Best Way to Practice?

[EMC2144]

So I'm just curious what other people use for their practice time. Recently I've been doing my standard 40 shot warmup where I hit five 9 irons, five 7s, five 5s, five 3s, five 3 woods, 5 drivers, and 10 various wedges. Then I mentally play a round of a course I have somewhat memorized. For example, first tee at my normal course is 360 dogleg right, so I hit 3 wood. Then estimate my distance to the green and how I should hit it. If I slice a tee shot, I practice a punch. Obviously it's hard on a range to do rough or uneven lines. Anybody else have a routine they like, or an opinion on if what I'm doing is good or bad?

[boogielicious]

On 7/17/2016 at 11:46 PM, EMC2144 said:

So I'm just curious what other people use for their practice time. Recently I've been doing my standard 40 shot warmup where I hit five 9 irons, five 7s, five 5s, five 3s, five 3 woods, 5 drivers, and 10 various wedges. Then I mentally play a round of a course I have somewhat memorized. For example, first tee at my normal course is 360 dogleg right, so I hit 3 wood. Then estimate my distance to the green and how I should hit it. If I slice a tee shot, I practice a punch. Obviously it's hard on a range to do rough or uneven lines. Anybody else have a routine they like, or an opinion on if what I'm doing is good or bad?

There are many ways to practice, but if you are trying to correct something in your swing, below is the best way. If you are just staying fresh, then the random club practice you mention is good too.

 

[RH31]

My home course has a short driving range. The longest club I can hit there is a 4H. I don't practice at that range only the occasional warm up.

I practice at a wide open regulation range. I'm trying to get a pre round warm up routine figured out that I can use on my home course. I need to hit good drives on 5 of the opening 7 holes. So far, I'm not having a lot of success with my methods.

On days when I'm swinging well I have done the "play the course" type practice just for fun.

If you practice to improve ball striking and it's getting better with your methods, then what you are doing is fine.

[Marty2019]

On 7/17/2016 at 11:46 PM, EMC2144 said:

So I'm just curious what other people use for their practice time. Recently I've been doing my standard 40 shot warmup where I hit five 9 irons, five 7s, five 5s, five 3s, five 3 woods, 5 drivers, and 10 various wedges. Then I mentally play a round of a course I have somewhat memorized. For example, first tee at my normal course is 360 dogleg right, so I hit 3 wood. Then estimate my distance to the green and how I should hit it. If I slice a tee shot, I practice a punch. Obviously it's hard on a range to do rough or uneven lines. Anybody else have a routine they like, or an opinion on if what I'm doing is good or bad?

I think what you're doing is very good. 

I've improved my scores a little by going over my scorecard and then practicing based on that.   There are at least 4 different iron shots I will definitely be hitting next time I play, and that is the tee shots on the four par 3s.   I know the exact yardage, I know the ball is going to be slightly teed up, so why not practice that, I say. 

I also found that my scores improved a lot by spending a lot more time on short shots, wedges, half shots, pitches, etc.   There are so many of those during a round. 

Then of course, the absolute most important shot I can hit in order to have an enjoyable round, and that is, the driver.  

I think the most important thing you are pointing out is that we should think about our practice, and not just go out there and beat balls.   Although that can be fun, I'll admit. 

 

 

[EMC2144]

I'd love to have a golf simulator but can't afford anything. However, I did find that the Optishot 2 is pretty cheap, does anybody have any opinion on it? Is it a good practice tool, or just for fun? My understanding is that it is just a sensor underneath but does not track the ball, so how would it know if you would catch it thin or can it read attempts to shape a shot? I have a garage I don't use so I'm debating about turning it into a home gym or practice area, or possibly both.

[Groucho Valentine]

I dont really have a practice "routine" as far as a set number of balls go. But when i do spend more than an hour on the range, its because I'm working on a specific shot that i think i need. For example, I worked on a low chasing draw (johnny miller calls it the trap draw.....) because i thought i needed it for the tournaments this summer, which predicted a lot of hot temps. Which means dried out golf courses. It turns out it hasn't been all that dry in northeast this summer so i really haven't needed it. Its still a useful shot for getting out of trouble and the wind, though.  So i would practice hitting that specific shot and what i needed to go through swing and alignment-wise to be able to hit it on demand. I haven't mastered it yet (i have a tendency to hit a dead strait punch with it) but I'm getting close. That shot is currently my obsession. 

Otherwise, when i go to the range to practice, i really only focus on grip, alignment, posture and tempo. Particularly tempo. Ive never focused much on mechanics. My swing is mostly based on timing. But the drawback to is that my entire swing falls apart when i get too quick or my tempo falls off. So i exaggerate going forward with my weight before i take the club back. That sort of rocking motion puts me in good tempo. I also have a tendency to aim too far right, which causes me to hook and pull the ball. So i work my full pre shot routine with the alignment aids to better set up my sight lines, too.

I think identifying the weaknesses in your game is most important in dictating how you should practice. I see lots of people just beating balls with no rhyme or reason. And thats fine too, a lot of people enjoy that. But its not getting them any better, its just exercise. 

[Rainmaker]

For me, a net and video camera are critical.  When I'm practicing a lot, like lately, I tend to practice for 15-20 minutes at a time, 3 to 4 times a day. 

