Practice Routine

If a PSR is useful for you and works for you then surely its not hard to highlight the results of it working and being useful for you
Actually, unless you either change to one or from one, then it's entirely subjective. And even if changing to/from one there's too many other variables.

I actually know someone who started a PhD on this very subject, but, much to his frustration, had to abandon it because it could not be made 'scientific'!

Did you not disagree...

Er, Yes! Or No! :rofl:
 
Just dragging & bashing a ball after ball with no focus is pointless & won't help anyone improve their game.

It may not be always what you think. I appear to be doing just that at the range, but I tend to use the range to concentrate pretty much only on trying to perfect my contact with the ball. I do have a target in mind but with range balls it's pretty impossible to work out real distances hit, so I give the appearance as JUST BASHING BALLS. Equally, I am the range to do things that I want so I'd be very happy to stand next to HJS doing his full PSR on every ball and I trust that I won't worry what he does and he shouldn't worry what I (appear) to be doing. Strangely though, as many 100's of balls that I bash at the range, even at my age, I still remember my pre shot routine when I play and funny, but in a reverse sort of psychology it differentiates between when I'm JUST BASHING BALLS and when the shots are meaningful
 
It's interesting that there isn't one Tour pro that doesn't have a pre shot routine. Their pre shot routine is down so much through repetition & practice that if your run a clock on them shot to shot from tournament to tournament it hardly varies in the time taken before each shot. The one thing Pro's are most aware of above all else are the fundamentals of set up before they do any work on mechanics & feel, most amateurs don't pay enough attention to the basic fundamentals.

A few notable Pro's have a long & tortuous one but they are the exception really, the majority have a PRS that's somewhere between 15 & 20 seconds once they step up from behind the ball after they've got their line to target.

Every very low Cat 1 player I've ever played with in competitions or just a free game, has one, as do I.
The familiarity of your routine helps calm the mind & block distractions out so you can just focus on the positive business of visualizing, aiming & setting up to be able to execute the upcoming shot for the best possible outcome.

If on the practice ground you doing 'playing practice round' it would involve your PSR to give it focus.
If you doing block technical practice, to work on a change, ingrain a 'feel' then you'd still be using part of the PSR, waggle or movement you make directly before the swing.
Just dragging & bashing a ball after ball with no focus is pointless & won't help anyone improve their game.

Surely it depends on what you are at the range for

Some people just play better without thinking of anything
Stepping up and just hitting the ball - then the next then the next etc etc - no need for any focus stuff or routines. Just walking , chatting and then hitting the ball. If do the range it's purely just to hit golf balls to keep the swing warm until the next time they play.
 
Bashing balls at the range has to make some improvemnt even if its grooving in a crazy looking swing.. But there are plenty of studies out there that suggest having a structure to the session will be of greater benefit.
 
Well a PSR isn't needed

Seems quite logically - practise without one and it will ingrain itself.

When I have seen pros on a range you don't see them practising a PSR every time they hit a ball

when exactly have you seen a pro practicing or even practiced with a pro? Please don't say at wentworth prior to a round because that's warming up,
I can tell you 100% from experience not from logic, that every pro and elite amature practice a preshot routine and are taught the importance of such via their swing coach and sports psychologist,
Conditioning your mind and attitude to switch off prior to a shot is the single most important thing during a round of golf.
 
when exactly have you seen a pro practicing or even practiced with a pro? Please don't say at wentworth prior to a round because that's warming up,
I can tell you 100% from experience not from logic, that every pro and elite amature practice a preshot routine and are taught the importance of such via their swing coach and sports psychologist,
Conditioning your mind and attitude to switch off prior to a shot is the single most important thing during a round of golf.

Would say hitting the ball properly is slightly more important

And practised and played with a good number of pros over the years

Some young lads and some old established pros - all have the same attitude , don't fill your mind with so much clutter about conditioning mind or attitude blah etc. Go out , relax , enjoy it and hit the ball - simple.

