I had fun with it until the rains came (I'm OK with rain) followed by thunder (I'm not OK with thunder) and washed out the rest of the day.

Me and some buddies used to do this, but we'd call the shot shape to the other at the top of their backswing. Read about it in a book a long time ago. It's amazing how quickly one can react and hit different shot shapes with virtually no foreknowledge of what they're going to be asked/told to do. It goes along with the idea that your body and mind know what to do, you just have to get out of the way.

machine shot,5 balls on tees then without setting up for each shot hit each ball,i like it because when you connect right on all 5 its a sense of satisfaction,i'll have to try driving with my putter next,blasphemous i know

Here is a golf drill I enjoy:

Use 6 iron.

Tee up the ball.

Get into your address position.

Move your right foot beside the left foot (both feet touching.)

Stride forward with your right foot (for lefties).

Make a forward step while the golf club is still coming back.

I hit every club in my bag 5 times to selected targets.  If I miss a shot I give myself -1, and if I hit a good one I give myself +1.  It's up to you to determine what you deem a "good shot" as well as the order in which you will hit each club.  I add up the score at the end and everytime I go practice I finish with this drill and try and beat my best score.

I think someone referenced it already, but Davis Love III used to talk about how he would hit driver 50, 100, 125, 150. etc. He may have done the same thing with other clubs, too. I've never been able to do it (haven't really tried THAT hard, but...). I think it would really improve one's tempo if they can do it consistently.

Any of the better players have an opinion about this?

No opinions, but I'm intrigued with the idea of hitting a driver 50yds. I'm trying this the next time I hit the range..

I've accomplished it several times, it was never intentional.....