Dr. Raymond Prior and Block vs. Random Practice (The Spin Axis Podcast)

[iacas]

12 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

It seems quite likely to me that I've never done block practice other than perhaps on a putting green doing one of those hole 50 3 footers in a row type of things.

Yeah, which throws a different context on all the "block vs. random practice" studies, no?

[Ty_Webb]

40 minutes ago, iacas said:

Yeah, which throws a different context on all the "block vs. random practice" studies, no?

It for sure does - I do remember enough of that episode to say that that was my main takeaway from it. I guess it's pretty darn difficult to do block practice with a ball there. Maybe rehearsing a move over and over might be block practice, but even then I'm trying to do that with feedback and adjusting each time according to how the feedback is. 

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

It for sure does - I do remember enough of that episode to say that that was my main takeaway from it. I guess it's pretty darn difficult to do block practice with a ball there. Maybe rehearsing a move over and over might be block practice, but even then I'm trying to do that with feedback and adjusting each time according to how the feedback is. 

I mean, doesn't it go back to intent. Lets say you hit your 7 iron 150 yards. you aim at the 150 green. You just hit 200 7-iron to that 150-yard green with a small amount of draw to the ball. I would say that is block practice. 

To me, that is not different than practicing free throws in basketball. 

 

[Ty_Webb]

40 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I mean, doesn't it go back to intent. Lets say you hit your 7 iron 150 yards. you aim at the 150 green. You just hit 200 7-iron to that 150-yard green with a small amount of draw to the ball. I would say that is block practice. 

To me, that is not different than practicing free throws in basketball. 

 

I guess if you're just mindlessly standing there dragging a ball over and hitting it at a green then maybe, but when I go to the range, I'm always taking feedback on what happened and adjusting what I'm doing (very slightly) to change clubface or strike point or whatever else. I suppose if I hit it absolutely perfect, I might try to change nothing, but I'm not sure I've ever hit it perfectly twice in a row. 

But that kind of fine tuning I would have thought a month ago was block practice since my goal is the same with the same club and same target for each shot. I was thinking that might be not ideal based on the science that said block practice isn't as good, but now it seems that's not what those scientists meant when they said block practice and the practice I typically do is just fine. 

I think it's a semantic issue where misunderstanding what the studies were actually doing is affecting how the outcome of the studies is being interpreted by lay people (like me). So:

- block practice is doing the same thing over and over

- block practice is not as good as variable practice

- me a month ago: going to the range and hitting 7 iron to the same green is doing the same thing over and over therefore the practice I'm doing needs to change

- me now: oh - actually hitting that 7 iron to the same green over and over, but making little adjustments each time is not block practice, so therefore the practice I'm doing is fine

[saevel25]

7 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

I guess if you're just mindlessly standing there dragging a ball over and hitting it at a green then maybe, but when I go to the range, I'm always taking feedback on what happened and adjusting what I'm doing (very slightly) to change clubface or strike point or whatever else. I suppose if I hit it absolutely perfect, I might try to change nothing, but I'm not sure I've ever hit it perfectly twice in a row. 

Who said block practice was mindless? If you are trying to practice a 150-yard draw, 200 times. That isn't mindless. Yuou miss one right more than yo want you adjust. It isn't mindless. 

Me practicing how my right hip moves in the backswing over and over again isn't mindless. 

8 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

I think it's a semantic issue where misunderstanding what the studies were actually doing is affecting how the outcome of the studies is being interpreted by lay people (like me). So:

- block practice is doing the same thing over and over

- block practice is not as good as variable practice

Yes, block practice is specifically doing something over and over again. It has its benefit because it can be something so specific you need to work on that it gives you the sheer volume in repetitions you need to go from novice to beginner or slightly competent. You then can go on from there to non-block practice to become proficient. 

15 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

- me a month ago: going to the range and hitting 7 iron to the same green is doing the same thing over and over therefore the practice I'm doing needs to change

- me now: oh - actually hitting that 7 iron to the same green over and over, but making little adjustments each time is not block practice, so therefore the practice I'm doing is fine

I disagree with this. If you are hitting a 7-iron to a green over and over, and if the intent is to hit the best shot you can, then that is block practice. You make little adjustments each time even if you are not thinking about them. Though, you can think about them and still call it block practice. 

Again, if you know you push one just right, you make an adjustment either subconsciously or consciously. Then you hit the next one, it is right on target. Your brain locks in that as what you want it to be. 

Block practice isn't defined as mindless. 

[Ty_Webb]

59 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Who said block practice was mindless? If you are trying to practice a 150-yard draw, 200 times. That isn't mindless. Yuou miss one right more than yo want you adjust. It isn't mindless. 

Me practicing how my right hip moves in the backswing over and over again isn't mindless. 

Yes, block practice is specifically doing something over and over again. It has its benefit because it can be something so specific you need to work on that it gives you the sheer volume in repetitions you need to go from novice to beginner or slightly competent. You then can go on from there to non-block practice to become proficient. 

I disagree with this. If you are hitting a 7-iron to a green over and over, and if the intent is to hit the best shot you can, then that is block practice. You make little adjustments each time even if you are not thinking about them. Though, you can think about them and still call it block practice. 

Again, if you know you push one just right, you make an adjustment either subconsciously or consciously. Then you hit the next one, it is right on target. Your brain locks in that as what you want it to be. 

Block practice isn't defined as mindless. 

Unless I'm misunderstanding something (plausible) the whole point is that that is not block practice. At least not in the terms used in the study that said block practice doesn't help much.

[CarlSpackler]

I was at a golf clinic yesterday with Trevor Immelman and he answered a question about which is better. His take was that you need both. Block practice is for working on something specific. 
 

p.s. I’m curious if the question asked is on here. 

[Clemsonfan]

I played tennis in college. I thought block practice was great for serves because you were starting the point and  you could easily adjust where you wanted to place the ball based off the same motion. I equate those to tee balls. I despised block practice for groundstrokes once you reached a certain level and your fundamentals were good. To me, hitting a 100 crosscourt backhands in a row was silly because I would never do that in a match. I needed to randomize it by hitting some deep, some angled, all with different speeds and spins. I share that same thought about iron play. Because we seldom hit the same approach shots hole after hole, I prefer to practice irons randomly. 

[iacas]

34 minutes ago, Clemsonfan said:

I played tennis in college. I thought block practice was great for serves because you were starting the point and  you could easily adjust where you wanted to place the ball based off the same motion.

It may not have been block practice, though, is one of the main points here. You may have been serving and from the same place, but you were likely trying to do slightly different things.

34 minutes ago, Clemsonfan said:

To me, hitting a 100 crosscourt backhands in a row was silly because I would never do that in a match.

It seems that would only be blocked practice if you were trying to hit the same exact ball hit to you to the same exact place in the far court.

34 minutes ago, Clemsonfan said:

I needed to randomize it by hitting some deep, some angled, all with different speeds and spins.

I'm not sure that's as random as if the ball that you're given to hit is at different places, too, but again…

[saevel25]

On 12/12/2025 at 4:10 PM, Ty_Webb said:

Unless I'm misunderstanding something (plausible) the whole point is that that is not block practice. At least not in the terms used in the study that said block practice doesn't help much.

I think part of it is there hasn't been enough conclusive studies specific to golf regarding block studies. Maybe the full swing, you can't study it because it is too complicated and to some degree it will fall into variable or random.