“Practice makes perfect”
“The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
“Practice by the objective not by the clock.”
These mantras have always stuck a chord with me and as I get more senior (okay, fine - older) I am gaining an understanding of what they really mean.
One thing that has changed with me throughout the years is that I am now an advocate of sensible practicing. I can imagine the response I would get if I told my younger self to do anything sensibly!! By practicing in a sensible way, I mean that I no longer hit several hundred balls one after an other in a session and think I’m practising well. Why not, you ask! Surely this will imprint muscle memory allowing me to swing consistently.
Certainly on the practice range, after a long session of rote, I would often feel that my swing is in sync and everything was ready for the course. Bring on the next round - I am ready!
However the pressure of actually playing introduces different challenges from hitting the first tee shot in front of your fellow players and dealing with a shot from semi rough to hitting a 50 yard approach or making that final 6ft putt.
Once you make one mistake your brain fixates on that and the round does not get better.
In theory, hitting ball after ball will help your swing - in a purely physical sense. But, and this is a big but, golf is not purely a physical game. If it was, you could probably train a 300 pound gorilla to play.
So three things come to mind from that - and I’m always willing to share!
I often see golfers on the driving range start out by hitting a driver as hard as they can. Seldom do they warm up and seldom do they hit 50 yard approach shots. And very few go to the practice green (or the practice bunker).
When you are playing a round of golf you are faced with a wide array of different shots and yet we rarely practice them. We should practice a wide range of shots and try to replicate the shots you face on a course. You hit your driver maybe a dozen times - you putt 2-3 times as many times as that. You hit iron shots at most holes. We really need to practice in the same ratios. Try to replicate playing a round of golf when you practice.
Hit a driver then a five iron, ensuring that you have chosen a target. Depending on where the ball lands, make a chip shot (or longer approach). Go to the next virtual hole and do the same again
Consider the mental aspects of the game and also the aspects of “feel”.
I recently read an article which mentioned “interleaving”. This is a fancy name for alternating clubs, targets and drills. Let’s assume your practice objective is to improve your shots to 100 yards. Your routine should be to hit a number of shots to 80 yards, a similar number to 100 yards and a similar number to 120 yards.
This alternating routine will help to improve your feel for the shots by imprinting memory patterns in the brain. You can also introduce shot difficulty into the session by simulating lower or higher shots.
These types of practice introduce feel and keeps the brain alert.
If you take a golf lesson and the pro gives you advice on how to correct a swing flaw you feel good. Yes? Until your next game when nothing seems to be right.
Don't get down on yourself. Remember that when a tour pro changes their swing they will often say it will take a year to get the benefit of the change.
That seems a long time, especially when they are hitting shots every day and they have coaches on hand to help. Golfers need coaches to give them the swing drills, monitor the progress, give them feedback. Why do you think most tour players have coaches on their team?
Most of us can’t afford the cost of a coach (or even regular lessons) - so let’s set out your own objectives, plans and drills for the next season and use short regular sessions to try them out. It’s all about training the mind.
