Practise?
 

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?

While this thread should get you a lot of advice Dent, you should also post this in Andy's thread too. Between both threads you should find a routine that you like.

Will do thanks Smalls.

I am kinda hte same way, as I need intensity to enjoy things. This is in large part of me having almost severe ADD, golf is the only sport that I enjoy that truly beats me. I lay down alignment stick in a square and try and land balls in the square from 10, 20, 30 40 and 50 yds

Just get really serious, and talk about it too lol

I'm actually wondering the same thing. I NEVER go to the range anymore, and I only practiced my short game for a one week span, going for about an hour once every other night.

I find myself whacking ball after ball after ball, with no purpose.

For me, I start at my wedge and work my way up to my driver. I pick a single target, and play directly to that spot with each iron. If I am terribly satisfied with each club, I'll throw in some draws and fades with each club, even though I hate using them on the course. It's a great idea to bring an alignment aid with you, and I often record various clubs to make sure my swing in proper.

Then, I move to the short game... Tons of ways to go about that. from the trap, hooded wedges, flops, etc... I usually save my putting for last, when I've got 1000 swing tips and swing style ideas running through my head. I feel like when I'm on the course, I've got a lot going through my head, so I try and match that on the putting service. Start at 5 feet, more to 10, 15, 20, etc..

But that's just me.. I'm looking forward to hearing how everyone else functions.

Thinking about it, I like that drill. I'll have to find somewhere to do that. Thanks!

Exactly, what do I do? I think my putting is fine right now, I hit lag putts close, and I make short ones when it counts.. am I supposed to do drills to keep my putting hot? Do I not practice putting at all right now? If it's fine do I practice it? I'm killing myself with the questions, but I don't even know WHAT I'm supposed to be practicing. My driving is fine, my putting is fine. All I can think of is to work on ball striking and chipping. Hitting balls on the short game range one after another does not in my eyes seem to be beneficial.

I'm in the same boat, except my chipping is fine. The only thing that needs work for me (and this is the KILLER of my golf game at times) is ball striking.
I guess I am supposed to just go whack ball after ball?

spoken like a true crackhead

Don't hit balls without a specific reason to hit them. My range sessions normally involve 1 thing I am working on. Lately it's been trying to take a divot in front of the ball or something like that.

Now I said reason to hit them, that doesn't mean you need to be working on something. I hit some balls before playing in my league Monday night just to loosen up and try to get the feel for nice loose arms.

Both of those are different then just mindlessly blasting balls over the range.

I don't practice my short game much(too much time playing) but see if you can make a game of it. The one I use the most is: Take 3 balls and toss them in the same area off the green. Pick a hole on the green. Try to hole out all 3 balls in as few strokes as possible. So this works on chipping and putting at the same time. Rince in repeat with a different spot and different hole.

dent, it's great to see that you realize that you can put in more work. good things will happen to your game with an attitude like that. you have to make your practice sessions intense and you must have a purpose. i'm not a fan of throwing down a bunch of balls and chipping/pitching to the same target, that's just not realistic. find a practice green that has multiple hole locations and always rotate shooting at each different location, don't just chip to the same hole over and over again. you'll develop much better feel and creativity that way. i also have a park near my house and i set up 5 gallon buckets at 10, 15, 20, & 25 yards (i just walk off the distances) and i try to jar chips into each bucket. it's harder to make than you think and i've never made one from 25 yards out. but i always rotate my targets, i don't get into the lull of shooting at the same target over and over again. if you practice often with a friend or a golfing buddy make competitions out of your practice. have closest to the hole competitions on the chipping green. each one of you hits 3 balls, whoever is closest to the predetermined location wins a quarter. first one to 2,3,4,5 dollars is the eventual winner. you can do the same game on the putting green. any time you can create a sense of urgency or that it counts, that's when practice becomes extremely useful.

if i'm hitting balls on the range i always stretch, then warm up by hitting 10 balls with my wedge, 10 balls with my 8 iron and 10 balls with my 6 iron. then i start to mentally play golf. i've played augusta, pebble beach, st. andrews, haha. i just visually pretend i'm on the tee, i hit my tee shot, then based on the results i might figure i'm 160 out so i hit my 160 club toward a target, if i push of pull that shot i pretend i'm a few yards right or left of the green so i hit a chip/pitch shot. if you ever notice you'll never see anyone on the range hardly ever practicing pitch/chip shots, why is that?

the best thing to work on ball striking is to play par 3 courses. i have a great one here and somedays i'll just take my 6 iron and my putter and have to play a round with just those two clubs. it really helps me learn how to hit different shots.

good luck dent, i'm rooting for you!

do you track your stats at all?
if you do then you should know what part of your game is the weakest...
practice your weakness till you are comfortable enough that even if its still your weakness it wont kill you during a round...
instead of hitting the range and just bombing balls... pick very specific targets and see if you can get 5 - 10 yards inside of your target...
if youre on the chipping green... dont sit in the exact same spot and hit ball after ball until youve dug a hole in the ground... hit from a variety of spots...
grab a scorecard and play a pretend round...
hit 18 balls on the range and write down which direction how far etc...
then hit another 14 "approach" shots with whatever club you need to hit compared to the first 18 shots...
then hit the chipping green
then the putting green
play every shot like it counts and write it down on your scorecard
if youre practice facility is set up nicely you can actually hit driver/approach/go chip/then putt... but its pretty hard the way most facilities are set up

for me its about actually translating my practice to the actual course... lately its been bad...
if you saw me on the practice area you'd swear i was a scratch golfer... then on the course you'd never think id break 100... pretty swing... horrendous results... so practicing for me isnt the issue... its actually hitting the same shots i know i can hit on the practice area to the course

