Positive practice and competition focus.

kid2

kid2

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Evening all,
Right my dilemma for want of a better word.... This year iv set myself the goal of dropping my handicap from 20 to 12 im wondering how i should go about my practice, my course management, and my focus in competitions...
Iv retired fully from the footie and as a naturally competitive player i hate the thought of giving in and loosing.... So how should i base my practice....
Im pretty long off the tee so my long game isnt bad
but i think its my short game that will see the most rewards if i manage it properly....
When playing the footie which im sure some of you will agree you train 2 nights a week with a game on a sunday....I was always disciplined playing and training so i know that i will carry this over to my golf game....But how should i go about it?
And also how do you get motivated for golf competitions.
The football was easy to get motivated for as the poor strikers i used to mark on a sunday morning would regularly find out :D :D but i cant carry that aggression onto a golf course
Now my course management could improve also and if anybody has any view on this i would love to hear them.....
I have decided to keep my own log and am actually planning a route around my course so that im basically playing from green to tee im hoping this will make me more consistent in the long run.... Iv worked out that my accuracy from about 140 mtrs an in is pretty good so i would like to leave this distance on all the par 4's and 5's....Is this a proper assessment or am i talking through my backside :D :D
Sorry for the drawn out post...
 
The best way to learn is to play with good players, CAT 1 (no offence to CAT 2) and watch how they do it and pick their brains.
Or, have a playing lesson with a pro and he will tell you which areas you need to work on.
Most folk will tell you the short game and most of them will be right :)
 
To be honest you sound like you've half way there with your reasoning already.

Course management was done in a thread over the last week or so and some very sound advice was proferred by the forum members.

Making the most of your practice time is vital. You need to have a plan really and not just turn up and beat balls willy nilly. I personally use 80% of my practice time working on shots no further than 120yards. Thats where you'll make your score. Distance control is very important so know how far you hit your clubs in all conditions

Dont spend ages hitting the same shot around the short game area , hit balls to different targets (anyone can get a chip close if they've just hit 3/4 shots to the same hole). Obviously if youre working on the technique of a certain shot then that has to be grooved

Some people will tell you to spend ages on your putting and thats fine. I work on holing 3/4 footers but apart from that I work on distance control of putts to teepegs and never the same peg twice in a row

Good luck and enjoy your practice time , you cant beat an hour or so practicing.
 
You've also got to accept the fact that somedays you'll play a blinder and then the next time play like you've never picked up a club before. Learn to accept when its a bad day - don't give up but don't get suicidal over it, accept that you're not going to win most of the time, accept that you'll never completely master this game.

Also be happy with a handicap cut instead of a win. I'd love to win all the time but I'm actually more interested in getting the handicap down.
 
Spend some decent, quality time practicing your chipping from around the edge of the green.
This will get your handicap down quicker than spending every single night at the driving range.
I guarantee it
 
I think there are a number of key questions here. The first is do you have a repeatable (not textbook just repeatable) action to get you to your target. If not then fix the flaws first. Use the poor weather to bed them in.

Where are your strengths and weakenesses. Highlight the flaws and get them sorted. Either get a lesson, read a book or do whatever but if you can't lag putts then get a fix. If you duff pitches get a fix.

Once you have an action that repeats and a core game that has no real weakness then go to work on your practice. At this time of year (until March) I'm going to be working on 2 part full swing and 2 part short game. From there once the lighter nights start I'm going to be looking to spend 70% of my practice time working on shots from 130 and in (8 iron for me). Get close from there and putt well and you can afford to miss the odd fairway. Learn your distances with wedges and develop a good touch with chips and it'll compensate for missed greens.

However I won't be doing it without getting some constructive feedback as its very easy to start grooving little faults. I'll get my pro to look at little bits from time to time. Above all make the practice constructive and enjoyable. Change your targets when working on chipping or pitching. Set yourself targets like the Pelz scoring challenge but make sure you get out and enjoy playing too
 
I have decided to keep my own log and am actually planning a route around my course so that im basically playing from green to tee im hoping this will make me more consistent in the long run.... Iv worked out that my accuracy from about 140 mtrs an in is pretty good so i would like to leave this distance on all the par 4's and 5's....Is this a proper assessment or am i talking through my backside :D :D
Sorry for the drawn out post...
Click to expand...

