Hitting 200 balls a day a bad thing?

[JohnQVegas]

[Dormie1360]

Originally Posted by WarEagle

I am also planning on a net and matt too in my basement for swing changes because I hate using the range, I never hit driver at range, and the balls hurt to use.

Noticed your Avatar.  Man, I wish I could clear my hips like that!

[frankelee]

Hope I'm not too late here, but I've been doing a lot of heavy practice lately so I've started to learn some tricks about how to do it properly. Although first as an aside I'd like to say, people get waaaay too neurotic about practicing! There is no such thing as perfect, so good luck only ever getting better with perfect practice. Just make sure you know what a good swing is and strive to correctly hit it every time. A child can easily figure out how to practice correctly, I'm pretty sure an adult playing golf can.

Anyhoo, after some painful experience I discovered they make joint supplements that are apparently quite effective for these endeavors. I was getting a lot of wear and tear on my lead hip and through internet recommendations I started taking something called "Animal Flex," which is obviously aimed at body builders but has really helped. They have their own similar supplements at GNC and other places. Then I also started liberally using Bayer Advanced Aspirin to cut down on the inflammation before it happens. If you're someone worried about taking pain medicine regularly you might reference Louis C.K.'s bit about going to his doctor for a bad ankle.

Then also be sure to stretch. After I've hit a few balls and gotten warm I like to take a quick break and stretch my hips and leg muscles. That really can help getting rid of aches and pains, it just seems to stretch things out and keep my body feeling flexible. Those things combined with allowing myself time to build up my stamina early on, have really allowed me to do some intense training.

[Ricepr]

I'd suggest a 100 in the morning and another 100 at night. Do lots of stretching exercises and perhaps some light weightwork geared towards golf. And the rest of the time short game and putting.

3-5 times a week? Should be fine, with guidance so you are working on the right stuff.

[MLgolf]

If you plan on hitting that many balls regularly; id suggest getting a practice set of clubs. That much use will take its toll on the groves

[Lihu]

I have configured an indoor driving range, I live in Wisconsin where it gets cold and the winter months are long, and I just bought a golf launch monitor. My plan is to hit a crap ton of golf balls every day.  Maybe some days I'll hit 100, other days I might hit up to 200 or 300 even. If I'm swinging as regular as I would always swing a golf club, are there any real dangers of doing this every single day? My regular swing would be around 75 percent of my full power. Thanks everyone!

I hit 400 to 600 balls a day with only 1/3 at 75% full power. I hit 200-300 left handed then another 20-300 lright handed. The only two things that might take a toll are the angles and the wrists. Swing gradually more and more, hit only at 25% at first, until you find a means to do it without any joint pain. It takes a few iterations. In doing this, I found that I hit much more efficiently on the range and course. However, I gave up distance, but gained a lot of consistency. The only thing that could be dangerous is not listening to your body. Listen to it and adjust your swing accordingly. Another added benefit of hitting this many balls is the calorie burn, a golf swing uses a lot of muscle groups in the core. Ones I never knew I had before doing this. :-)

[Clambake]

Originally Posted by Lihu

I hit 400 to 600 balls a day....

Seriously?    Even hitting a ball as often as every 20 seconds that would take almost 3 1/2 hours of constant ball striking without any gaps or breaks.    And if you really are able to have that much time to do nothing but hit balls, I'd respectfully suggest that given your index you're not getting much efficiency from your practice sessions.

[Travis Robinson]

Wow thanks for the tips guys!  Yeah I don't know about 400-600 a day.  I'm realizing that I'm actually cutting down to 150 swings a day, not 200 BALLS.  I'd say I hit about 75 balls and then I hit 75 imaginary balls as well.  It's working out and a good balance.

Thanks for the tip on the practice clubs, I didn't think about that one and have been doing that.  I also like the 100 in the morning and 100 at night kind of thing.  If I really want to put in some work then I've been planning on stuff like that.

I appreciate all the input.

Another question....how do you guys practice your short game during those winter months if you're in the northern states?

[saevel25]

Living in Ohio,

There's a couple covered ranges i can go to, heated :), i can practice there.

As for short game, i'll practice small touch shots inside the apartment, small chip and run stuff. I'll practice putting as well.

[John S]

Just pretend you are Ben Hogan and keep hitting balls until your hands start bleeding.

[TonyBenach]

Hey Travis hit as many as you can. My father in law Eric Monti, golf professional circa 1940's played with some of the great legends of golf as a boy used to sit at the driving range for hours hitting balls. The range used to close down when it got dark, he used to put the lights on his car in the parking lot to light the range and hit more. He would go through way more then 200 balls, more like 1,000 balls a day but that is what it took to be a professional. Guess it depends on your stamina and dedication.

[twisted5ltr]

Hey Guys, I'm gonna resurect this issue again for a moment if you dont mind .. . .I just picked up the sport last fall (2011)--and I pull experience from my time drumming. Its really weird but similarities in the discipline I've been finding are very much the same.

