Practice makes perfect

“The more I practice, the luckier I get,” quipped golf legend Gary Player years ago.  At the time, Player may have been thinking of chemist Luis Pasteur musing that “chance favors the prepared mind.” Regardless, what we know is that to get better at anything, whether it’s learning a new language, playing the piano or golfing your ball, practice is absolutely necessary. That said, I’m going to share some suggestions on how to practice golf smarter and make practice time pay off to the max.

First of all warm up properly before even hitting balls with some stretching, like torso twists to loosen the back, leg extensions and deep knee bends. Then start with easy swings with a wedge. Next, always re-visit one fundamental each time you practice – like alignment to a target. For a guide put two clubs or alignment rods parallel to the ground, pointing to the target with the ball in the middle. Don’t forget to use your pre-shot routine and swing rehearsal ritual before practice shots. This gets you comfortable so you don’t have to think about that when on the golf course since it’s now automatic. With full swings, work on one thing at a time – one key move or one swing thought. It’s far too confusing and counter-productive to have several tasks going at once. It’s good to work on trouble shots, such as from awkward lies, divots, thick rough and hardpan. This builds the confidence of “I’ve got this shot.” I recommend keeping a small notebook of information and reference from lessons, insights, swing thoughts, yardages, course landmarks, ideas and other tidbits that will make you better.

Part of practicing should include fitness. All the pro tours have a complete fitness trailer available to players at each tournament. Starting several decades ago modern-era golfers, and their coaches, recognized that strength, flexibility and endurance were part of the athleticism required for winning. No more cigarette puffing John Daly and no more Walrusses. Think about utilizing the “80/20” principle to your practice: Put most of your work in on the 20% of shots and problems that account for most (80%) of your lost strokes. A common example is the half-wedge shot from 60 yards out from the green. Think about practicing your shot game more - chipping and putting – which are more than half of your total score. For high handicappers that’s where most of your mistakes and lost opportunities occur. Your practice should include actual, specific shots you encounter on the golf course; do this while visualizing the real hole and situation you usually find on the course. Golf teachers say you should mentally replicate course conditions as much as possible when you practice.

Don’t go to the range without knowing what and how you are going to practice because you’ll simply be ingraining incorrect motions and bad habits. The most critical point of practice is creating good habits from instruction and professional feedback. The late Sam Snead once quipped, “I figure practice puts brains in your muscles.”

As for practice aides the pros use very expensive launch monitors, partly because their expensive coaches can watch every detail of every shot. You too can get a launch monitor for a few hundred of dollars, and be your own coach. If you want  a variety of lower tech, highly useful training aides go to www.tourstriker.com, owned by NMSU PGA Golf Management graduate Martin Chuck.