Limited Practice

[dsal89]

Hello,

 

As it stands now I play a max of 6 times a month (9/10 it's six....if I'm unlucky w weather then it's like 4 or 5). 

 

I I am a 10 handicap (have to update my profile here) and I want to make strides to get better and I think spending 2 of those days a month spending 3-4 hours working in my game instead of playing those two. I assume it would help me game a ton as I can focus on each facet for an hour at a time instead of just playing and trying to get better at certain shots that I might only face once or twice a round. 

 

Just st curious if some of you lower handicaps think this would be better idea than just playing playing playing 

[Mugs050]

I am in a similar boat I only have a short golf season where I live call it 5 months. I play probably 30-35 times a year. I use the rule of three. Whether it's playing or practicing or both try to be either practicing golf or playing at least three times a week. So let's say you play once/week try to hit the driving range or preferable the short game practice area at least two more times a week. When you approach these sessions deliberate practice is needed to get better. Don't smash balls or don't just run putts. I have had difficulty with shortish putts this year so I make sure I make x amount of short putts before I leave the practice green. Then for my chipping I give a time frame let's call it 30 minutes where I look at all the pins on the practice green and try to get up/down on different pins as many times as I can in that time period. Then I record my results. That's what makes up my short game practice.

For the long game. Which I hate to practice. I usually only hit a small bucket. I work on the clubs in which I hit the most, I just don't work through my bag because again limited time and it's a waste to hit 10 4 irons when you might only hit it once a round. Mostly I spend time visualizing targets or greens of different courses in my mind and hit 170 yard shots and in. Then I practice fairway finding tee shots. That means if my driver is acting up on the coarse, I can shelf it for the round and go to my next go to tee shot club. I have three in rotation my big stick which I can hit 280+, my 5 wood which is a 240-260 yard tee shot, then if I am really desperate my 7 wood which maxes out around 230-235 or on average 225ish.

Summary:

- Hitting balls or playing three times a week.

-Emphasize short game practice. With putting work on avoiding the three putt. So work short putts and lags. Forget about spending time on the 15 - 20 footers the pro's don't even make those that often.

-Long game work on reliable in the fairway shots. Now let's not get extreme just because you get hit your 7 iron 150-170 yards dead straight every time does not make it a good fairway finding club. In my example the driver will leave me usually a wedge or less. My 5 wood around the 150 yard mark and the 7 wood a 170 to 200 yards in. Of coarse depending on the hole.

-Work on the approach shots you will hit the most. Track a few rounds you will start to realize there are simply clubs that are a luxury to practice on. IE a 4 iron or even a wood off the deck.

Best of luck on the improvements. I am not a super low handicapper but a single digit none the less, so I am still learning these things too.

PS.

Don't neglect the mental game. When you can't practice physically read a Dr. Bob Rotella. Also 9 holes is better then none.

Minor Edit... Your talking about sacrificing rounds to practice 2 hours +. You don't need to practice that much in one session to get better. You need maybe 30 minutes minimum a session to start getting better. Ideally an hour is perfect. Go through a small bucket, then the rest on short game.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Mugs050

[mchepp]

My schedule is not all that different than yours. The main difference that I see is what I would term "Small Pockets of Time". These are any free time that you have at home. Get a club and work on a priority piece of your swing in the mirror. Do it is slow motion. This can be 1 minute or 5 minutes, but spend the time working on something in your swing. Maybe its a backswing piece or a start to your downswing, all this can be done in slow motion. I have friends with clubs that have been cut down to 18 inches if you have only small space to work in.

Also putting on your carpet. You can just work on your stroke and making consistent contact on the putter face. 

I also sacrifice 1-2 lunches a week to go to the range. If I am traveling I have to skip it and if the weather is bad I don't do this quite as much but in the spring and summer I can get out there and practice as well. 

These little things will add up. I don't recommend you skip playing. Maybe if you are working on something specific, but I recommend you play as much as you can. 

I also recommend you read Lowest Score Wins. 

[No Mulligans]

I think in 30 minutes you can get the amount of practice that is equivalent to a full round of golf.  It seems you could still play those rounds and just find a couple of 30 minute sessions in your week.

[dsal89]

Thanks everyone for the help!!!

so far in my head I've broke down my session like this (and yes I don't need several hours for practice, it's mostly because I enjoy practicing) 

 

driving range (medium to large) and work on my tee shot clubs work down and pick specific targets with each. With the last of the bucket, I've had an issue with pushing my 52 wedge a bit which is like to work on. 

 

Adter that, move to short game. Work on short sided pitches and chips (my weak point) hitting out of buried lies, accuracy and hitting my targets. 

