Is there any point in practising when we start out playing golf?

[leaney]

Before everyone says 'of course there is, don't be silly!', please hear me out.

I've been playing golf for 5 months now and I've been practising a fair bit. I've had 4 lessons with a pro, the most recent one was last night.
After learning what I learnt last night, it seems that the practice I have put in up until now has been largely pointless, because I was doing it wrong.

We can all spend hours a day practising but it's no good if what we're doing is wrong. And most of us will be doing something wrong, hence we have lessons.

If I could turn back the hands of time, I would rewind 5 months and have a lesson once a week. Then at least I would know pretty quickly what it is that I need to do.

A friend of mine practices an hour every day and then will play a round once or twice a week as well but he's never had a lesson. And his scores do not reflect the time and effort he has put in.


I'll be having as many lessons as possible from now on.

Just a thought.

 

[sev112]

Nothing to do with practice - you need to swp those titleist irons for Pings - ahvent you been reading how good Pings make you play on here ? ...

 

[sev112]

Seriously though
Whilst it;s right to say you will imprve quicker if you practise the right things, purely hitting balls will make you better over a period, as you get used to the dynamics of your swing, what your clubs do to the ball and how it flies, how the ball feels on the club on your short shots etc

 

[SteveF]

Depends what you want out of the game I guess.

For me, every minute on the course or at the range is to be enjoyed. If I stink the place up, like I did last night , what difference does that make? I was still outside, on a great day, away from the phone and doing something I enjoy. Why worry that I'm not that great just now?

I think give it time and it will come, and time on a golf course is never wasted.

 

[Chris1980]

I had been stuck in a rut for a while this year and took two lessons with the pro at my club and practised with the changes made and i went from 18.8 down to 16.6 in a matter of weeks winning my 1st ever comp and also a 3rd. I agree with what your saying leaney but no matter what u should always practice short game no matter how good or bad you are.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Disagree with the idea of purely hitting balls leading to improvement through repetition. If you are repeatedly swinging out to in, swaying, or any one of the 1001 common faults a lot of us have, then you are just ingraining bad habits which will lead to problems on the course where it matters. I've been known to spend a little time at a range or practice ground, but usually I'm working on specific drills and looking for specific results or feeling in my swing. Only once I'm happy I'm swinging properly will I hit balls without any conscious thought. On the course I'm trying to swing without any swing thoughts at all now and trust the work I've done

 

[HickoryShaft]

There is also the need to feedback to the pro what are your most common issues so he can help tweak things to address those. If you are taking a lesson then hitting the range / course you will benefit most if you discuss what worked / didn't with the Pro next time you see him. If you don't manage to use / practice what he has told you it soon goes as well.

 

[deesta]

I think its better to practice whatever swing you have to start with as you get consistency, maybe not the right consistency, but you do get the feel for what you are doing.
This would then give you more understanding of your swing and when you have lessons, it becomes easier to translate ideas and changes to your swing..

 

[Piece]

There is no substitute for videoing IMHO. Get the pro to video you doing a good rep of what he wants during the lesson. Then practice in your own time and occasionally video yourself and compare. That way you will do good practice.

 

[G1BB0]

I agree with the poster to an extent. I am improving in general as my ball striking is better and my short game seems to be mostly on the ball. I struggle with long irons and driver/woods off the tee. As I only practice these down the range I have stopped going until I have a lesson (except tomorrow where the very kind RickG is gonna turn me into Dustin Johnson )

There's no point ingraining something thats wrong, I will however, try and go twice a week after my lesson next month, I have booked a set of 5 over 3 months so hopefully will see the rewards come spring.

I have written off any handicap drops until then... gutted as really felt I have the ability to get below 20 but Rome wasn't built in a day and I am playing golf till I die so touch wood plenty of time to get it down

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I think its better to practice whatever swing you have to start with as you get consistency, maybe not the right consistency, but you do get the feel for what you are doing.
This would then give you more understanding of your swing and when you have lessons, it becomes easier to translate ideas and changes to your swing..

It would also most likely give you a whole load of swing faults ingrained into your system that you'd spend months if not years trying to get rid of - a Teaching Pro's dream

 

[MashieNiblick]

I agree that just hitting balls without knowing what you are doing will only store up problems that could take ages to sort out. Start with lessons then practice what you've been taught.