Um, at the risk of talking off a lower h'cap than my skill ( :D) I reckon good course management is all about understanding your ability and knowing where and when to make certain decisions. For example, we have two holes next to one another (both fairly short), I get no shots on either but play them totally differently. One is just into the game (the 2nd) and I take "as little" club as possible (hybrid/5w) off the tee to leave hopefully no more than a 7 iron. The fairway is tight with O.O.B. left and trees right. The other hole (further into the game) appears the reverse (as it were) but I tend to take a driver and leave a SW (max) into the green.
I miss both greens now and again (the 2nd more, somewhat unsurprisingly :() but know where to miss it to leave an up n down. I have these holes sussed.....
The guys that lose the ball right (most) on a bad one take driver off the 2nd and a 3 wood or similar off the other....quite why I don't know....

There is a par 5 at RSDavids where the best players ONLY take 3 wood (or 2 iron) because the drive is so dangerous. I follow this example myself.......and yet all the visitors hit a driver. Even if they miss the bunkers of death and get a flat lie, the green is still out of reach.

I know these are specifics, but it does make sense to watch the better players in action. I've taken note of what works and what fails (almost irrelevant of h'cap) and play that way. Works for me. :)
 
Hey kid

Very similar situation just given up footie loving my golf. Dave Pelz is a useful read check out my review on the project scratch site to see if it would be of interest. I also posted the course management thread and there was great advice on there. If you sort by poster you'll find it by me (think it was titled course management). Would echo comments that I've learnt more playing with better players. Hope this helps. T
 
I think the problem with learning from the Pelz book (in my experience from two years ago when I tried to change my short game to his teachings) and reading about course management is that they don't prepare you for the course.

Things happen out there. A bad lie where the technique requires a different stroke or a different mind set. A bit of pressure with a good score and a cut looming makes the thought process erratic. The point is while its good to get a firm foundation in playing these short shots, there is no substitute for feel, imagination and creativity. These can't be taught from a book
 
My bible is David Leadbetter - Faults and fixes. Love the book.

I don't think I would set myself a large drop like 19-11 in one season, I think it can lead to frustrastion when things are not going well, it did for me anyway this last season when trying to get from 23-18, I played pretty poor thinking only of playing to beat my handicap rather than playing for the enjoyment and pleasure of the game.

btw I really loved "Putting out of your mind", but I found his "Golf is not a game of perfection" much the same as the first one.
 
I got that Leadbetter book for Christmas as well as his Positive Practice book. Both contain a lot of good stuff but in my mind are great to act as a reference point or help enhance a swing fault or feeling.

Similarly I have a number of Rotella books and find myself using some of his methods but by the same token don't assume that the positivity he enforces will cover up my glaring swing faults. I've just got Penicks Little Red Book which has a great write up on here so it'll be interesting to see what nuggets he has to offer
 
I read a lot of golf books,however after every read my next round always seems to be poor due to the thoughts in my head.Does this happen to you other book readers?
Click to expand...

Yeah books are great but you need to be realistic to know what changes you can make. Definently a good habit to get into.
 
Thanks for the input gents....

Parmo:If im true to myself i play more comfortable than my handicap suggests (not wanting to sound swelled headed or anything) i only got a chance last year to play in 2 comps over 8 months due to my leg injury thats why im giving myself the goal of 12 by jan 2011. I do believe its reachable and ill have fun trying but if i dont make it i wont mind.Im funny like that i never let things get me down or get the better of me and im very strong willed.If i hit a bad shot it stays behind me i never dwell or bring it to the next shot and when im behind the ball i just tell myself whatever happens ill commit fully and take my punishment if it goes wrong......

Homer: I would say that my swing is repeatable i do get the odd one where i might catch it fat but everyone does at times..My weakness i think is being inside 60mtrs im more accurate outside this for nsome strange reason.....
So i think im right in deciding to sort my course management first i think this will give me a better chance of scoring.Also one of my strengths is chipping around the green i always try and get it in the hole which more often than not leaves me short putts

Dave: I too have 2 similar par 5's at my course that i play differently normally because the wind is into your face on 1 and assisting you on the other....I take driver on both off the tee but i can get home in 2 on one with a 5W and i have to hit 2 irons after the other to get home in 3 depending as i said on the wind.....One hole is 473mtrs off the whites and the other is 459.

Tiger thanks for the heads up on the post im off to search for it ;)


I tend not to get too wrapped up in books i only take the basics out of them i think you can overload your mind with too much information and i steer completely clear of anything regarding the swing i think that things just get too technical for the average joe to be worrying about.
I have 2 of Rotella's books and one or two autobiographies but thats about it....I think that alot of information in books or magazines can be very conflicting even on the same things....
 
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