Practicing with just one ball, I don't get it?

[uttexas]

Who of ye is amongst the single ballers?

Lance Armstrong, Tom Green, John Kruk

[WUTiger]

If it's a slow day on the course I usually play, I'll sometimes do "segment practice." I'll spend about a half hour each on three or four holes, especially ones that give me trouble. If a twosome shows up, I wave them through and then serve as a fore-caddie to spot where their drives land.

It's a good way to find a solution to "headache holes." (I've found solutions to all the problem holes - I just can't always pull them off in real play.)

[NuclearMike]

Originally Posted by uttexas

Lance Armstrong, Tom Green, John Kruk

Couldn't have said it better!  LOL

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by Jimdangles

I have a tube of balls to practice chipping but I will usually just take one or two of the balls I actually use. If I am hitting the same shot more than a couple times it just becomes pointless. If I have one I concentrate on that shot. If I have 20 balls I just say ill get it the next one. Give yourself only one ball (like how the usual game is played) and you will probably put all your effort into that one. Especially off a tee. Driver 20 times in a row is gonne be tiring and after 5 im probably just smacking it whereever.

I also like to putt that ball out after the chip.  It forces me deal with the consequences of a crappy chip.  I also like to keep track of how many times it takes to get down in 2, 3, or4.

[montru]

I lIve on a course, I regularly take six balls out on the hole at the back of my house and goo to variuos locations around the green, chip them to the hole, putt them out and then move round to another location. anything more that six and I find I start to get bored.

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by turtleback

I also like to putt that ball out after the chip.  It forces me deal with the consequences of a crappy chip.  I also like to keep track of how many times it takes to get down in 2, 3, or4.

Harvey Penick, chip one ball and putt it out, make yourself pay for a crappy chip. Endless supply of balls is pointless.

[ApocG10]

on the course for a practice round, I generally play one, but will throw down extras for particular problem areas I find on the course, but mostly its a single PentaTP.

On the practice green, I usually take a dozen balls, choose one of the pins, and hit wedge shots at them, then go putt them out. Back to the rough, pick another pin, and fire. Sometimes im pracxticing very, very short chips, other times, its long lob shots with lots of spin.

Practice practice, practice. It has definitely improved my game (along with 3 lessons a week from a pro).

[bwdial]

Originally Posted by turtleback

I also like to putt that ball out after the chip.  It forces me deal with the consequences of a crappy chip.  I also like to keep track of how many times it takes to get down in 2, 3, or4.

I do the exact same thing.  The only time I chip a bunch of balls is in the back yard to a net.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

Harvey Penick, chip one ball and putt it out, make yourself pay for a crappy chip. Endless supply of balls is pointless.

You know, I have read a couple of those little Harvey Penick books.  I wonder if that is where I got the idea to do that?

[Paradox]

If I saw someone hitting 20 balls off a tee on a golf course..I'd probably blow smoke out of my ears.  Not only are they taking forever to hit them..then they have to go get all of them!

The most I do is drop a second ball on an approach shot or chip shot I totally screwed up.  Take a second swing and move on.

[Jimdangles]

Originally Posted by turtleback

I also like to putt that ball out after the chip.  It forces me deal with the consequences of a crappy chip.  I also like to keep track of how many times it takes to get down in 2, 3, or4.

Chipping range by my house is rarely that empty. If my friends are with me practicing I like to play the chip as a par 3 so its a fun little mini game of golf. maybe make it a par 4, (chip into sand, out of sand and 2 putt).

[Snowman80]

so when you guys go to a course do you play serious or mostly go to practice. It seems most go out and practice rather then "play" a round. im usualy with friends and play. i suppose i should do more practicing then anything,,,lol

[meenman]

The course is for playing - using multiple balls on it isnt teaching you anything that you couldnt do on the driving range/practice greens. The game is about making the shot when you need it, not seeing how you do the 2nd or 20th time.

I have never played more than one ball on the course and the only legal practicing I will do out there is putting when the tee box in front of us is jammed and no one is behind us. (which is rare)

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by Snowman80

so when you guys go to a course do you play serious or mostly go to practice. It seems most go out and practice rather then "play" a round. im usualy with friends and play. i suppose i should do more practicing then anything,,,lol

About the only time I'll practice on the course is when I am out as a single and the course if too full in front to play through any groups and there is no one behind me.  Then I will do some chipping and putting while the group ahead hits their tee shots and moves down the fairway.  But nothing that would appreciably increase the wear and tear on the course.

[Paradox]

Same..the only time I do any more than 1 ball is if I have nowhere to go and there is no one behind me or the course is relatively empty.

[zeg]

It's worth noting that playing multiple balls is officially forbidden on most golf courses I've played. You can probably get away with it if it's empty, but the golf course is a shared resource for people to play golf on, not for any one golfer to use as an extended practice field.

Also, there are different sorts of practice. The range is far better than a course for many aspect of practice. Since, unfortunately, it's rare to see a range that has varied non-flat lies, there are things that you can only practice on the course, but really, trying any shot 20 times in one go is probably counterproductive. Take the shot a couple times and then move on. You'll find another lie like that later in the round, and really, you're unlikely to need that exact situation again, so it's a bit of overkill to worry about hitting exactly the same shot again.

Personally, the practice I need is less technical and more about keeping consistency together during a round. I do just fine on the range, at least compared to my handicap. Playing extra balls would be counterproductive, because the things I'm practicing have little to do with technical ability and lots to do with maintaining concentration and proper form under pressure and the exertion of a full round of golf.

[dak4n6]

Originally Posted by meenman

The course is for playing - using multiple balls on it isnt teaching you anything that you couldnt do on the driving range/practice greens. The game is about making the shot when you need it, not seeing how you do the 2nd or 20th time.

I have never played more than one ball on the course and the only legal practicing I will do out there is putting when the tee box in front of us is jammed and no one is behind us. (which is rare)

Yes. This actually touches upon an interesting phenomena. Anyone who has progressed down the long road knows without doubt that at a certain point the newb's or hacker's familiar habit of taking mulligans actually inhibits their progress. There is something edifying in having just shanked, skanked, or otherwise duffed a ball, then pulling up your socks, resetting, and trying to never do that again. This is how you learn, whether it's practice or tournament. If you know that you have another 2 balls waiting in your pocket, your first shot never acquires the 'realness' or the sense of urgency as when you play one ball. OK, once in a while I will drop another one during practice if I feel something that I did not execute (man, I left the face wide open in spite of the fact I was trying to draw that shot), but if I just hit one a little fat or thin, I'm going to suck it up, walk up to my ball, and vow to not do that again.

[dak4n6]

Hmmm, where is the OP? This is actually a silly thread. 20 balls, really? I'm starting to suspect a troll...