Practice Styles

[saevel25]

For those who go and hit golf balls one day a week, hitting a massive amount of golf balls. It would be more beneficial to hit smaller amount of golf balls spread out closer to a daily basis. Basically its better to hit 50 golf balls a day than 350 golf balls all in one day. The reason is, because or nervous system is set up better when we have the least amount of down time between the actions were are training. So you'd probably see better gains, doing lower volume, higher frequency practice than mass volume, low frequency.

So even if you can't hit golf balls during the week, maybe make 50 good golf swings per night with help of a video camera or mirror.

[VegasRenegade]

This has been the approach I have been using in conjunction with my lessons. I try to hit between 30 and 100 balls at least 5 days a week and do shadow swings when I can not.  I have been making good progress.

[Epecks]

I agree totally... "chunking' my practice into smaller, more productive sessions seems to prepare me the best for an upcoming tournament or match.  I also like to have specific goals for each practice session, and games/drills offer specific objectives that I can use to measure my progress.  I've amassed a collection of games (mostly originals, some have been out there a while) over the past year in my blog, eddiepeckelsgolf.blogspot.com ... tried to be creative. Anyone who sees this feel free to try them and pass along to those who might also benefit.

-E

[Fatphil]

Oldest one in the book and hardest to do is change clubs in-between each shot.  On the course you can have 2 - 8 min between shots.  Talking to your friends, looking for balls etc.  To hit one ball after another on the range is exercise, to change clubs and approach each shot like you would on the course is practicing golf.

[Rfordeagle]

Good thread.

I believe in practicing daily even if it's just training the mind to think about the swing and the adjustment you need to make.  For me, I don't have the time to go to the range everyday and bang balls for a couple hours.  I go once a week and hit about a hundred balls.  Mid-week I take roughly a hundred swings a day in front of a mirror working on one element at a time from the stack and tilt book.  So far, this is working great, and I recommend the book to anybody.

[Rfordeagle]

Originally Posted by Fatphil

Oldest one in the book and hardest to do is change clubs in-between each shot.  On the course you can have 2 - 8 min between shots.  Talking to your friends, looking for balls etc.  To hit one ball after another on the range is exercise, to change clubs and approach each shot like you would on the course is practicing golf.

This is a great post.  I compare this part of the game to pitchers changing from one pitch to the next in a game.  I call it transitioning or sequencing to the next pitch or location.  A lot of kids or pitchers can get into a groove when throwing sets of ten fastballs to a certain location.  Then they often struggle going from one side of the plate to the other from pitch to pitch.  Quite simply it's more difficult, but they don't practice this transitioning enough.  When working on a particular swing thought or a piece of the pitching delivery club change or a pitchers location isn't high priority.  But when it's close to "game time", the 'transition' IMO should be stressed.

[mdl]

Don't feel like searching for links right now, but there's been lots of studies of learning related to the point saevel's making, essentially saying the same thing.  In fact, when learning a skill (I think the study I'm remembering was about learning to play a musical instrument, also a combo physical and mental skill like golf), you actually are better the next day after practicing than you are right after practice when you might think the new stuff is super fresh (including short to medium length practice so that's not an artifact of physical or mental fatigue).  Your brain sort of settles in and reinforces the new connections you made by practicing while you're sleeping (note I think it was the same study that said you lose most of the sleep reinforcement gains if you don't get a full night's sleep, like 8+ hours for most people!).

Sure hitting 200 (or whatever you're physically capable of before you get too tired and start ingraining bad tired-swing habits) every day is probably best, but for sure hitting 50/day is better than 350 on saturday.  I'd bet even 20-25 a day hit with slow, deliberate practice (ie, not just machine gunning 25 balls and calling it a day) would be better than 200+ once a week, or even 100 twice a week.