How good can you get with no practice?

[Kobey]

Another thread got me thinking about the amount of time I actually have to invest in my golf game.  Since I'm not retired yet I don't have a lot of time to practice.  When I do find the time I want to get out on the course and play a round, not just go to the driving range.  Every now and then I can set up a net in the yard and hit some but I can't put in the hours like some people can.  Plus the winters up here are so long, the courses close in the middle of September and don't reopen until mid-April or the first of May.

Since I have already come to the conclusion that I am not a natural, any ideas on how good I can expect to get with one round or less a week?  Who else is in the same situation and what have you experienced by way of progress over the years?

[Bo the Golfer]

I am in the same boat with kids and job. I live in Mass and your courses seem to close very early as I can still get out this weekend if the weather holds as it has been. I do a lot of slow motion swinging in the cellar during the winter but I will say my progress has been one step forward two steps back. Each year I tell the wife I want to devote more time to practice and playing but it never seems to work out.

[Kieran123]

And let's not forget the cost.

I always talk about practising during the winter - but the golf dome near my house is around $15/ hour.

If I really wanted to get good, I would want to do it an hour a day, 7 days a week.

Winter is 6 months long ( 180ish days ) in Calgary, maybe more. 180 x $15...that's $2700.

Not gonna happen.

I practice when I can ( mostly in Spring/Summer ) - and I am still improving. I will probably hit a peak soon where unless I practice more - I won't get better, and that's cool!

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Kieran123

And let's not forget the cost.

I always talk about practising during the winter - but the golf dome near my house is around $15/ hour.

If I really wanted to get good, I would want to do it an hour a day, 7 days a week.

Winter is 6 months long ( 180ish days ) in Calgary, maybe more. 180 x $15...that's $2700.

Not gonna happen.

I practice when I can ( mostly in Spring/Summer ) - and I am still improving. I will probably hit a peak soon where unless I practice more - I won't get better, and that's cool!

And you'll be happy having hit a plateau of awesomeness? We'll you're not a "proper gofer" at all then are you!!?!?

I don't worry about the handicap index, but I do like that mid-seaon feeling where no part of the game feels rusty. An hour per day would be great, but an hour per week is an hour more practice than I'm getting now. I'll probably bounce around in the 7 - 11 range (which reminds me get a coffee) until I start to atrophy. Better putting would have me solidly in the low single ditgits, but 10 years from now I might be remembering my glory days hovering around 10ish.

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

And you'll be happy having hit a plateau of awesomeness? We'll you're not a "proper gofer" at all then are you!!?!?

I don't worry about the handicap index, but I do like that mid-seaon feeling where no part of the game feels rusty. An hour per day would be great, but an hour per week is an hour more practice than I'm getting now. I'll probably bounce around in the 7 - 11 range (which reminds me get a coffee) until I start to atrophy. Better putting would have me solidly in the low single ditgits, but 10 years from now I might be remembering my glory days hovering around 10ish.

Plateua, yes, awesomeness, no. If I can get to a point where I can shoot 70's consistently then I will die a happy man.

Putting is probably my worst stat too. But I am hoping that my new 8882 will help....it may not improve my putting stats, but at least I will look good being average.

[mvmac]

My Dad never practices and the lowest he's even been is a 2, currently a 5.  He basically knows what he does, aims way right and pulls everything back online.

I'd say if you want to get better and can't get out much to practice, there is a lot you can do at home.  Make 10-20 practice swings at 30% in front of a mirror.  Can hit chips and little pitches off the carpet, obviously putt too.  Same idea as This

[Paul Baker]

Originally Posted by Bo the Golfer

I am in the same boat with kids and job. I live in Mass and your courses seem to close very early as I can still get out this weekend if the weather holds as it has been. I do a lot of slow motion swinging in the cellar during the winter but I will say my progress has been one step forward two steps back. Each year I tell the wife I want to devote more time to practice and playing but it never seems to work out.

Same exact thing here. I keep saying each year I am going to play and practice more and it doesn't happen. My own fault, but I can't expect to get better when I don't get out there more than 10 times a year. Finding more friends that play would help to and push me to play more.

[x129]

I am guessing at one point in his life, your dad played golf pretty seriously and either played a ton (4x a week) or played and practiced. Once you develop the skills you can maintain them with minimal work (i.e. why some pros say they don't need to hit the range. They have done their time).

