Confirming: [The wrong type of] Practice [does not] Makes Perfect

[bmartin461]

I would recommend this exercise for anyone who is struggling to make improvements to their game even with moderate level of practice time.  

For many years I would, on average, go to the local driving range 1-2 times per week to practice, mainly full swing, but I would also do short game and putting.   I always struggled with the specific though, I would not walk in there with a game plan.   Part of it was it was a nice break from the 11 hour day in the office, so not really a total loss. 

For the last 6 weeks I have not been able to practice, I have had travel plus I hurt my back which limited me for a few weeks.  I was able to get out to play 2-3 times since this long practice absence and you know what?  Spoiler here, my game was the same if not just a little better.  I made a very conscience decision to play my shot shape and I no longer try to draw my driver, I play the fade and it has worked out great.  I have actually had a drop in my index. 

What this also tells me is I was focusing on the exact wrong things that are preventing me from getting down to my goal of a 10-12 HC.    It is now painfully obvious my short game needs work, I rarely chip it close enough to have a makeable putt.   I think I putt pretty well, but I could also benefit with more practice here as well.

I have found this to be an absolute eye-opener and such a profound confirmation of what I have read on this forum from the likes of @iacas and others regarding HOW to practice.  I know if I kept going like I was I would not have ever believed it fully.

My hope is that this might help someone else have the same experience.

Regards,

Brad

[iacas]

If you enjoy (general you, not you @bmartin461) beating balls, by all means, have at them.

But if you want to improve, again, find the priority piece and work on that. Slowly. Specifically. With Successes…

[Kalnoky]

Good post & definitely true. When I first started playing one of the first things I noticed at the range was the good players would practice with a very small bucket of balls, and usually not even hit half of them. 

 

 

[MrDC]

It gets easier to be specific at the range once a player gets better, you walk away from a round knowing what hurt you and it keeps you up at night, knowing you could have scored your best round if you just did that one thing better, so you get to work.

A beginner should be specific as well, but also it doesn't hurt to just go beat balls, as long as the swing keys are working, every good player has done just that many, many times, nothing wrong with it.

 

[Patch]

I don't use the range for much more than keeping my full swing body parts in decent physical swing shape. I probaly work on set up, and alignment much more than actual golf shots when doing full swing work at the range. If I set up right, (grip, feet, posture, ball position) with good alignment, most of the time the ball goes to the general area I was aiming for. 

I do practice my short game accuracy, (aim & distance) quite a bit more than my full swing stuff. The nature of my game, requires a decent short game for lower scores. 

I do see folks just banging balls, with friends, still having a good time. Nothing wrong with that either, if thats what they want to accomplish. It's their time, and money. I sometimes think there are more less serious golfers, than those folks wanting to play better. 

Edited October 6, 2016 by Patch

[bmartin461]

45 minutes ago, Patch said:

I do practice my short game accuracy, (aim & distance) quite a bit more than my full swing stuff. The nature of my game, requires a decent short game for lower scores. 

Thanks @Patch, can you elaborate on how you go about your short game accuracy practice?   I've been struggling with finding something that translates to improving the on course performance.

Part of the problem is the places I practice at don't have great short game areas.

Brad

[GolfLug]

On ‎10‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 6:33 PM, bmartin461 said:

I would recommend this exercise for anyone who is struggling to make improvements to their game even with moderate level of practice time.  

For many years I would, on average, go to the local driving range 1-2 times per week to practice, mainly full swing, but I would also do short game and putting.   I always struggled with the specific though, I would not walk in there with a game plan.   Part of it was it was a nice break from the 11 hour day in the office, so not really a total loss. 

For the last 6 weeks I have not been able to practice, I have had travel plus I hurt my back which limited me for a few weeks.  I was able to get out to play 2-3 times since this long practice absence and you know what?  Spoiler here, my game was the same if not just a little better.  I made a very conscience decision to play my shot shape and I no longer try to draw my driver, I play the fade and it has worked out great.  I have actually had a drop in my index. 

What this also tells me is I was focusing on the exact wrong things that are preventing me from getting down to my goal of a 10-12 HC.    It is now painfully obvious my short game needs work, I rarely chip it close enough to have a makeable putt.   I think I putt pretty well, but I could also benefit with more practice here as well.

I have found this to be an absolute eye-opener and such a profound confirmation of what I have read on this forum from the likes of @iacas and others regarding HOW to practice.  I know if I kept going like I was I would not have ever believed it fully.

My hope is that this might help someone else have the same experience.

Regards,

Brad

So my chipping improved dramatically when I finally got with the idea that the sole purpose of a pitch or a chip is to not to have ANOTHER chip or pitch left. Period.

I focus on a simple stroke and absolutely do not worry about the length of the putt I leave. I dropped shots when I flubbed chips, sometimes in succession, but rarely because I didn't chip it within makeable range.

Keep it simple.

[Joe92385]

1 hour ago, Patch said:

I don't use the range for much more than keeping my full swing body parts in decent physical swing shape.

... 