One of the biggest things as a young drummer ( I began at 8yrs old still play on occasion--Im 38 so 30 yrs) or even as a very seasoned drummer, we have to learn to do one thing at a time. For example, I may need to play a beat 1,2,3,4 and keep repeating with my right hand, and then on 2 & 4 with my left hand, and then add my right foot on 1 & 3. That may sound hard to a beginner--and it really is--but i had to learn to do the first part so much and so consistent that I could lock it away in my mind and just set it on auto-pilot so to speak. Keep it at a certain tempo then I could just begin to add the new element to the mix. Pretty soon I can do them with my eyes closed and carrying on a conversation, and I like to joke while eating a tuna fish sandwich. . . lol.

But I find myself doing this very thing with my swing. I learn or read or see a new element to improve my swing. and the swing as a whole may be inacurate, but the new element has imporved that section of my swing that much more. and then I lock it in. I repeat this one tiny step hundreds-(or more if necessary)--of times until I can feel comfortable to imporve a new element. Pretty soon I find my swing improving as a whole. I havent updated my index on my profile but I am solidly in the 90-92 range now vs. 100-107 range.

Perfect practice is important, sometimes it takes doing it wrong to find out how to do it correctly. Then it is a matter of practicing that specific element to nail it down. As someone who currently has easily over 18 handicap, though I would say if drumming had a handicap I would easily be a scratch drummer, so i think the method may have features that can lead to success, but it takes serious discipline to your craft to become great at it--scratch level whatever your craft--and not quick to give up. Though married and with kids and a job I am making it a goal of mine to practice everyday whether on the course or at home. I will exercise that same routine in golf and become good if I have to get up at 4:30 to get the dogs out earlier and get in the garage and hit the net for an hour or two before heading to work or the course . . . . . make a plan, and some short term goals to acheive and shut up and do it . . .(that last bit was more for me than anyone here) thanks for a great site guys, and good practicing to everyones game. I love these sites to share info and where we can all grow and learn together truly an amazing thing. Thanks again.

Geoff

[tstrike34]

Originally Posted by twisted5ltr

Hey Guys, I'm gonna resurect this issue again for a moment if you dont mind .. . .I just picked up the sport last fall (2011)--and I pull experience from my time drumming. Its really weird but similarities in the discipline I've been finding are very much the same.

One of the biggest things as a young drummer ( I began at 8yrs old still play on occasion--Im 38 so 30 yrs) or even as a very seasoned drummer, we have to learn to do one thing at a time. For example, I may need to play a beat 1,2,3,4 and keep repeating with my right hand, and then on 2 & 4 with my left hand, and then add my right foot on 1 & 3. That may sound hard to a beginner--and it really is--but i had to learn to do the first part so much and so consistent that I could lock it away in my mind and just set it on auto-pilot so to speak. Keep it at a certain tempo then I could just begin to add the new element to the mix. Pretty soon I can do them with my eyes closed and carrying on a conversation, and I like to joke while eating a tuna fish sandwich. . . lol.

But I find myself doing this very thing with my swing. I learn or read or see a new element to improve my swing. and the swing as a whole may be inacurate, but the new element has imporved that section of my swing that much more. and then I lock it in. I repeat this one tiny step hundreds-(or more if necessary)--of times until I can feel comfortable to imporve a new element. Pretty soon I find my swing improving as a whole. I havent updated my index on my profile but I am solidly in the 90-92 range now vs. 100-107 range.

Perfect practice is important, sometimes it takes doing it wrong to find out how to do it correctly. Then it is a matter of practicing that specific element to nail it down. As someone who currently has easily over 18 handicap, though I would say if drumming had a handicap I would easily be a scratch drummer, so i think the method may have features that can lead to success, but it takes serious discipline to your craft to become great at it--scratch level whatever your craft--and not quick to give up. Though married and with kids and a job I am making it a goal of mine to practice everyday whether on the course or at home. I will exercise that same routine in golf and become good if I have to get up at 4:30 to get the dogs out earlier and get in the garage and hit the net for an hour or two before heading to work or the course . . . . . make a plan, and some short term goals to acheive and shut up and do it . . .(that last bit was more for me than anyone here) thanks for a great site guys, and good practicing to everyones game. I love these sites to share info and where we can all grow and learn together truly an amazing thing. Thanks again.

Geoff

Here, Here... a thousand toast to you. I feel the same way.

[wadesworld]

Be very wary of any pain, but particularly in the elbows.  It'd be very easy to develop Golfer's or Tennis elbow hitting that many balls off an artificial mat.