There is also a lot of difference between minimal and no time. Spending 30 mins 4x a week practicing chipping in the back yard and your putting stroke on a mat would help a lot of beginners. Same thing of just doing 20 swings a day even if your hitting air

Originally Posted by mvmac

My Dad never practices and the lowest he's even been is a 2, currently a 5.  He basically knows what he does, aims way right and pulls everything back online.

I'd say if you want to get better and can't get out much to practice, there is a lot you can do at home.  Make 10-20 practice swings at 30% in front of a mirror.  Can hit chips and little pitches off the carpet, obviously putt too.  Same idea as This

[kcgolfa1]

Well, practicing definitely helps. When I was in High School playing and practicing everyday I got down to a 4 handicap. I haven't come close to a 4 hcp in years. I wish I had more time but it's hard with a job and family. But still golf is about having fun. I try to chip golf balls in my backyard or swing in my garage as much as I can during winter to keep my swing in check. BTW One round a week, I think you'll be fine. That's a lot more than I can ever get in.

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by Kobey

Since I have already come to the conclusion that I am not a natural, any ideas on how good I can expect to get with one round or less a week?  Who else is in the same situation and what have you experienced by way of progress over the years?

It can't be done......

You can get good without practicing, but you'll need to play 100+ rounds a year to do it.  Even if you can't play a lot, you'll need to practice a lot.  Otherwise....your game will just be treading water to stay afloat.  There's no simple easy way to get better that doesn't involve a lot of play and or practice.  I managed to improve my game over the years without practicing, but I played a hell of a lot of golf to do it.

[Kobey]

I think the newer equipment helps a lot for people who can't practice much.  Before last year, I was only golfing 3 times a year.  I was using a standard size driver and could only hit the fairway about one in five tries.  I bought a TM Burner and first time out without ever swinging it I was hitting almost every fairway and driving as far as everyone else I was playing with and farther than most (Scramble with two 4 man teams playing together).

I know I didn't improve overnight so it had to be the new driver that did it.  I think that was the turning point for me.  I was so awful before, that I didn't really have any passion for the game.  Once I started hitting 250 yard drives down the middle, it started getting a lot more fun.  I only have an 85-90mph swing speed so I will probably never get to the point where I can hit 300 yard drives but at least now there is always a chance and that is enough to keep me going.

Balls make a big difference as well.  I like to use a low spin distance ball like the Noodle+, or a more forgiving ball like a Penta or ProV1x.  I can definitely see a difference between certain balls even at my skill level.  If I try to hit a ProV1 off the tee I am in the woods most of the time.

My next investment will be a set of game improvement irons.  Right now I am using a set of Allied (I guess they are blades) that I bought from a guy at work for 50 bucks.  I'm thinking either TM Superlaunch or Calloway Diablo Edge.  If they can improve my iron play even half as much as the driver did for my long game then I will be exstatic esthatic really really happy.

So maybe there is some hope after all, not to be great, but at least to have a respectable game.

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by Kobey

I think the newer equipment helps a lot for people who can't practice much.  Before last year, I was only golfing 3 times a year.  I was using a standard size driver and could only hit the fairway about one in five tries.  I bought a TM Burner and first time out without ever swinging it I was hitting almost every fairway and driving as far as everyone else I was playing with and farther than most (Scramble with two 4 man teams playing together).

I know I didn't improve overnight so it had to be the new driver that did it.  I think that was the turning point for me.  I was so awful before, that I didn't really have any passion for the game.  Once I started hitting 250 yard drives down the middle, it started getting a lot more fun.  I only have an 85-90mph swing speed so I will probably never get to the point where I can hit 300 yard drives but at least now there is always a chance and that is enough to keep me going.

Balls make a big difference as well.  I like to use a low spin distance ball like the Noodle+, or a more forgiving ball like a Penta or ProV1x.  I can definitely see a difference between certain balls even at my skill level.  If I try to hit a ProV1 off the tee I am in the woods most of the time.

My next investment will be a set of game improvement irons.  Right now I am using a set of Allied (I guess they are blades) that I bought from a guy at work for 50 bucks.  I'm thinking either TM Superlaunch or Calloway Diablo Edge.  If they can improve my iron play even half as much as the driver did for my long game then I will be exstatic esthatic really really happy.

So maybe there is some hope after all, not to be great, but at least to have a respectable game.

And Hybrids.

Seriously a lot easier for beginners to hit a hybrid than a 3 iron or 4 iron. It may not be straight, but at least they get the ball in the air and can hit it relatively clean.