I do see folks just banging balls, with friends, still having a good time. Nothing wrong with that either, if thats what they want to accomplish. It's their time, and money. I sometimes think there are more less serious golfers, than those folks wanting to play better. 

I definitely understand (at least since I started taking lessons recently) that just pounding a bucket of balls isn't going to have much benefit to my swing, but like you said, it does seem to help with stamina at least.  I used to get out to the range a couple times a week and hit large buckets - I didn't really improve my game, but I didn't get fatigued as easily as I do now.  Which is fairly important to me, since my timing goes to hell as soon as I get tired.  So there's definitely some value in smashing balls and drinking a couple beers with friends, haha.

This forum convinced me to finally get some real lessons.  Only had two so far, but they've definitely proven the theme of this thread - both lessons were really focused on my very upright swing.  My ball flight went to hell initially, but as I'm getting more comfortable it's working itself out.  If I were trying to do this myself, I would have been so worried about the ball flight that I'd never correct the real problem.

[Kalnoky]

@bmartin461 You have to make mini-games out of your short game practice. For example when I practice chipping, a chip-in is -1, 1-putt is 0, and a 2-putt is +1. I score these games and I keep track. I'll test one brand of ball against another. You can practice short games anywhere. Even at a park, just pitching into a laundry basket. You have to make it fun, and you have to simulate pressure.

The other thing is, buy one of these: The Practice Stick Ball Retriever from Amazon, $14.95. Worth every penny. If you get tired of picking up balls you will not practice short game very long. 

I consistently receive compliments on my short game from people who are much better golfers than I am. It's the only thing in this game I'm very confident in. 

 

[Patch]

21 minutes ago, bmartin461 said:

Thanks @Patch, can you elaborate on how you go about your short game accuracy practice?   I've been struggling with finding something that translates to improving the on course performance.

Part of the problem is the places I practice at don't have great short game areas.

Brad

It's nothing elaborate for me. I am a firm believer in the "KISS" method in all my golf game.

 I read my chips, and pitches just like I do a putt. I do this find the right landing spot, so after landing, the ball will track to the hole, based on any slopes on the green. Sometime the hole is not the line I choose to land the ball on. 

I spend a lot of time working on my club face contacting the ball. I do this for consistency. Club face alignment at ball contact is a major deal for me for all my golf shots. 

My chipping stroke is the same as my putting stroke. Google Runyon's putting chipping stroke for more info. The only difference is, I use a left hand low putting grip, and my normal swing grip on the chips and pitches. That said, I am fooling around with a left hand low grip on some shorter pitches. 

I use the same distance on to the green (2') for a landing area on all my chips. I just use a different club for different distances as needed. 

After all that, it's through repetition, I have learned what works best for me. Which club to use, based on what I see. 

On another note, I have knack of being able to hit flop shots close to the hole. It just comes natural to me.  I don't know why. It just is. Because of this a lot of my pitch shots are actually flop shots. 

 

[bmartin461]

6 minutes ago, Patch said:

 

I use the same distance on to the green (2') for a landing area on all my chips. I just use a different club for different distances as needed. 

After all that, it's through repetition, I have learned what works best for me. Which club to use, based on what I see. 

On another note, I have knack of being able to hit flop shots close to the hole. It just comes natural to me.  I don't know why. It just is. Because of this a lot of my pitch shots are actually flop shots. 

 

All good stuff, thank for sharing.

[iacas]

On 10/6/2016 at 2:31 PM, MrDC said:

A beginner should be specific as well, but also it doesn't hurt to just go beat balls, as long as the swing keys are working, every good player has done just that many, many times, nothing wrong with it.

It can, though. Yeah, you can get in a bit of a groove with a poor swing, but generally speaking, you're best to use your practice time to practice, not to "beat balls."

Finish up with a little repetition focusing on just solid contact and as consistent a flight as you can get, but please don't ever go to the range to just "beat balls."

[BristolGolf]

I get what you guys are saying but I struggle with this topic and then feel guilty for hammering balls. Being a new player with a high handicap and shooting scores no less than 115 (never broke 100) my main issue is finding consistency in my swing. My short game does suck but to be able to play the short game I need to launch the ball off the tee and then get within 100 yards of the green, to do that I need a consistent swing with a 7,8 and 9 iron with a reliable tee shot with either my 5W or Driver. Through repetition and lessons I have rounded out my tee shots to a certain degree of consistency and I fully understand the concepts of swing planes, and the importance of grip and posture - the only way I got into a position where I was able to think about plane and over emphasise the in to out motion needed to cure my wicked slice was through repetition, and I mean over a thousand balls within a few weeks. I literally hammered 100 balls per range session several times a week with a driver, this then transferred to the course (ish).

My issue now is a complete lack of consistency with my irons so I have every intention of taking a couple of lessons and then doing exactly the same thing, smashing a thousand plus balls until I have it ingrained and have the option of working on specifics, right now I just need to be able to get the ball in the air and make it go forward, currently every time I am over the ball with an iron during a round I literally have no confidence in where it is going to go or how far, the only way to cure that has to be through repetition.