[Lihu]

[/quote][quote name="Clambake" url="/t/54079/hitting-200-balls-a-day-a-bad-thing#post_779632"] Seriously?    Even hitting a ball as often as every 20 seconds that would take almost 3 1/2 hours of constant ball striking without any gaps or breaks.    And if you really are able to have that much time to do nothing but hit balls, I'd respectfully suggest that given your index you're not getting much efficiency from your practice sessions.      [/quote] Yes, and I think I overworked my muscles. It was good for weight loss, but not good for my golf. The reason why I lost lots of distance is because my muscles were too fatigued to feel the pain. I took off some time, and two days later everything was sore. I went to the range the other day, and hit much farther than I had been for the last two months. Someone mentioned that you should hit less balls to improve. I think this is good advice.

[Just Brilliant]

Terrific thread, and I realize it's sort of dated.   For years, I've hit about 200 balls almost every morning at my home driving range.   It takes 90 minutes.   I don't have anything fancy like a launch analyzer, just a 8" inner tube hanging from a rope about 12 feet from the tee,  with a double foam padding on the wall, and 2 hanging carpets.   Practicing  consistently hitting the ball in the sweet spot, no matter which swing or club your using, is what I find most important.   Always take the time and wipe off the club face so you can see the ball mark.   The sound, the feel is what I go for, I don't have to swing hard to find it.   Like the drummer, you want to be able to hit these shots unconscious.    I play loud music from my IPOD to keep distractions down.   I also bought a really nice mat from the range and have a rubber padding underneath it.   Practice makes perfect.   If you're fatigued, in pain or distracted, put the clubs down and walk away.   I also found that when I have friends over and we're hitting balls, alcohol consumption does not improve anyone's play, even though they claim it does.

[twisted5ltr]

As a sort of update from my last post . . . . and as a follow up to 'wadesworld' . . . . I set up the Optishot in the garage, with a 7 x 9 (indoor/outdoor) net. right off the bat I noticed the ball is above my feet, so I built a 3 x 7 (rectangle w/ notch cutout for optushot to fit in nicely) platform to stand on while practicing. A couple 1/2" sheets of OSB plywood, and a old piece of masonite laying around and green indoor/outdoor carpet to match the Optishot thing . . . and I was off and running. I used the thing for a couple hours, playing a driving range session and 2 rounds of golf.

I'm 38, as mentioned last time, but I am about as physical as a 20-25 yr old so I don't usually have health problems as far as struggles with physical type labor. But for the first time in 38 yrs I had very slight knee soarness I'll call it . . .  as well as while reaching for a glass in our sink my left elbow had a slight twinge of pain to it in flexing . . . neither was enough to alarm me, or to take anything for it, as in pain pills. But the very fact that it happened, my mind immediately returned to this forum conversation.

So right away I quit using the Optishot, and took my net outside, and set it up in the yard. the next two days I practiced at least as long as the days prior (w/ optishot in garage) and I felt no such pains or beginnings of any aches. I'm not a doctor so I am not gonna say with any degree of certainty that that harder floor for standing on and also hitting, (because any missed shot hit the plywood flooring) is in fact the culprit but as a guy who has never felt those pains in those parts I am taking no chances in developing those problems any sooner than I my get them if I do in the future.

the benefits of this move have been nothing short of awesome for my game. For one my net stays put much better outside anchored to the ground--I couldnt use real balls indoors cause the net would collapse or bend. 2. by just hitting into the net and hitting and then not hitting the target I began to understand that hitting the target meant I was doing something right. Over the course of this last week, with some reading online (here) and practiceing into the net--I dont want to say eliminated but--I have solved my horrible slice problem. I havent used my driver in over 3 mos because I might as well get on the tee box make a 90* right turn and throw my ball into the woods thats how bad my slice was. Now I have sliced about 3 balls last round yesterday, but I quickly and instantly knew what my mistake was and from that point forward i hit every fairway the rest of the round. How freaking gratifying that is!!!!!!!!

As for the optishot--I gotta call BS on that. im not too sure about the technical accuracy of the laser and all that, but lets just say after two days of optishotting and I thought i was doing better, it wasnt until hitting REAL balls into a net did i actually eliminate my slice. Someone said it awhile back on this thread, but there is something about hitting into a net that is seriously underestimated.

I am a beleiver . . . and to those guys on this thread alone--about the net, and the advice about hitting health, thank you. I seriously beleive I just saved a ton of money I was about to spend on a pro for lesson to rid my slice . . . thanks again money saved, slice gone baby. Now its just a matter of getting consistent!!! God I love this game!

[Lihu]

Yes, and I think I overworked my muscles. It was good for weight loss, but not good for my golf. The reason why I lost lots of distance is because my muscles were too fatigued to feel the pain. I took off some time, and two days later everything was sore. I went to the range the other day, and hit much farther than I had been for the last two months. Someone mentioned that you should hit less balls to improve. I think this is good advice.[/quote] Took off three weeks and my form has improved, according to my son. Getting a new instructor for lessons, and starting seriously after ski season. Need to take some time for my daughter on the slopes.