Are drills away from the ball really worth it?

[RGDave]

I'm beginning to think not.

Discuss?

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Go on, you know you want to.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I do 10 mins of rotation drills and 10 mins putting (with my V-Easy) every day without a ball.

I usually slot it in when waiting for something at home or at work.

The putting really helps but the swing I think does not do much, isnt doing any harm tho

 

[bobmac]

I'm not a big fan of any drill that doesn't include you hitting/putting a ball.
Ive seen people work with the Explanar for example and it looks fantastic until they step away and hit a ball without it. The actual swing hiting the ball bears no resemblance to the swing on the frame.
In my opinion, you have to hit the ball with whatever drill you use so you can watch the improvement in the ball's flight which in turn gives you confidence in the new move.

 

[DaveM]

I do, do a few. But only to help balance, rhythm and feel. David Leadbetter swears by them. So who am I to argue with him.

 

[RGDave]

In my opinion, you have to hit the ball with whatever drill you use so you can watch the improvement in the ball's flight which in turn gives you confidence in the new move.

I think that's how I see it. The trouble is, you can do a "move" away from the ball over and over and only build it into your swing over 100s (1,000s?) of balls. If you can do it AND hit the ball, you know what's going on.

I fear it's too easy to do something, step up to the ball and not do anything differently.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Nothing wrong with rehearsing a move to get the feeling but my take is that you need to be hitting balls to get the understanding of the strike and ensure the move is working correctly

 

[hamshanker]

Sandwedge with grip trainer fitted.......

Had this for good few yrs and only used now n then,games been slowly getting worse this yr so dragged this out of the loft and been doing alot of practice with it for last month and can feel the benefits as scores and ball striking is getting back to where it once was......

So this club is in my hands at least once a day whether im hitting balls or just to train my hands for the grip..

 

[JustOne]

I think some are..... ultimately if you are doing a drill WITH the ball then it might not fly too well anyway, afterall you are performing a drill (generally/often an exaggeration) not hitting a proper shot.

You'd still need (probably) to be making impact with the floor though so you'll need a mat.

 

[G_Mulligan]

the empirical evidence would suggest similar or even greater improvements can be found when practicing without a ball with the correct use of imagery and concentration. (an extract from my research proposal)

Bunker shot performance showed greater improvement with the use of PETTLEP imagery than actual practice although best results were from a combination of the two.

Even performance in a weight lifting task was shown to improve when people used imagery rather than actually lifting weights!

 

[RGDave]

the empirical evidence would suggest similar or even greater improvements can be found when practicing without a ball with the correct use of imagery and concentration. (an extract from my research proposal)

That's really interesting. Would I be right in thinking then that if you practise a move/drill away from the ball and really visualise/feel it when you step up to the ball, it could actually work quite quickly?

I'm going to try this this afternoon and put all my concentration into it. Heck, I might even swing the club with my eyes closed and "imagine" what to do and see if I can develop a feel for it through mind-power!

Cool.

 

[RGDave]

Sandwedge with grip trainer fitted.......

Had this for good few yrs and only used now n then,games been slowly getting worse this yr so dragged this out of the loft and been doing alot of practice with it for last month and can feel the benefits as scores and ball striking is getting back to where it once was......

So this club is in my hands at least once a day whether im hitting balls or just to train my hands for the grip..

Yep....I have a 7 iron with a fitted grip. I'm fiddling with it as often as possible, around the house, in the garden, best of all, I can hit balls with it.....

 

[ScienceBoy]

You hear stories from the old pros, they spent their youth doing things like falling asleep in bed gripping a putter. More recently as kids the pros watched TV while gripping a club.

Things like this make golf become more natural, I am a big believer in practice and drills etc AWAY from the ball. Fit them in when you can, especially things like the grip!

 

[Jay1]

Well I got some video of my swing yesterday (been working on less lateral movement in the backswing, as recomended on here) and wanted to see how it looks. Definately lessened the lateral but noticed that I look really weird on the take away. On comparing with some decent player swings it's clear that my left arm is coming away from my torso and then rotating the club flat.

As I can't get to the range that often I'm now working on my takeaway indoors (obviously without a ball) Will see in a week or so if it's worked.

 

[G_Mulligan]

That's really interesting. Would I be right in thinking then that if you practise a move/drill away from the ball and really visualise/feel it when you step up to the ball, it could actually work quite quickly?

I'm going to try this this afternoon and put all my concentration into it. Heck, I might even swing the club with my eyes closed and "imagine" what to do and see if I can develop a feel for it through mind-power!

Cool.

yeah that is absolutely correct one great advantage is positive feedback because when you are using mental imagery you never have to hit a bad shot every shot can be visualised with a great result. This gives you great confidence when you come to do it for real and you will be less likely to back out of a new technique if it does not work immediately and return to your old technique.

The best results are found when using mental practice in the same environment as regular practice, so on the chipping or putting green. Obviously as you are at the course you may think then why not just practice hitting balls? but again positive feedback is an advantage and also you don't have to spend time retrieving your balls I would mix in a few real shots for each imagined one to check technique and so people don't think you have completely lost it.

If practicing away from a course you just have concentrate a bit more on imagining the full range of sensory perceptions, sights, sounds, smells, etc. the feel of contact and the bounce and roll of the ball but it is a valuable tool for improvement if done correctly.

 

[JustOne]

You hear stories from the old pros, they spent their youth doing things like falling asleep in bed gripping a putter

At bedtime I do something very, very similar........

 

[Master-putter]

I think they are worth it because getting the right feeling in the swing or getting the right rhythm on the range or practice green can give confidence when you go onto the course. If you think of a good shot you were rehearsing on the range or practice area, you have good thoughts in your head which will more than likely give the required shot.

 

[G_Mulligan]

At bedtime I do something very, very similar........

is that standard overlap, left hand low, two thumbs, or do you have to stick to one handed drills???

Please tell me it's not the claw