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3/4/24

Let’s Talk about Practice

Golf is unique in that we have so many specialist areas to practice that many people lose sight of what the game actually is like that we are trying to improve at.  We have driving ranges, indoor studios, backyard nets…a whole industry in itself of training aids and information and we are led to believe that the more we practice the better we will get. So here are a few tips for heading to the driving range on quality vs quantity.

Firstly, if it doesn’t look like Golf or feel like Golf, then its probably not really going to help you improve your Golf game. What do I mean by that? Well Golf is a game of problem solving with different environmental factors on different surfaces.  It’s very rare that we will use the same club twice or try to hit it the same distance and yet that’s what many practice facilities have created.

100 balls to the same target with the same club at the same distance can potentially improve some technical issues but ultimately it still has to be transferred back to the game you are trying to play.

So next time you are at the range here are a few recommendations to take on board.

1.    Don’t go into the range facility until you have decided what outcomes you are looking to try and achieve, and how you are going to set about achieving them.  This could be improving your strike, adapting a pre-shot routine or hitting shots under pressure.

2.    Split the balls up into sections. For example in a basket of 60 balls you may hit 5/10 warm up shots with a short club and progress through the bag with the only intention of getting loose. (I would also recommend adding in a few golf specific stretches to aid your warm up first.) Then you may hit 15 balls working on a certain move to improve a certain factor at impact that improves the ball flight (see how they work together..) this is often based upon something technical you have worked on with your coach. You may do this with use of video or some other kind of feedback.  (We even give live online lessons on the range to many clients now, so keep that in mind to ensure you stay on track.)

Then I would progress onto switching clubs, varying targets and potentially designing a game on the range using targets that are out there and give yourself a score and record it.  This could be based upon quality of strike or where it finished or both. Many ranges now have Top Tracer or Trackman and are great for creative practice and a score.

3.    Design a game that has some levels to it, so you can’t progress to the next level until you have achieved a certain task. This brings in a certain element of pressure and recreates that feeling we all have when your hand are shaking and palms are sweaty!!  Every ball should matter.

4.    If you can find time, practice on the course once per week even better, this doesn’t mean taking lots of divots and hitting hundreds of balls.  It means creating situations that are real, improve your skill level and demand your attention.  You could play the even numbered holes with even numbered clubs or add an extra shot if you miss the fairway on a certain side or drag any putt back one length that finished inside 3 feet.

I hope that’s answered my question that ultimately the quality of your practice is much more important than the quantity.  Let us know how you practice at the moment and check out our social channels for games that you could use to improve practice.

1/3/24

If you can’t Measure it …You can’t Manage it!

Stats…Everywhere we look! How many steps did we take today, how many calories did we consume, how many hours did we view on our devices last week…. and then there is sports.

Sports in general are now covered in stats, every pass completion, every 10 yard run made, how many wickets taken to left handers in breezy conditions before lunch.  Golf is no different only it’s made its way right down to you.  We now not only know all the game data from fairways hit to how far it’s gone if we choose to collect it.  We also have in game data from how far to the back of the green, what’s the calculated yardage with slope taken into account, and then we can even access how much the putt will break based on the fact our speed will go 3 feet past the hole!  The third factor is that as coaches we can now measure every single ball that you hit in front of us, the speed, the spin, the path of your swing and where the club is pointing at impact.  For many this can be massively confusing.

So what’s the point of this email? It’s to let you know that stats can help you progress hugely without you wasting your time.

Often my first question for any new player will be “how can I help you?”  I’m then so dependent on you giving me accurate information that is purely objective so that I can help you put move in the right direction.  We also have no baseline data to measure if we are actually getting better in the correct areas or if just “feels” better.  Its kind of what happens when you buy a new Driver off the shelf and you convince yourself that it now goes further and straighter.

So, first piece of advice, start to keep some basic stats if you don’t already.

1.    Record how many putts you had in your round
2.    How many fairways did you hit
3.    How many greens in regulation
4.    How many errors did you have (errors are 3 putts inside of 20 feet, penalty shots, major mis-strikes or didn’t get out of bunker or didn’t recover from trees)

We will all hit bad shots, the key is not to compound the error.

There are so many great stats programmes online now that can go into great detail.  What’s important is to get into the habit of recording every round to a level that you feel comfortable and make it appropriate to your level of play. The more detail that you can record and share with your coach, the quicker they can get to the heart of the issue and help you shoot lower scores.