So would say your "every" pro is prob a little bit false unless you are suggesting "every" pro has a sports psychologist

I wonder what the players did back in the old days when there was no such thing as sports psychologists - how on earth did they ever get round the golf course
 
Would say hitting the ball properly is slightly more important

And practised and played with a good number of pros over the years

Some young lads and some old established pros - all have the same attitude , don't fill your mind with so much clutter about conditioning mind or attitude blah etc. Go out , relax , enjoy it and hit the ball - simple.

So would say your "every" pro is prob a little bit false unless you are suggesting "every" pro has a sports psychologist

I wonder what the players did back in the old days when there was no such thing as sports psychologists - how on earth did they ever get round the golf course

I'm not being a prat here or trying to be clever, but what tour are the pros you've played with on? Or you talking PGA club pros? There's a massive difference from playing the fortnightly pro am or the alliance through the winter and being a tour pro or an elite amature, in fact 90% of club pros would struggle to be a cat 1 player, if you think I'm fabricating look on the results page of your counties PGA website, so if you're quoting any of these pros, it's not really relivant.
Back in the day, if you listen to what they have to say about their mental preparation , you'll find they taught themselves,
I
 
Some young lads and some old established pros - all have the same attitude , don't fill your mind with so much clutter about conditioning mind or attitude blah etc. Go out , relax , enjoy it and hit the ball - simple.

But they all did the same thing before they hit each shot. That is their own pre-shot routine whether they admit to having one or not. All top players address the ball the same way every time (usually taking almost exactly the same amount fo time every shot) and that has become routine. There again you'll no doubt beg to differ
 
But they all did the same thing before they hit each shot. That is their own pre-shot routine whether they admit to having one or not. All top players address the ball the same way every time (usually taking almost exactly the same amount fo time every shot) and that has become routine. There again you'll no doubt beg to differ

And I'd suggest even LPP has one - albeit quite a short one!

I've been around golf courses with a few rather good Pros and they all have a PSR they stick to. And they do the same on the practice range. I doubt they actually 'practice' the PSR though. Worth mentioning that I differentiate between the 'evaluating the shot' stage and the PSR. It tends to be the former that is the lengthy part! On the practice range there is no (need for the) 'evaluate the shot' phase!
 
This thread (imo) has been destroyed! thanks for the earlier posters for the advice, going to the range tonight and working hard on a good pre shot routine, I am really trying to go back to basics with my golf, and learn from the ground up again, it is all about getting the confidence back and getting the basics right for me, so am approaching this from a very basic perspective,

Cheers guys!
 
If someone posts on a thread giving advice,or disagreeing with something someone says.
Why do they get all defensive and start arguing.
Surely if something is working for you,you will see results.
Imo if its not working then your results wont change.
I saw on another post that someones short game has improved considerably.
His handicap has not improved over the last couple of months.
I tend to agree with Phil[not all the time]but if you have some advice,prove
that its actually working.
 
prove
that its actually working.

Sometimes results don't tell the whole story. For a while now I've been playing some good golf and either having one of those rounds where I can't make a score (putts lipping) or I throw a bad hole in and take myself out of the buffer and a 0.1 increase. That would indicate I'm playing badly if you go by handicap performance. However in my own case, I am actually very happy with how I'm hitting it early on this season after tweaking a few things over the winter.

Just because the handicap isn't tumbling doesn't mean things aren't working. Either way, as I've said before, as far as my own game goes, I'm happy to plough my own furrow, do things my way and still have a firm belief that I am capable of single figures. If I have to go up to go down then so be it. I certainly don't subscribe to the fact that a decreasing handicap is the only indicator of a progressive game. My short tale woes of the last three years are well known but I have found something I am beginning to trust. That in itself is progression. Some people on here are to quick to knock others and as long as I am happy playing the game (hard to believe but I'm really enjoying my golf) and I can see progression in the quality of my golf then to be frank I don't care or have to justify my performances. I would have thought winning the KoK qualifier at Camberely is more than adequate proof that what I'm doing is working even if the handicap says otherwise. If I start making bad scores and don't think the swing is doing what I want it to then I'll look at ways to improve again
 
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Literally just typing the same as homer, I am looking for ideas that people have tried, I don't really care if they have lowered the posters handicap by 5 shots, as I am going to practice on a range, not in a medal or stable ford, so ideas don't have to mean success, as success to one through practice, could be failure to another.
 