 

Then to putting. Working from 5 feet out hitting fifty putts and move out to ten feet and hit fifty. 

 

Then work on distance control for longer Putts and not necessarily work on making them but getting them close and keepin a good grouping. Lastly if time allows, work on pitching and chipping up and finishing with a one putt.  

 

Can an I do all this in 3.5 hours? Not sure, but I'll see what I can do. 

 

 

[Austin_Sachs]

I would completely agree with this idea, I notice in times when all I do is play my game becomes stagnant or worse. By adding in a couple of practice sessions instead of playing, you save money and can improve your game. Just make sure to not overwork you body because I have done that too many times and it is hurting me now (injured twice before April).

[DaveP043]

I've taken a different approach, and my handicap has gone down about 3 strokes over the past 3 or 4 years.  I think I have a decent swing, and I haven't tried to change anything with it.  I've always played on Saturday and Sunday, and warm up on the practice range just about every time.  What I've added is a 9-hole men's league on Tuesday night.  That's not really practice, just fun.  But I've also started practicing every Friday after work.  I don't have the attention span to spend ours at it.  My practice session lasts as long as it takes me to slowly sip one beer.  Most often, I'll hit balls on the range, concentrating on grip, alignment, ball position, and tempo.  Depending on what problems I had the previous weekend, I may work on specific clubs.  Occasionally I'll spend most of my time shipping and/or putting, but I don't struggle with those parts of my game too badly.  

My point isn't that you should do as I do, specifically.  I just think that 3 or 4 hours of practice is too much at one time.  If you can't concentrate on each swing, or chip, or putt, its exercise, not practice.  If you don't have a specific thought or plan for your practice session, its exercise.  If you search around this site, you'll see that @iacas strongly recommends very short (5 minutes) practice sessions, which you can do anywhere.  They don't need to involve hitting balls as long as there's a specific movement you're practicing to change.  If you want to get better, get some good instruction, and practice with a purpose.  

[iacas]

13 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

My point isn't that you should do as I do, specifically.  I just think that 3 or 4 hours of practice is too much at one time.  If you can't concentrate on each swing, or chip, or putt, its exercise, not practice.  If you don't have a specific thought or plan for your practice session, its exercise.  If you search around this site, you'll see that @iacas strongly recommends very short (5 minutes) practice sessions, which you can do anywhere.  They don't need to involve hitting balls as long as there's a specific movement you're practicing to change.  If you want to get better, get some good instruction, and practice with a purpose.  

To clarify, I don't recommend five minutes per se - we have a "five minutes daily" thread that just encourages players to practice daily.

But @DaveP043 is right in that I do recommend short practice sessions, or at least changing skills frequently. Work on a full swing drill for 15-20 minutes, then putt for 5-10, then work on short game for 15, then go home or take a longer break before doing a few more short segments. Stuff like that.

When you practice for long periods of time you get bored and thus sloppy. While it's fun to get better at golf and shoot lower scores, most of y'all are not on the PGA Tour.  It's not your job.

[Patch]

I tend to do "something" with a golf club, or training aid every day. Probably 30% - 40% is more exercise to keep my golfing muscles in swing shape. It could be a short time (4 or 5 minutes) of dry swings, or I can hit rubber balls off a mat in the yard for 10-15 minutes. At this point in my golf game, it's more important to just stay in golf swing shape. 

I go on at least one, sometimes two multi mile hikes most weeks to keep my legs in decent shape. I walk most of my golf rounds. 

Once every week, or so, I will hit a bucket of balls, while working with my longer clubs. Most of my actual practice is done on the short game practice area my home course provides. Up and downs for par are an important part of my scoring game. 

Granted, I am retired with no ridged work schedule, but I do limit my golf time ( practice & play) so I can do other important things. 

[Dave2512]

Practice without instruction is waste IMO. Identify your piece and just a couple minutes a day is better than spending hours on the range hitting balls. 

[Strat-Pack Rick]

I just got back from the range. Not surprised but it was busy busy. Everyone is ready to start the new year right , myself included. I went through my bag paying close attention to ball placement. Not just forward , middle and back but also distance from the ball. I think ive been crowding the ball a bit with my longer irons. I just completed the 5 minutes daily challenge but im staying the course. Its a good habit and Ive noticed a difference in my game for sure. Couldnt find the January 5 min daily thread to post there but im sure I will. Get off to a good start everyone and Hit Em Good !!

[saevel25]

I am a big believer in doing more with less. I can easily get more productive work out of 40 golf ball versus someone just bashing away at 200 golf balls.