Playing less, practicing more, huge improvement!

[King Cobra II]

I'm spending far less time on the course and way more time at the range. At the range I hit irons for about 30% of the bucket, hit drives and 3 wood for the rest. Then I chip for about an hour and sometimes I putt (but the putting green is deathly slow, so not always) and my game is improving so much faster. My short game is getting solid, and my driver is finally not the weakest link.

[GaijinGolfer]

Awesome! I definetly need to start going to the driving range more because I suck with my driver and my 3-wood.
Im getting better with my 3-wood though, but I still hit a huge slice with my driver.

[Guest]

You are spot on. I also find that when going to the range my full swing time is much better served when I go with a plan of what I'm working on (Balance, tempo, set-up). Has the range time been a benefit because of just getting some extra reps or was it something specific that you were working on? Do you use specific drills when you practice?

PP

[Craig Mac]

I have always liked going to the range to keep the rust off if I am not playing frequently, however I found that if I go to the range the day before I play and hit the ball well for some reason I play terrible the next day. I doubt the two are related but it seems to happen quite a bit. So today I went to the range and hit the ball horribly, so I guess that means I'll have a good round tomorrow . I do feel that the range helps me focus more on improving overall as opposed to when on the course I just want a quick fix.

[King Cobra II]

You are spot on. I also find that when going to the range my full swing time is much better served when I go with a plan of what I'm working on (Balance, tempo, set-up). Has the range time been a benefit because of just getting some extra reps or was it something specific that you were working on? Do you use specific drills when you practice?

Most of my "drills" are short game only style. I have incorporated a drill though for my full shots, tee shots in particular. Most people say that the people who only go and hit a driver are idiots, but that's where I'm weakest. I hit my irons to keep them sharp, but it's really the drive that I'm looking for. Anyways it's a drill you can find on you tube I forget the guys name just type in power golf swing or long drive, he's a 4 time long drive champ. Basically you take two club shafts (I use those reflective sticks you put in the snow) and put them right behind and in front of your front and back foot. Take your full swing. If either hip hits the pole, your swaying to much. This is helping with my power, and is useful in terms of getting the club in the right plane. Good luck

[ks8829]

You have words of wisdom. I usually play once a week and do not practice except for 1/2 hour before I play practicing putting green. I day I met a friend at the driving range and hit balls, the next day, I played my second best round.

so, words of wisdom, play less, practice more and see the result in your game.

My weakest link is getting up and down around the green and lowering my putts per round.

[yeis20]

Practice makes a huge difference.

I recently switched to golfing lefty at the beginning of last year, only played a few rounds really but was enjoying the game after a significant layoff. Yes, I was golfing a lot as a righty back in the early 90's until competitive softball became my passion.

When I came back to the game and had pretty much retired from playing 100-200 softball games a year, I figured there was no reason to golf from the other side anymore as I did not have to worry so much about messing with my swing.

Bought the clubs hit a few buckets then went to the course, it was tough for me to break 100 but ever so often there were flashes of talent, hit a 42 on the back of my 4th round last year after hitting a 54 on the front.

This year I am playing a lot more with a large focus on practice especially on wedges and short game as I had 0 touch as a lefty starting out. I was basically useless from inside 120 yds. Found a nice driving range with grass tees and a short par 3 that can be fairly barren at times, so I can spend 3-4 hours there hitting balls into the tee, then backing out 20...30...40...50 yds and practice all differnt shots from all different lies. I will then usually circle the outer portion of the green with 10 balls and my goal is a 2 putt... no 3's!

My game inside 100 yds has dramatically improved over the last month and was a huge reason why I hit a 39 the other day on my front 9 and a 43 on the back.

Practice makes a world of difference

[King Norre]

True and not true. I think there's got to be a balance between practise at the range and playing on the course. If I only practise at the range and don't play much my game gets worse. Probably because at the range you have "perfect" conditions. Playing on the course is different every time ... and much more difficult (bad lies, rough, uphill/downhill slopes, bunkers, water hazards, etc...). Of course, you should also work on your technique at the range, but as I said, there should be a good balance. For me it's about 50% at the range and 50% playing.

[kafka01]

I read a lot - practice = driving range - in these posts.

I honestly can say i spent more time this year on the putting green (including chipping) than on the driving range - and i´m happy that i did it this way. My ball striking got much better this year still - but putting has a steeper learning curve and the effect of practicing putting to become better takes way longer than hitting a ball "semi" solid.

But i also play alot - for the simple reason - the range is dead flat - the courses arent, and you come across many spots where you just can hit so many variances of shots or have to adjust your shot to the given surroundings you never will come across when you only practice on the range/putting green.

[adams603]

This has worked for me also. I go to range with only my short irons and spend the entire time working on them. I like to try and hit 10 shots at a green and make them all before I move to another club.

[NorCalGolfer]

maybe the range is something i should look into. lol. i haven't been to the range in probably 2 months, but i've probably played 20+ rounds in those 2 months. but i can assure you that i'll be going to the range very soon to practice my new swing. "stack and tilt"

[HansMoleman]

Great course by my place has large buckets for 6 bucks. Half of the bucket goes to irons, and the other half usually goes to whatever needs the most work. Mostly chipping.

[TCCcaddie]

The saying is true, practice makes perfect. When playing on the course there is no time to fix the mistakes in your swing and other areas. When you have the time to hit more shots you get more confident in your skills on the course and play better.

[BigDaddy_Sean]

I generally played my best golf when I was in college due to our practice regime.

2 1/2 hour practices every day ...
45 minutes of it was shots 100 yards and in.
45 minutes full swings.
1 hour chipping and putting.

i miss that .. my long game is great now and my weakest part of my game is my putting.

[Uthinkso]

I find that to be true as well with my game. I hit a large bucket (109 balls) running from my 56-5i getting progressively steeper with my irons. I drop 10 balls on the mat and work that club, then will drop a couple more on trouble clubs. I want to hit my 5i and 6i more so I spend time there.

Then its my hybrid, 3w, and driver with a medium bucket (75 balls).

[dave s]

Glad to hear that you're experiencing positive results from practice. Me too. Golf is definitely a game of putting TWICE as much in as you get back!

This year (for me) has been spent taking stock of where my shots are going and practicing on those areas of my game as well. Early in the year, I put in a lot of work around the greens and putting. Results have been favorable with up-and-downs being made about 30% (realistically) of the time. Was shooting for 50%, but that's a pretty lofty goal!

The other area that needed big improvement was putting the ball in play as far off the tee as I can get. Still a work in progress. Works on the range, doesn't translate well during rounds, unfortunately.

Iron play has not been a real problem over the years for me. I can usually hit par-3 greens and put 7 iron and down on greens for the most part. When I miss, the short-game practice takes over.

If you want to shoot lower scores, practice is the only way that I know of to get there.

dave

[Rugger]

I have only played about 3 times this summer but am practicing probably 5 days a week. Unbelievable improvements for me. Almost enough confidence to move to course full time. HA

[JYB]

for real!

when i spend my time on the range and at/around the practice green, i see massive improvements in my game.

the ideal scenario for me is :

PRACTICE/PLAY DAY
3:00 PM

20 minutes chipping
20 minutes putting
20 minutes lobs/sand shots

4:00 PM

15 minutes wedges/irons
15 minutes woods/driver

4:30 PM

Play a round of 18

PRACTICE DAY

ANYTIME

25 minutes chipping
25 minutes putting
25 minutes lob/sand shots

25 minutes wedges/irons
25 minutes woods/driver

and then do it again later in the afternoon.