This will usually be a pretty focused practice where I'm working on 1 thing.  Typically always with my 7iron or sometimes my 8.  I'll usually break out the video camera at least every other day - sometimes much more frequently.

About once a week, I go to the outdoor range.  I hit a medium bucket (75 balls) - starting with short irons, then long clubs and then the last 30 or so with the driver.  I can only hit up to a 7iron in my garage so the range is my primary place to practice the longer clubs.  At the range, I don't really "practice" like I do at home . .I tend to try to hit the shots as well as I can and then make an assessment for further practice at home.  Sometimes I play around a lot with shot shaping at the range or trying to hit the same target with different clubs . .I don't know why . .I don't really do that on the course - it's just fun, I guess. 

Then I try (emphasis on try) to play 1 9 hole practice round a week, too. 

[Patch]

Me personally I would rather play than practice, but since I can't find 20+/- hours a week (M-F) to play, I spend a hour or so hitting balls in some way at the near by practice facility when not actually playing. Most of it is short game stuff. I do swing a club at least once a day, everyday. 

When I do practice, it's not working on any thing like this, or that swing position, or movement. It's usually working on getting the ball to go close to where I want it go. I always have a target.  I might tinker a little with trying tough shots from bad lies. Using different clubs in different situations. I hit balls every once in while at a near by dry lake bed. My goal there is to pick the ball cleanly off a very thin lie with a forged blade. 

These days I just work on keeping what I now have, and developed over the past few decades. I recently picked up a book from a bargain bin titled "Golf For Seniors" just to see if it had anything I could use. Nothing new so far in it. 

[No Mulligans]

Before I hit my first practice ball I think about what I'm trying to accomplish and what I'm going to practice.  This morning I was working on inside-out downswing so I was simple trying to hit the ball to the right relative to the way I was lined up.  I also was making checks on not letting my head go back on the downswing which is a persistent issue for me.

[RH31]

A few things to add;

Video's of your swing are priceless. I think it would especially be useful to have video of when you are really hitting it well, so that you could compare your swing, setup, etc, when/if it goes awry.

Keeping a log of what you're working can be helpful.

I try to break up my practice session with some short game work in between buckets.

[tshapiro]

On July 17, 2016 at 11:46 PM, EMC2144 said:

So I'm just curious what other people use for their practice time. Recently I've been doing my standard 40 shot warmup where I hit five 9 irons, five 7s, five 5s, five 3s, five 3 woods, 5 drivers, and 10 various wedges. Then I mentally play a round of a course I have somewhat memorized. For example, first tee at my normal course is 360 dogleg right, so I hit 3 wood. Then estimate my distance to the green and how I should hit it. If I slice a tee shot, I practice a punch. Obviously it's hard on a range to do rough or uneven lines. Anybody else have a routine they like, or an opinion on if what I'm doing is good or bad?

More than any mechanic, I find that timing and rhythm are more disruptive if they are off. I find the easiest club to get your lower body to be working in sync with your upper body is a low tee'd hybrid. So, I begin my sessions with easy tee'd hybrids until the blood is pumping and my timing and 'umph' are dialed in. 

[EMC2144]

2 hours ago, tshapiro said:

More than any mechanic, I find that timing and rhythm are more disruptive if they are off. I find the easiest club to get your lower body to be working in sync with your upper body is a low tee'd hybrid. So, I begin my sessions with easy tee'd hybrids until the blood is pumping and my timing and 'umph' are dialed in. 

That's an interesting concept. Most people seem to start with short irons or wedges. Personally I start with a 9 iron. I don't actually carry hybrids, so I couldn't, but if I did I would at least give that a try. The point of this thread, besides my own curiosity, was to give people without a good routine, or looking for a new one, some new ideas on practice and how to maximize efficiency and learning each time that they practice. So thank you everyone for the feedback. Keep it up.

[tshapiro]

On July 20, 2016 at 6:07 AM, EMC2144 said:

That's an interesting concept. Most people seem to start with short irons or wedges. Personally I start with a 9 iron. I don't actually carry hybrids, so I couldn't, but if I did I would at least give that a try. The point of this thread, besides my own curiosity, was to give people without a good routine, or looking for a new one, some new ideas on practice and how to maximize efficiency and learning each time that they practice. So thank you everyone for the feedback. Keep it up.

Think of it this way - I do the timing/rhythm with the tee'd hybrid before I start my sequence with the short irons off the grass. I like to take the contact with the ground out of the equation. And, the longer club intices me to swing where by I can 'force' 9 iron. 

[EMC2144]

That's true, I just feel so tight which is why I ramp up. My starting 5 or so are like half or three-quarter swings in terms of speed but exaggerated turn (which is saying something because I have a VERY long swing and a large amount of rotation). I just hate to see people that get upset with themselves at the range but are just aimlessly smacking the ball, without care for what's going on or even aiming. Whenever I practice I like to try something new. It could be learning how to punch and slice a 4 iron, or intentionally hook an 8 iron. You never know when you may need something so you may as well give it a go. Yesterday I tried driver off the deck, since my 3 wood is on it's way to me but I need to close the gap between my 5 and driver. Worked amazingly well considering I was just guessing.