I am slowly getting used to my 4 iron - but I am nowhere near as good with it as I was with my old 4 hybrid. I may even buy a 4H and replace my 4 iron at some stage.

[rustyredcab]

If you used to play three times a year and now you play once a week, you'll get better. My guess is that once you stop getting better from playing once a week, you could stay at that new and improved level with one game a week.

What I've seen is there are two ways to improve. Play a lot and learn how to play and score. Just play and play and play. We've seen these guys. They have awful swings and seem to be at the country club every time I'm an invited guest. They scramble like pros and seem to make a ton of putts with terrible looking putting strokes. They just seem to shoot good scores. They may be long and wild or short and steady. But one way or another, they find a way to get the ball in the hole because they are always out there playing.

The second way is to practice to improve your swing and shots. Fastest way to score better is to improve short game and putting by practicing short game and putting. And when you do a chance to hit the range, work on something instead of just beating balls for an hour. If you add 1 hour per week of real practice, you will get better. Maybe a lot better. If you putt for five minutes a day, you will putt better and shoot lower scores.

This last summer I posted 20 fewer rounds than the year before. Still played at least once a week all season but not as much as I had played over the last few seasons. BUT, my bank branch closed this Spring and I then needed to drive by my home course in order to make bank deposits and the still-open branch. I stopped at the range on my way to or from the bank for an hour or less about three days a week -- up from about one day a week the year before. I'd spend about 10 minutes on the putting green each visit. Maybe once a week I'd extend my visit to 1.5 - 2 hours. I shot more rounds in the 70's this summer than all other summers combined. I had fewer rounds in the 90's than any year ever including years when I only played four or five times. As the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall says, "Practice baby. Practice."

[Hairy Feet]

Originally Posted by x129

Once you develop the skills you can maintain them with minimal work (i.e. why some pros say they don't need to hit the range. They have done their time).

I play less than once a week, and never practice but consistently break 80. That said I've been playing 44 years and used to play 4 or 5 times a week and practiced often.

[Harmonious]

When you say NO practice, I assume you mean that your only time at the course is actually playing, without any concentrated effort on the range or putting green. From my experience, I really doubt that you can improve over where you are now by just playing every other week or so.  Sure, some times you will hit it a little better than others, or a few more putts will drop, but overall your game will stay about the same.

I see it all the time.  Guys who play a "reasonable" game, say 90-100, but don't spend any time trying to improve, will always be a 90-100 player.  Just like a bowler who averages 150.  Very little chance he will become a 200 bowler without some dedicated effort.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Harmonious

When you say NO practice, I assume you mean that your only time at the course is actually playing, without any concentrated effort on the range or putting green. From my experience, I really doubt that you can improve over where you are now by just playing every other week or so.  Sure, some times you will hit it a little better than others, or a few more putts will drop, but overall your game will stay about the same.

I see it all the time.  Guys who play a "reasonable" game, say 90-100, but don't spend any time trying to improve, will always be a 90-100 player.  Just like a bowler who averages 150.  Very little chance he will become a 200 bowler without some dedicated effort.

Yes, this. I have a handful of playing buddies who play with me once every week or two but never practice... They shoot 100-110 and never get any better.

Even those that are posting here saying they can shoot low scores without practicing, are for the most part saying they had to play and practice a lot to *get* to that level.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by x129

I am guessing at one point in his life, your dad played golf pretty seriously and either played a ton (4x a week) or played and practiced. Once you develop the skills you can maintain them with minimal work (i.e. why some pros say they don't need to hit the range. They have done their time).

Yes that's close.  He consistently played 2-3 times a week for 30 years.  And playing with low handicap players most of the time as well.  Going from a bogey golfer in his late teens to a 2 when he was in his late 40's.  But never spent much time on the range and never practiced at home.  Never on the range, if he does before a round he'll putt and hit pitches.  Kind of an anomaly.  I couldn't do it

I think the most important piece is that when he was younger my great grandfather had him making 1/2 swings, what's called the 9-3 drill now for 3 months.  But he never really played that much because he started working when he was 13 at Harding Park.  And basically stopped until he was older.  So I think whatever "muscle memory" he built, or whatever you want to call it, was huge for building a good motion.

[jamo]

If I can get to a point where I can shoot 70's consistently then I will die a happy man.

Trust me, as a 70s shooter, no you won't. :-P The 60s look just as enticing as the 70s used to.