NeilPlimmer25
Club Champion
Guys and Girls
I have watched quite a number of swings over the last week and wanted to applaud you all on your dedication to this wonderful game.
One thing that is noticable is how much a lot of your practice so I wanted to post an article that I had published on the PGA website last year
I am sure it will provoke some interesting thoughts and comments
If you take notice of anything make sure that your practice ticks the 5 boxes at the end of the article.
Improve Your Practice with Neil Plimmer
Director of Coaching & Development – The Golf School @ Mid Sussex
PGA Fellow Professional – Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach – Sussex County Ladies Coach
Over the last 10 years technology has improved equipment beyond belief.
There are more resources available about the game to learn from then you have hours left in your life.
Golf Coaching has improved through understanding and technology.
We have fantastic facilities to play and practice the game.
Yet, handicaps are no better than they were 25 years ago!! WHY?
One area that I am coming to realise that golfers have to have more understanding of is how to practice efficiently. All golfers have a reasonable idea of WHAT to practice, but what I have believe is that virtually NO golfer understands HOW to practice effectively and efficiently to lower their scores.
I ask all my pupils a simple question (one that you may have heard often in your business and personal lives) What is the ROI (Return On Investment) on your energy, time and resources from your practice time relative to the improvement on your game?
If you are anything like players that I have asked this question to, the answer is normally 0% return!!
There were a number of things that got me interested in how people practice.
1. Zen Golf – Dr Joseph Parent
2. Every Shot Must Have a Purpose – Pia Nilsson & Lynn Marriott
The Game Before The Game - Pia Nilsson & Lynn Marriott
3. Karl Morris – The Psychology of Practice – PGA CPD seminar
The above books and Karl Morris’ seminar provided the questions for me to ponder on why so many golfers spend hours on the range/practice ground/practice putting green and yet get no better. Things have got to change!
Gone are the days where the best golfers are the ones that hit balls till their hands bleed and you have to find the answer in the dirt. I believe that if golfers applied some simple thinking and put together a plan with the help of their coach specific to their own strengths and weaknesses, handicaps may start to lower across the nation.
With the help of the above sources and lot of work with my own pupils I am starting to understand how people could better spend their practice time and then show some return on that investment.
You first of all have to decide and commit to a certain period of time per week to dedicate to your game. It does not matter if it is only 10 minutes per week; I believe that you could come up with a personal plan that could help lower your scores. You also need to decide what area of your game you are going to concentrate on. To do that you have got understand the facts of your game. Start taking some simple stats of where your game stands at the moment (score, fairways hit, greens hit in regulation, putts, plus also maybe positive and negative points about your game on that day) With the help of your coach you could then formulate the best plan of how to practice.
Once you have an idea of your strengths, weaknesses and time available you have to make sure that your practice time has 5 things.
1. Consequence – every shot that you hit in practice must have a result. Never just drag and hit balls without aiming at a target. Decide where you want every shot to finish. Play each shot as if you were on the golf course.
2. Be as hard as or harder than the real game - Do not drag your ball onto a nice lie every practice shot that you hit. If you make your practice harder than the real thing you feel a certain relief when you play out on the course.
3. Tangible – You must record scores from your practice. Develop games/skills tests that you can play during your practice time that you can see when you are improving. As your scores improve in practice you will start to see that your scores on the golf course lower.
4. Emotion – I feel that this is vital to have in your practice. The time you spend practicing must parallel the emotions that we feel on every shot out on the course (e.g. the ohhhhh of a putt that slides by the edge of the hole or the Tiger Woods fist pump when a putt goes in on the 18th green) If you feel this it will also mean that you will enjoy your practice more.
5. Competitive – By recording scores you try and beat your personal best. Or practice with a friend a play nearest the pin or first to hole the shot
To improve your score in this game you have to make a change.
Change the way you approach your practice time, no matter how long or short that time may be and I believe that we could all start to see a lowering of the scores that have stayed static for many years.
