Taking A Break - A Form of Practice?

[Patch]

Here's the question. Is taking a short break from the game a form of practice? (Practice being a way to maintain, or better your game)

I just finished playing 16.5 rounds of golf in roughly 8 weeks. That number does not include 36 holes of par 3 course adventures. These rounds took place in 2 countries, and 5 U.S. states. 

Played in all kinds of weather from below freezing to some nice 70 degree temps. Wind, rain, fog,, snow sunshine...etc

So here I am, back home, thinking about my next golf move. I find myself just a little sore, and maybe mentally fatigued. With this in mind, I am going to add "golf rest" to my practice regimine. Maybe just kick back for a couple of days, with a good book. I will probably do something with a golf club, but nothing with any focus involved. 

[Lihu]

Sure, why not?

[Piz]

Everything in moderation, an old saying goes, including moderation.  It is fairly easy to become obsessed with any activity.  Stopping to "smell the roses" is a time-honored method.  I cannot recall any instance when, having stepped away from the game due to injury or other important matters, I did not return refreshed.  The ability to put things in perspective is contingent on having more than one perspective.

[Wally Fairway]

I'm taking a break too.

But here it is called winter, good luck to you @Patch, rest up and come back recharged

[NEhomer]

Sometimes the best thing for my golf game is my fly rod. I always feel fresh coming back from a short break.

[iacas]

It's not "practice" but rest.

Both are important.

[Aguirre]

13 hours ago, iacas said:

It's not "practice" but rest.

Both are important.

I'd also add the following, but please correct me if you think I'm off base.

For us amateurs, a short break will often break us out of a bad habit in our swing that we wouldn't necessarily would have corrected with practice. It's a bit of fresh start. I'd say that this is more rare than simply working through and solving the problem, but for golfers who aren't beating balls a lot, it can be an unintentional benefit.

[Patch]

I won't be actually playing for a few days. That should allow for a good recharge. Plus I had to put my trusty putter in the shop for a tune up. The shaft has become loose, and a new grip is in order. I played my last two rounds with my "Heavy Putter". (475gms)

The down time will also help with some little, minor aches. I consider these minor aches a good thing.

Actual practice will mostly be short range stuff. 7i to LW slow swing speed stuff. I call these slow swings "restful swings". Just nice, easy tempo, half speed swings. These slower full swings, with shorter clubs, easily works with the longer clubs. 

Edited March 8, 2018 by Patch

[onthehunt526]

15 hours ago, iacas said:

It's not "practice" but rest.

Both are important.

I agree.On both fronts... I'm surprised you haven't told me to take a break in the last 341 days, Erik,

[RussUK]

Think we all need to take a break from time to time. It's easier said than done especially if you are playing well. Last thing you really want to do is to play one round too many and burn yourself out.

Im enjoying a nice break at the moment.............by that i mean the damn snow is back and i cant play

[NEhomer]

I haven't measured yet this morning but we just got hammered with I'm guessin' 18 inches yesterday and all night. Forced break here in New England too.

 

[iacas]

10 hours ago, onthehunt526 said:

I agree.On both fronts... I'm surprised you haven't told me to take a break in the last 341 days, Erik,

Take two weeks off, then quit.

There, that what you had in mind?

[Piz]

Taking a break could be a form of practice...if your break-taking is substandard or otherwise ineffective.  Some high-strung types are unfamiliar with the concept.  It isn't really a break if all you do is stand around worrying that you ought to be doing something.

[boogielicious]

16 hours ago, Piz said:

Taking a break could be a form of practice...if your break-taking is substandard or otherwise ineffective.  Some high-strung types are unfamiliar with the concept.  It isn't really a break if all you do is stand around worrying that you ought to be doing something.

Agree. One of the mantras we had for training for cycling was to remember that off days were as important as the training days. Your body need rest to build. Same for golf. We don't think of it the same way, but golfing puts a lot of stress on your body. Fatigue and aches can affect you physically and mentally.

[xrayvizhen]

Totally agree. Last year, my best round of the season came one round after my worst, with a two week break in between. Whatever bad habit(s) I had fallen into before that apparently got flushed out of my system and with muscle memory being what it is for us recreational golfers who don't have the same combination of strength, coordination and fine muscle control as do the pros, laying down the clubs for a week or two can do wonders as opposed to going to the range day after day, flailing away repeating the same mistakes over and over. At least, that's the way it is with me. Others may need to get to the range to work on whatever's ailing them. I'll do that too but more often than not, giving the body a rest helps my game more than it hurts.

[JordanSocha]

On 3/7/2018 at 10:33 AM, Piz said:

Everything in moderation, an old saying goes, including moderation.  It is fairly easy to become obsessed with any activity.  Stopping to "smell the roses" is a time-honored method.  I cannot recall any instance when, having stepped away from the game due to injury or other important matters, I did not return refreshed.  The ability to put things in perspective is contingent on having more than one perspective.

 

On 3/7/2018 at 11:16 AM, iacas said:

It's not "practice" but rest.

Both are important.

These.

[Buckeyebowman]

Dude! You have to take a break now and then. Even the pros do it from time to time. In our workaday world we call it vacation! I can't count the number of times when my game was flying out of bounds, and I just decided to stick the clubs in the corner!

When I'd drag them out a week or two later, I could hit the ball like my old self! We need R&R!

[Dresilved]

I had an operation on my finger last year that put me out of commission for 7 weeks, I played a really solid round on my return, slightly better than my index, I put it down to low expectation syndrome. Id also been playing with too many swing thoughts before the op, mostly gone by the time I played again, defo helped to clear the clutter out