How much is too much?

[TJ106]

Do any of you find that its better to practice/play less or more?  Currently I try and get 2 rounds in per week and 4-5 buckets of balls in at the range each week.  So far I have noticed a huge increase in my skill level.  But I feel that I have hit a wall..I started around 6 months ago and feel decently well rounded for the amount of time I have played.

How often do most of you practice?

[brj872]

Two rounds a week most of the time, usually hit 100 balls at the range the day before I play, might squeeze in 4 hrs per week on the practice green chipping/putting split over a couple of days. I often arrive early before my tee time for more short game practice. The only time practice becomes too much, in my opinion, would be if you are further ingraining problems in your swing. Thus, making it harder to rectify these problems if/when you do decide to drop cash on a lesson.

[geauxforbroke]

If you're practicing properly and working on the right things, I think it's probably hard to practice too much. But that's a big if. Make sure you have a plan every time you practice, and stick to that plan. Mindlessly pounding balls for hours usually does more harm than good.

[TJ106]

  geauxforbroke said:

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

If you're practicing properly and working on the right things, I think it's probably hard to practice too much. But that's a big if. Make sure you have a plan every time you practice, and stick to that plan. Mindlessly pounding balls for hours usually does more harm than good.

what kind of plan do you like to go in with?

[theworldengine]

  brj872 said:

Originally Posted by brj872

The only time practice becomes too much, in my opinion, would be if you are further ingraining problems in your swing. Thus, making it harder to rectify these problems if/when you do decide to drop cash on a lesson.

exactly. right now I am working through a huge swing change, I love to hit balls on the range, and im often bored so its something I just do.  although I feel hitting those medium buckets is disrupting the process of the swing change because im not doing that much to ingrain the new swing concepts.  I think the biggest curse is to actually hit some beautiful shots in a range session because it may reinforce the bad swing, which is always creeping until the swing has been completely overhauled.  I really need to spend less time on the range and  focus more on mirror work, phantom swings and drills if the swing change will ever successfully happen.

[geauxforbroke]

  TJ106 said:

Originally Posted by TJ106

Quote:

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

If you're practicing properly and working on the right things, I think it's probably hard to practice too much. But that's a big if. Make sure you have a plan every time you practice, and stick to that plan. Mindlessly pounding balls for hours usually does more harm than good.

what kind of plan do you like to go in with?

Usually that's driven off of what I'm doing on the course. If I have a bad driving day, I'll try to isolate why (using a camera to film my swing) then do some specific drills to try to correct it. If I'm playing well, then I'll try to focus on hitting specific shots by imagining an on-course scenario and trying to execute that shot.

[WUTiger]

Here's what I see for people (like us) trying to get where we shoot in the 80s most of the time.

First of all, short game . (Ever heard that before?). Specifically, get your putting under control. Then, work on your wedges. If you have three or four high-loft clubs, find out your yardage matrix for the wedges. Work on the quarter and half wedges, and the 3/4 if they work for you. Borrow a copy of Short Game Bible by Dave Pelz, if you can. ( Note: most of us mere mortals adopt a little Pelz-Lite rather than his full system/religion). You can really save strokes 30 yds. and in with systematic practice. Don't be afraid to take a short-game lesson if you feel insecure in this area.

I recalibrated my wedges recently - about 6 months after I changes up my wedge mix - and promptly had two of my best rounds of the year.

Second, get your tee shots in the fairway! You don't have to hit your driver 300, you may decide to not use a driver... but, put your tee shots in the fairway, or at least in the first cut of rough. Approach shots hit from the sunshine get closer to the green and flagstick than shots hit from deep in the treeline.

Practice your irons some, but not at the expense of the first two. If you have a smooth swing, the law of averages says you'll hit a few GIR each round it you just get the tee shot near the fairway. If the other shots are a little short or a little long, your newly acquired short-game prowess will get you at least a bogie..

Don't be afraid to warm-up, play nine, and hit a few corrective balls when done. I'm guilty of practicing on the range too much, and not going out for nine more often. The "18 or nothing" mentality doesn't work for those of us with jobs, family, etc. And remember, the USGA let's us add up two nines for an 18-hole score.

The above wisdom should keep you busy for awhile. When you break 90 twice in a row, please send me a $75 lesson fee through PayPal.

[MS256]

  TJ106 said:

Originally Posted by TJ106

How often do most of you practice?

In the last few weeks: None, and it's starting to show up on the course.

I thought I had a good enough system for chipping and putting that I could get by with no practice but it didn't work out that way.

[14ledo81]

  WUTiger said:

Here's what I see for people (like us) trying to get where we shoot in the 80s most of the time. First of all, short game . :doh: (Ever heard that before?). Specifically, get your putting under control. Then, work on your wedges. If you have three or four high-loft clubs, find out your yardage matrix for the wedges. Work on the quarter and half wedges, and the 3/4 if they work for you. Borrow a copy of Short Game Bible by Dave Pelz, if you can. ( Note: most of us mere mortals adopt a little Pelz-Lite rather than his full system/religion). You can really save strokes 30 yds. and in with systematic practice. [COLOR=0000CD] Don't be afraid to take a short-game lesson if you feel insecure in this area. [/COLOR] I recalibrated my wedges recently - about 6 months after I changes up my wedge mix - and promptly had two of my best rounds of the year. Second, get your tee shots in the fairway! You don't have to hit your driver 300, you may decide to not use a driver... but, put your tee shots in the fairway, or at least in the first cut of rough. Approach shots hit from the sunshine get closer to the green and flagstick than shots hit from deep in the treeline. [COLOR=800000] Practice your irons some, but not at the expense of the first two. [/COLOR] If you have a smooth swing, the law of averages says you'll hit a few GIR each round it you just get the tee shot near the fairway. If the other shots are a little short or a little long, your newly acquired short-game prowess will get you at least a bogie.. Don't be afraid to warm-up, play nine, and hit a few corrective balls when done. I'm guilty of practicing on the range too much, and not going out for nine more often. The "18 or nothing" mentality doesn't work for those of us with jobs, family, etc. And remember, the USGA let's us add up two nines for an 18-hole score. The above wisdom should keep you busy for awhile. When you break 90 twice in a row, please send me a $75 lesson fee through PayPal.

I would say you should practice irons more. Maybe not at the expense of your driving, but definitely at the expense of your short game. If you hit more greens, you won't need the short game as much. I feel that if you are looking for the quickest way to drop a few strokes, you should lean heavy on short game practice. If you are looking for more improvement than that though, you will have to practice the long game a lot.

[TJBam]

Practice driving and short game first.  I get up and down for par a lot because I don't hit a ton of greens in regulation.  Longer irons are a bane to my game right now.  But I am confident with my SW, so a chip up to 6 ft of the flag is not unusual and gives me a lot of looks at saving par.  Keep in mind there are no pictures on a scorecard.  Your friend can bomb it down the fairway, stick a wedge to the green, and two putt.  You can drive 240, hit a long iron thin and skip it up near the green, chip up close, and sink your putt.  You halve the hole.  Of course his was prettier and yours was desperate and unorthodox, but everyone loves a blue collar underdog.  So practice your save shots from around the green.