how much practice..??

bigfoot1985

bigfoot1985

Head Pro
Joined
Feb 24, 2011
Messages
347
Location
leicestershire
Visit site
How much practice do you guys put in and is it the way forward to a lower handicap??

i currently play around 3 times a week and play off a 15. I know i can shoot alot better than that and with a few lessons of late im hitting the ball pretty sweet.

So should i be trying to go 5-6 times a week to get my handicap down...
 
I practice more than I play most likely. I like to play a lot on my own and work on thing during the round. Often hitting more than one ball. May hit 3 or 4 shots into the green, if it is not holding anyone up.
 
Seriously I do not practice, I've never had a lesson and don't think I ever will, this is my hobby and as such I spend time on the course enjoying myself not hitting balls for hours at the range.

But that is not to say it won't work for you as each person is different as you will see by the varied responses that are sure too follow, I think you have a certain level that you reach naturally and if your happy at that level then there is no need to practice and just playing regulary will maintain it, it works for me.
 
To improve long term you need to practice. I have a net in the back garden which is useful. I hit balls most days, even if its only for 10 minutes in the net.
 
Don't always assume,that practice makes perfect.Whilst its the only way forward for some,for others it is either a waste of time,or just ingrains bad habits.I occasionally visit the range,but never have and never will feel the need to practice.I know of several other golfers at my last club,who were Cat 1,and there idea of practice,was swishing a club before teeing off.
 
I try and practice when the course is busy. That way I'm not so easily tempted just to belt up to the first tee. Apart from warmups I generally hit between 30 to 40 balls on the range. I've been forcing myself to do this for the past six months and my ball striking has never been better and my handicap has come down from 15 to 8. If you have the time then I reckon it's worth trying. If not I don't blame you.
 
A lot and most will say the answer to the second part of the question is no in my case. I enjoy practicing. I have a unique swing which has been ingrained over many many years and is too inconsistant. Bit by bit we're chipping away to get someting simpler (like the end user) and with less moving parts.

I spent the summer three years ago almost exclusively on the practice ground trying to work on the stuff from lessons. It killed my game. Too overpracticed and unable to translate it to the course. Last year was more about playing and this year I've gone for a mor 70-30% split between playing and practicing. A lot of the year's practice has been short game which is a real nemesis mainly in the six inches between the ears but with a better technique I'm starting to get there. I do think practice should correlate to lower scores or you are either practicing poorly, too much or wihtout purpose. I'm looking at this year as a step back to take forward next year.
 
Practice for me consists of a trip to the range every couple of weeks, sometimes a trip round our par 3 course - although I've only been 3 times this year - and hitting a few extra shots if playing solo.
I'm with Toad, I play golf, practice uses up golfing time.
 
No serious practice for me, although I have been known to putt with a couple of sticks under my arm, in front of the TV. Good news is our subsidence is no worse, and a ten foot putt still only breaks a foot.:)
 
I don't practice. I don't have the time. If I did then I'd practice.

As a junior I spent hour upon hour practicing which possibly explains why I don't need to practice now.

But....

Practicing for practicing's sake is no good. It's only worth practicing if you've got a particular goal in mind i.e, working on something that your pro has highlighted. I've seen so many golfers at the range aimlessly smashing balls - that's counter-productive.

Also, practice only works if you enjoy practicing. I believe Colin Montgomerie rarely practiced as it annoyed him. Padraig is at the other end of the scale and practices ALL the time.

I guess it's a very personal thing. I don't practice so I'm very philosophical about my golf. If I play well then it's a bonus but golf doesn't owe me anything so if I play badly then it's all good. There's always tomorrow....
 
Not wishing to fob you off with a quick glib answer, playing 3 times a week isn't probably as good a practising once at the range/club, spending some time around the putting green and chipping/pitching for an hour regularly.

I went from 24 to 8 over about two years. I ranged it twice a week, did 2 hours putting in two sessions and took every opportunity to chip when I went somewhere that had a chipping area (mine didn't). I tended to play either just once (on a Sunday) or maybe mid-week as well.

I wish I had the time these days.
 
I never practice really. Unless you count taking my son to hit some balls on the driving range about once a month.