For more details and feedback and also to share experience email me neilplimmer@tiscali.co.uk
I have watched quite a number of swings over the last week and wanted to applaud you all on your dedication to this wonderful game.
One thing that is noticable is how much a lot of your practice so I wanted to post an article that I had published on the PGA website last year
I am sure it will provoke some interesting thoughts and comments
If you take notice of anything make sure that your practice ticks the 5 boxes at the end of the article.
Improve Your Practice with Neil Plimmer
Director of Coaching & Development – The Golf School @ Mid Sussex
PGA Fellow Professional – Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach – Sussex County Ladies Coach
Over the last 10 years technology has improved equipment beyond belief.
There are more resources available about the game to learn from then you have hours left in your life.
Golf Coaching has improved through understanding and technology.
We have fantastic facilities to play and practice the game.
Yet, handicaps are no better than they were 25 years ago!! WHY?
One area that I am coming to realise that golfers have to have more understanding of is how to practice efficiently. All golfers have a reasonable idea of WHAT to practice, but what I have believe is that virtually NO golfer understands HOW to practice effectively and efficiently to lower their scores.
I ask all my pupils a simple question (one that you may have heard often in your business and personal lives) What is the ROI (Return On Investment) on your energy, time and resources from your practice time relative to the improvement on your game?
If you are anything like players that I have asked this question to, the answer is normally 0% return!!
There were a number of things that got me interested in how people practice.
1. Zen Golf – Dr Joseph Parent
2. Every Shot Must Have a Purpose – Pia Nilsson & Lynn Marriott
The Game Before The Game - Pia Nilsson & Lynn Marriott
3. Karl Morris – The Psychology of Practice – PGA CPD seminar
The above books and Karl Morris’ seminar provided the questions for me to ponder on why so many golfers spend hours on the range/practice ground/practice putting green and yet get no better. Things have got to change!
Gone are the days where the best golfers are the ones that hit balls till their hands bleed and you have to find the answer in the dirt. I believe that if golfers applied some simple thinking and put together a plan with the help of their coach specific to their own strengths and weaknesses, handicaps may start to lower across the nation.
With the help of the above sources and lot of work with my own pupils I am starting to understand how people could better spend their practice time and then show some return on that investment.
You first of all have to decide and commit to a certain period of time per week to dedicate to your game. It does not matter if it is only 10 minutes per week; I believe that you could come up with a personal plan that could help lower your scores. You also need to decide what area of your game you are going to concentrate on. To do that you have got understand the facts of your game. Start taking some simple stats of where your game stands at the moment (score, fairways hit, greens hit in regulation, putts, plus also maybe positive and negative points about your game on that day) With the help of your coach you could then formulate the best plan of how to practice.
Once you have an idea of your strengths, weaknesses and time available you have to make sure that your practice time has 5 things.
1. Consequence – every shot that you hit in practice must have a result. Never just drag and hit balls without aiming at a target. Decide where you want every shot to finish. Play each shot as if you were on the golf course.
2. Be as hard as or harder than the real game - Do not drag your ball onto a nice lie every practice shot that you hit. If you make your practice harder than the real thing you feel a certain relief when you play out on the course.
3. Tangible – You must record scores from your practice. Develop games/skills tests that you can play during your practice time that you can see when you are improving. As your scores improve in practice you will start to see that your scores on the golf course lower.
4. Emotion – I feel that this is vital to have in your practice. The time you spend practicing must parallel the emotions that we feel on every shot out on the course (e.g. the ohhhhh of a putt that slides by the edge of the hole or the Tiger Woods fist pump when a putt goes in on the 18th green) If you feel this it will also mean that you will enjoy your practice more.
5. Competitive – By recording scores you try and beat your personal best. Or practice with a friend a play nearest the pin or first to hole the shot
To improve your score in this game you have to make a change.
Change the way you approach your practice time, no matter how long or short that time may be and I believe that we could all start to see a lowering of the scores that have stayed static for many years.
For more details and feedback and also to share experience email me neilplimmer@tiscali.co.uk
