Practice?

[denver_nuggs_15]

I'm trying to get to a 7.5 from a 9.5. Do you think putting twice per week (one hour at a time), hitting a large bucket of balls (~80 balls), short game once per week (1-2 hours), and 2 rounds per week will get the job done? I know it's probably an impossible question to answer, but I'm looking for others' practice schedule and time allocation for some ideas. Any pointers from better golfers? Should I be practicing short game more? Etc? Any help appreciated.

[IcemanYVR]

sounds good enough, although I might recommend incorporating more short game practice with the putting as well.

I play once a week, twice if I'm lucky. I also practice three times a week, 1.5 hours each time. I have 2 young kids, so my time away is very precious.

I spend 1/2 hour hitting balls, about 40-50 or so including a dozen or so wedges to practice targets, practice short game for 30 mintues, and practice putting for 30 minutes. I don't think it's the amount of time you spend, but rather the quality of the time and the drills. If one day I want to spend a little longer doing one thing then I do... but you get the idea.

[Deryck Griffith]

If you are a 9.5 index your probably above average on the tee and with your irons. If that is the case, I would focus all of your practice on putting and pitching/chipping. Remember, the really low handicaps chip and one putt more than 70% of the time when they miss the GIR.

[golfro]

I'm trying to get to a 7.5 from a 9.5. Do you think putting twice per week (one hour at a time), hitting a large bucket of balls (~80 balls), short game once per week (1-2 hours), and 2 rounds per week will get the job done? I know it's probably an impossible question to answer, but I'm looking for others' practice schedule and time allocation for some ideas. Any pointers from better golfers? Should I be practicing short game more? Etc? Any help appreciated.

I agree with others, focus a lot of time on your short game. If your drives and iron game is fairly consistent, you should be able to get the ball on the green. It's from there on out that'll determine your handicap.

With that said, when i was determined to drop my h'cap down to 2 back in high school, I focused a lot of time on practicing short chips and long putts, as well as bunker shots. My game suffered greatly when it comes to short wedge shots and chips. I'd lose a good 2 strokes on bad chip shots more often than it should. I practiced long and hard to refine my game around these flaws and I was able to get my h'cap down. You should know more than anyone here where your game suffers. I say focus on picking out those flaws and find where your game is suffering. Whether thats your chip shots, putts, bunker shots, short iron, long iron, driver, etc. Refine those flaws and eliminate them.

[goblue107501]

I think that the short game would be the easiest way to trim a few strokes. If you can get up-and-down two extra times and eliminate a 3 putt, that is 3 strokes right there. I don't know how your putting is, but if you can come close to making almost everything inside of 6 feet, it is a huge plus.

My advice for short game practice, if the area is sufficient enough to do so, is to practice all types of shots around the green. I don't mean specifically a standard bump-and-run or flop shot, but hitting those shots (and others) from every possible scenario. Deep rough, light rough, fairway, short sided, etc. It is easy to get on the course and come across a difficult shot and think "oh well, I'll do my best". Scores go down when you come across a shot and think "I practiced this shot many times, I know exactly what to do".

The other thing that improved my game drastically is learning precise distance control. I have improved greatly over the last few years and nothing much has changed except that for scoring shots, I know how to hit my clubs a specific distance. Putts get a lot easier when you trim a 30 footer to a 15 footer because you know how far to hit a club. This just takes some time on the course figuring it out. Not much you can do on the range.

I also don't think you need to worry about specific amounts of time per week doing anything. Just practice with a purpose when you do it and you will be more efficient.

[IcemanYVR]

Scores go down when you come across a shot and think "I practiced this shot many times, I know exactly what to do".

that is so true... Confidence is key, and knowing you've done it before goes a long way towards proper execution when you know you've done it before.

One of my weekly drills is to make 100 5 footers in a row... there's nothing like the feeling of standing over a 5 or 6 footer for par and thinking "I've made 100's of these, what's one more"