I used to practice a great deal though and when my handicap was at it's lowest, I was playing golf every day.

My view is that playing on the course is the best practice you can have if you have a decent grooved swing.

Another observation would be that practicing at a driving range is good fun but a waste of time with negligable impact on your game. The reason being that for most golfers, a major cause of poor shots is alignment and having a perfectly square-set mat that points you to where you want to go is a poor representation of what happens on the course. Far better in my view if you go to the practice ground at your club and hit your own balls to the practice bag as then you have the benefit of replicating on course conditions in terms of no artifical aid to help set you up. And the other big plus is that you then collect them with a wedge and chip back to your bag which over time, is brilliant for cultivating a feel for distances with the club and playing high or low shots off varying lies to a target area. Much more beneficial than hitting crap balls over and over off a perfectly aligned mat to see if your 5 iron still goes 170 yards!
 
I try and practice when I can, love hitting full shots mainly working on my transition and follow through. I have a range net at home which I use in the garden I try to use it about twice a week working on my longer irons. I know you can see ball flight but if your trying to just make solid consistent contact while getting the body into the right finishing posture it does do the job!

I'd practice more if I could.........

Cheers
Andy
 
I think as some of you have said if you know what and how to practice then its great, a coupld of amtes go the range, get 100 balls and stand there hitting them wondering why 1 in 6 is great and the rest are all over the place. i would maybe get 20 balls and practice one thing, 2 or 3 practice swings, then pre-shot routine, line up and hit a ball. Do that 20 times you are done.

At the moment Im having lessons and my pro just looked at approaching greens from 70/80/90 yards and told me to try and work on more club and 3/4 swing and punch shots as a good way of hitting more greens. So I will be practicing this more but just to turn up and hit aimlessly is a waste of time and you would be better off playing.
 
I love practising, or rather hitting golf balls. Something very therapeutic about it for me :)

My pro this year actual said I was practising too much between lessons. He only wanted me to hit 25-50 balls per range session and focus on what we were working on, when it felt good in that session stop hitting balls. Even if I'd only hit 10. If I can't feel the change by 50 balls stop and go home and come back tomorrow and try again.

I've had sessions before where I've hit 300-400 balls !! Probably counter productive. But I just enjoy whacking those little white bleeders too much.

But sometimes I do have a fun session where I'll just get a bucket of balls and try to hit different shots and not work on any one thing. Big Draws, High fades, Low running shots etc. Sometimes I'll do stupid stuff like how many balls to hit the 150 marker.
 
I have spent quite a bit of time practicing this year.

Some of it on the full swing, working in things the pro has said.

The rest of the time has been hitting balls to the practice green. I have been setting up piles of balls 10 yards apart 20 yds to 90 yds from green. i then hit a ball at each distance and move to the next one. After this sequence I had been chipping balls over the bunker on to the green. Making sure I didn't go home until I managed 10 out of 10 over with no balls in bunker !!
Another session is at the practice putting green, chipping to different distances with the 3 clubs I may use on the course.

With all the drills I have started keeping a score of how I do and will be trying to better this.

The advantage I have felt by practicing is I have more confidence when I face the same shots on the course, so yes I would say it is worthwhile and I am playing a bit more consistently.
 
I never practice.

Part of it is time I suppose but I enjoy playing golf and don't enjoy practising therefore I'd sooner go and play 4 or 5 holes than spend half an hour on the range.

I know that to get any lower I need to improve my short game and if I was to practise it would be that, particularly putting!!
 
None.

Cut my finger opening a tin today as well,that'll not help things.:D:D

Tongue in cheek post in tune with some of the other pish folk scribe on here....
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Orikoru
How much do you spend on practice?
4 5 6
Replies
110
Views
4K
Neilds
N
H
How often do you change grips ?
Replies
19
Views
838
Orikoru
Orikoru
M
Feedback on expectations....
Replies
10
Views
701
garyinderry
garyinderry
R
  • Poll Poll
How many balls?
2 3
Replies
51
Views
2K
sunshine
S
Orikoru
Golfing Appraisal 2024/25
2 3
Replies
45
Views
2K
Piece
Piece
Top