One thing I do with my short game before tournaments that seems to help me with confidence is I will go to the practice green with 4 balls, my wedges and my putter. I will drop the balls in different lies around the green and I pick the wedge I need to try and hit it close. I play all 4 balls to a different hole around the practice green, then I go around the green and try to make the putts to get up and down. When I miss the putt on one of the 4 holes I finish up and then go do it all over again. I stop doing this when I can chip or pitch up and 1 putt all 4 balls. This drill can make you stay out there a while but it also can help you really focus on the shot and putts required to hole them. I've been doing this drill for a few weeks and I'm starting to get more and more confident when I miss greens that I can get up and down from anywhere. Hope this helps with an idea of some type of risk/reward short game drill.

Thanks guys, these are all great ideas.

I do track stats and I know right now my GIR % is absolutely terrible. I need to practise ball striking the most, but I don't know how to go about that. It seems all I should do is hit balls and my ball striking will improve? That just doesn't seem worth it.

For my chipping, I really like the idea about hitting from different spots to different holes each time. My main concern is practicing different types of chips, the bump and run, the flop etc. I just don't really know what type of pitch shot I want to play more than the other. You notice alot of good players when they have the option to play either a flop or a bump they choose one over the other based on their skill. I don't know how to determine which shot is my better shot, or even how to practise both of them. I guess I could alternate between the two on the practice green.

dent, the type of shot i play is completely dependent on what i'm working with. if i have a lot of green between me and the hole i prefer to run the ball to the hole, ie, using my pw or 9 iron. if i'm short sided and don't have a lot of green to work with then i need to get the ball up quicker, get it higher so it lands softer and doesn't roll out as much, ie 56* or 60* wedge. these are all things you just have to practice on the chipping green.

I do the same thing. The only time I really make sure to use a lofted wedge is when I'm chipping/pitching downhill or want to fly the ball as close to the pin as possible. Ive worked hard on using and aggressive chip that spins the ball and checks it up. On fast greens sometimes its the only way to get the ball close to the hole. If its uphill or I want some roll I typically just use my 50 degree wedge and try to play the shot as a long putt. Bump and runs are usually the best way to get the ball close for amateurs but each shot has its own risk/reward. The best advice I was ever given is to visualize exactly what I want the ball to do on its way to the hole. If you can do that then it becomes much easier to see yourself running the ball up there. This is the one area of my game that I noticed last summer that I really needed to improve because most of the low handicappers I play with don't hit the ball any better than me, the difference in their game and mine is they get up and down 5 to 10 times more than me in a round and of course they don't 3 putt.

Ball striking/range work: I will start with my 7 iron, pick out my target, and then align an iron or a practice stick on the ground pointing to that target. Then I will hit 5-10 balls making sure my alignment/setup is correct. Then I pull up the alignment aid, and start picking different locations around the range, going through my swing routine each time. Then I will start switching clubs and targets randomly, and wont hit more than 5 balls in a row with the same club. Then practice shaping a draw or fade into that target if you can do it. Is my accuracy drill, and it works tremendously well. For other ball striking issues, it's just working with the same club until that issue is resolved, and then going up and down the clubs to make sure there are no issues.

Chipping/pitching: I'm a bit different with this. I'll first pick a flat spot on the practice green, and then pace out 5, 10, 15, and 20 paces, placing a tee in the ground at each spot. I then alternate hitting to each spot. I then alternate clubs, trying to be a bit creative. I'll even practice a few flop shots, or place a club on the green that I need to clear the ball over. Then go find a downhill or uphill slope, and repeat the drill. Then do a left to right or right to left slope.

Putting: I do the same tee-in-the-ground method as the chipping/pitching section. This helps with distance. After that, I then place 12 golf balls in a circle around a cup, each three feet away, and try to make all 12. Then I will place them six feet away. This forces me to take those short putts more seriously, and try to read the correct break on each putt.

So this is pretty much what I do, and it keeps me VERY busy. I'm a range rat, I love to practice. My practice to play ratio is probably 20 hours of practice to every 3 hours of play. It's helped alot too, in the last year I've gone from shooting in the 120s to the low 90s, probably (hopefully) 80s soon.

Thanks for the advice! When you guys practise ball striking on the range do you tweak your swings randomly to see if something will work better than your current swing? I find myself doing that alot and trying different things, but I'm afraid it develops bad habits.

Also I've tried so many ways to pitch I don't even know what is right anymore, do I get wristy? do I use a putting like stroke? Hit down on the ball? try to pop it up?

I feel like such a beginner!!!

i'm happy with my swing so i don't tweak it at all on the range. as far as practicing just pure ball striking, it just takes hitting thousands of golf balls, but hitting them with a purpose.

the short game and the techniques involve are tricky b/c there's so many. i'm a hinge and hold guy but that's b/c with that method the club never gets in front of my hands. i use it for all types of short game shots and by doing that, all i have to do is adjust ball position to get the ball to run out or to check more or to get some height on a shot. you'll need to find a method that you're most comfortable with, then perfect it.