[Wxrxnhar]

After suffering a pretty bad match loss today, I came to the realization that I need to put more into golf.

Two players we were playing with were talking amongst themselves, that day before the match they had spent 2 hours practicing their short game. The one guy told us he spends more time practicing with his golf coach than playing. When I left the course after the match; there they were practicing putting. The way they played today showed me what I could achieve if I actually practiced. The loss actually showed me how putting in some more time practicing instead of playing could make me that better of a golfer.

This year I have not been to the driving range once, or even practiced my short game for more than ten minutes. I'm sure this has been asked before, but I don't ever feel I'm practicing with a purpose. I go out on the green and chip and putt but I just scoop up the golf balls and chip again over and over, without really attaining anything.

How do I ACTUALLY practice? Do I do drills on the putting green? Do I try to find flaws in my swing on the range? Should all of my practicing involve drills with alignment sticks, tees and other tools? I don't want to hit balls for no reason anymore. I can't believe I'm just asking this now because I feel like I've wasted years at the range. Has just hitting balls for fun at the range been a complete waste? Or is that a way to practice as well?