Get the most from a practice round?

[pierce]

I've just had my entry to an 18 competition accepted on a course I've never played before. The course is a fair bit from where I live so I was thinking I'd drive there, play a round, stay overnight, play another round and then return home. Have any of you guys got good advice on how to get the most from my practice rounds? I remember reading a section in 'Paper Tiger' where he describes how all the other players knew what they were doing and he was just playing a round of golf!

Any help would be great....

[DeanS]

I play Carlton Oaks here in San Diego almost exclusively. They have hosted a number of PGA events, National Tour First Stage Qualifier, Junior Masters Championship, NCAA West Regional to name a few. Because I play there often and usually as a single I find myself playing with these guys during their practice round.

During last years Junior Masters I played with a nice young guy from New Zealand, I think he was 18. Anyway, what he did might be of interest. We both drove carts but his dad walked ahead and spotted the landing area for the tee shot. If he missed he hit again, usually only once but if he missed a 2nd time he hit a third.

He always played two shots, sometimes 3, from the fairway into the green. Around the green it was 3 chips or pitches and on the green it was a minimum of two puts.

[Mark5]

I would play the ball from all those locations I avoid during a normal round. Try out the sand traps, deep rough etc.

I would also hit different clubs. Driver or a 3 on the 7th hole, that sort of thing.

I suspect this is what the pros do.

[pierce]

Hi all,

I looked up a few websites and forums etc. and came up with a list of what seem to be the most important things to note and do during a practice round. Hope others may find this helpful

General Notes for practice round;

Note holes to be aggressive, and holes where par/bogey is going to be a good score.

What should you hit off each tee to hit the safest part of the fairway?

Which side of the fairway is safest/ most dangerous?

Which side of the fairway gives you the best angle to approach the green/bail out area you intent to hit to and the no-go areas you intend to avoid?

On par 5’s set a "lay-up distance", meaning if you're more than 230yards out you will lay-up (obviously wind can change a game plan).

What club options have you from the tee on to Par 3’s depending on pin location?

Around the Greens;

When you walk up to your approach shot in the fairway, you should be analyzing the green for “hard positions”. Note where not to miss every green.

Start with the big ones: penalty strokes. If you make a mistake, are you going to be in a lake, or in an unplayable lie?

The other hard positions relate mostly to two factors-

• places where you can’t get a club on the ball cleanly and,
• places where you don’t have much room on the green to land your shot.

Is there one side of the green that has deeper grass that could snarl the club head as you swing, or a deep bunker with a high lip?

Is one particular area around the green a low point where water always drains? The grass is usually lusher there, and you could get a lie with grass on top and mud below- another tough one.

Which way does the green tilt? Note down all of the ridges in the greens, breaks and if some greens are noticeably firmer/faster than other greens. You’d obviously want to favor the side where the ball stays below the hole, especially when the greens are running very fast.

At the end of this process, you should essentially have a rough map of the green complex in your head with color-coded areas blocked out. The green areas are places where it’s ok to miss. Yellow areas are the iffy ones that come into play when you need to be aggressive, and red ones are simply dead.

Never ever EVER keep score in a practice round. Expectations are always bad and a bad round is death in a tournament for confidence.

[Cut68]

I agree especially with not keeping score. You will know if you are hitting it well: that's not what you are out there for. Hit a couple different clubs of each tee. You need to figure out which doglegs you can cut, Where your driver will run through the fairway, and what happens when you hit a certain club (say a 4 vs 5 iron) into a certain part of the green. Hit a ton of putts, really get a feel for the texture of the sand, and take A LOT of notes. If you can't bring it back with you, there's no point in getting the information. For me, I used to pay special attention to the area where the green meets the water on approach shots. I always wanted to know if the ball would stop or end up in the water if I came up short. Take notes on where to miss each green (long, left, etc)

[turtleback]

My wife and I went to the 3 practice days at Torrey Pines when they had the US Open there.  It was very interesting to see how the pros play their practice rounds.  While they did tend to hit 2 or 3 shots off the tee and from the fairway it was what they did around the green that really opened my eyes.  Each group spent around 10-15 minutes on each green.  They would chip from a variety of places at a variety of possible pin placements.  They would hit bunker shots from each bunker.  They would do a lot of putting to various locations.  Many of them had hole-sized "coasters" they would lay down as targets to putt at.

Now when I go out as a single and I am behind a slow group with no one behind me I do something similar on the green while I wait for the group ahead to get down the fairway.  I take one ball and try to get up and down from a variety of spots.  It gives me good short game practice while avoiding the frustration of playing behind a slow group.