If someone posts on a thread giving advice,or disagreeing with something someone says.
Why do they get all defensive and start arguing.
Surely if something is working for you,you will see results.
Imo if its not working then your results wont change.
I saw on another post that someones short game has improved considerably.
His handicap has not improved over the last couple of months.
I tend to agree with Phil[not all the time]but if you have some advice,prove
that its actually working.

To suggest something is working would suggest that results on the course would be improved on a consistent basis and with that the handicap comes down

I bought a new driver last week and to show the improvement in the games used with it

Two gross 71 ( rolls ups )

38 points - qualified

Gross 73 qualifier

And cut .4 back into cat 1

And all as a result of better driving and feeling confident

If someone gives me advice then I would certainly like to see some proof of that advice working over a consistent period

What is better proof of something working than the practical evidence.
 
Won the KoK qualifier. QED


And the qualifying rounds or does one swallow sum it all up ?

Does someone playing to par one round and then playing 10 over the other 10 rounds equal to him being a scratch player ?

If you can highlight consistent improvement then possibly any advice you give could well be worth taking a closer look at.
 
And the qualifying rounds or does one swallow sum it all up ?

Does someone playing to par one round and then playing 10 over the other 10 rounds equal to him being a scratch player ?

If you can highlight consistent improvement then possibly any advice you give could well be worth taking a closer look at.

Can't be bothered to discuss with someone that isn't prepared to accept anyone elses point of view (not just this thread). I've put in my replies (ignored to serve your own purpose) that I've had a couple of rounds that would have been better bar some lip outs or the one bad hole. On top of that I've won. Not bad as I've only played 4-5 comps so far (no doubt not good enough for you of course). As I say I'm happy with my progression and as far as I'm concerned that's all that matters. You only seem happy splitting hairs or looking for arguments whatever the discussion. I'm out
 
To suggest something is working would suggest that results on the course would be improved on a consistent basis and with that the handicap comes down

I bought a new driver last week and to show the improvement in the games used with it

Two gross 71 ( rolls ups )

38 points - qualified

Gross 73 qualifier

And cut .4 back into cat 1

And all as a result of better driving and feeling confident

If someone gives me advice then I would certainly like to see some proof of that advice working over a consistent period

What is better proof of something working than the practical evidence.

So you bought a new driver and had 4 good rounds got to Cat 1. You say consistent basis and with that the hc comes down? Well we all await with baited breathe to your progress and the fact that your new driver has got you to Cat 1. Consistent results mean more then a little purple patch of 4 rounds so I expect that the inner confidence you have with your driver (how can you prove or measure inner confidence) that your hc over the next 10-15 rounds comes down!! Alright getting to Cat 1, but it's a different thing staying in it! Welcome to more hard work lad!

Homer and others have an inner confidence on a repetitive action that they find that works for them just like your new driver does for you. Although you can't see a physical difference like you hitting more fairways doesn't mean it don't work! Bet you have a routine as soon as you get up for work in what you do to start the day! So why can't golfers have a routine or is it the fact that PSRs are the Bain of your life as it enhances your so called quest for speeding up slow play?
 
Can't be bothered to discuss with someone that isn't prepared to accept anyone elses point of view (not just this thread). I've put in my replies (ignored to serve your own purpose) that I've had a couple of rounds that would have been better bar some lip outs or the one bad hole. On top of that I've won. Not bad as I've only played 4-5 comps so far (no doubt not good enough for you of course). As I say I'm happy with my progression and as far as I'm concerned that's all that matters. You only seem happy splitting hairs or looking for arguments whatever the discussion. I'm out

And that's what it boils down to with him!
 
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