I once heard former Alabama football coach Nick Saban say that he made practices really, really hard for his teams so that the games would be easy. This same approach works really well for golf, but I rarely see anyone do it except for exceptional players. There are reasons why the average handicap hasn’t changed in decades despite significant advancements in equipment and course conditions. Poor practice is probably at the very top of the list. Mindlessly machine-gunning shot after shot might be good exercise but it does absolutely nothing to help you get better at golf. And it probably makes you worse if you’re constantly ingraining poor swing habits.
Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the 2022 U.S. Open, logs every practice shot that he hits on a spread sheet so that he can see ball flight trends and what swing thoughts are most productive for him. I don’t expect any student to go quite to this level, but you would be well served to keep written notes of what transpired during each session. Use the notes app on your phone to write down swing thoughts that work for more than one day.
Here are some thoughts to help you:
Have a plan for your practice session before you arrive. If it’s in writing so much the better. Many good players split their sessions into both block practice and random practice. Block practice is repeating the same shot, often with the same club, because you’re working on improving a specific skill. Or, you just happen to be struggling with a specific club.
Random practice is varying targets and clubs constantly. An example would be hitting six shots to the 100-yard marker with six different clubs. Golfers who never improve are almost always doing block practice, rarely have a specific target and are never going through their pre-shot routine. Good players not only use their pre-shot routine but they’ll also include a post shot routine where they analyze the shot they just hit and determine why the ball did what it did. I often say to students that there are two kinds of golf shots: good shots and learning experiences. If you hit a hosel rocket on the range and then hit another ball two seconds later, you haven’t taken the time to assess what might have gone wrong.
Begin all full-swing sessions with short pitches which accomplishes two things: it will create a nice swing rhythm as you move to longer clubs. And, you’ll get better at short pitches which is obviously invaluable. And never, ever hit a shot on the range or the golf course without a specific target and the smaller the better.
So often I hear students say they hit it great on the range but can’t take it to the course. What are the two major differences between the range and the course? Every lie is flat on the range. Few are on the course. And, there are consequences on the course which raises your adrenaline levels. You might think there are no consequences on the range but they can be created, especially by using random practice techniques.
There are a million different kinds of productive random practice. Here are a few of the million but be creative and think of some of your own:
Pull out a group of six balls. Hit one ball to each of six different targets changing clubs after each shot. You will feel adrenaline. If you are a more advanced player, try to vary the trajectory.
When practicing with your driver, create a fairway on the range between two net polls. Have a group of six balls and try to hit all six between the polls. Once again you will feel some nerves from the very first swing.
Play a golf course that you know in your mind. Hit driver (if appropriate) and then select the second shot club.
If you have access to a chipping green, chip one ball to each of the holes using different clubs. If you have the green to yourself, putt out on each hole and keep score. Then try to beat that score the next time.
On the putting green place tees in the ground at 15-feet, 30-feet and 45-feet. Putt three balls from each distance. Any putt finishing within 10 percent of the distance (1.5 feet from 15 feet, 3 feet from 30 feet, etc.) is a success story. And forget about never up, never in. From 30 feet and longer if 30 percent of your putts don’t end up short of the hole, you’re being too aggressive.
Place five tees around the hole three feet away. Putt from each spot and make as many as you can. If you make them all move to four feet and then five. Keep in mind that the PGA Tour make percentage from eight feet is 49 percent. So once again, be kind to yourself.
These are just a few thoughts to get you on the express lane to improvement. Remember, the better you practice the better you will play.
