Practise nearly makes perfect

[minty18]

As you may be aware i'm a 27 handicap but have recently been playing to between 20 and 24 a result of twice weekly visits to the range right through the winter.

Saturday after 10 days without swinging a golf club I had a complete shocker, didn't finish about 5 holes and although I didn't keep count I'm pretty sure I scored about 28pts playing myself off 24. To take the positives from the round, for the first 12 holes it was blowing a gale with the occasional hail storm so not ideal conditions. Also, 18 of my points came on the back 9, with a lovely drive, wedge and two putt for par on the 18th.

Always one to struggle with the mental side of the game I have worried my self for the last couple of days that my swing has been stolen and i'm going to have to go back to the drawing board.

Thank god for the start of the british summer time, t-shirt taken to work with me today ready to get on the outdoor range after work, something I plan to do alot this year.

My main target during this session was to make sure I shorten my back swing and get taking a divot (alot of thinned shots in saturdays round). As a result I was striking the ball just as I was a couple of weeks ago, everyone crisp some with a slight pull but thats probly 1 in 10, something I can live with till my next lesson.

So after hitting 50balls I thought I'd quickly check I can take it on the course. With light fading I thought i'd play 15-18. Went Bogey(par4), Bogey(par4), Par(par3), Birdie (par4).

Was striking the ball just as well on the course and was 1 over par on the last 4 holes, delighted.

Someone with absolutely no natural golfing ability such as myself doesn't appear to be able to go a week without a range visit through fear of going back to step one. Maybe i'm being harsh on myself, maybe I need to practise more.

I think i'll practise more.

 

[ColinR]

Good on you, with that sort of attitude no doubt you will be sub 20 before you know it. Good luck.

I feel the same about practicing. I went to play 18 holes on Sunday morning, but alas no partner, so I went to the practice ground for 3 hours !!! I started with short chips to a practice green, then bunkers, then mid irons, then long irons. Then finished with 45 minutes Putting. I had my ipod in for most of the time and have to say it was hugely productive and enjoyed it as much as being out there.

 

[RGDave]

Someone with absolutely no natural golfing ability such as myself doesn't appear to be able to go a week without a range visit through fear of going back to step one. Maybe i'm being harsh on myself, maybe I need to practise more.

minty, you sound like me!

I fear going back a step without practice, so I do what I can and try to play/practice the day before any proper game.
I promise you, if you keep at it, things DO settle and in the long run, you'll start trusting that you CAN play OK even if you are a bit cold.

I got down to a fair h'cap just through perseverance and lessons. When I got as low as I thought I could, I stopped aiming any higher.....oddly, once I stopped practising, I lost all enthusiasm and gave up......

Keep at it! Good luck.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its good to practice, but you have to practice with targets in mind. Last year I spent most of the summer trying to find a decent repeatable swing and focussed too much on my long game. I ended up with more swing faults than I started with and my short game was horrendous.

There is nothing wrong with practice but I'd recommend a lesson to start with to make sure the basics are all in place and maybe another in 6-8 weeks to check your progress. Don't neglect your short game and putting and make sure you enjoy it and don't think quantity will equal quality

 

[Herbie]

Thats it Minty, just practice as much as you can, If I had the fitness and time to practice, I would do it almost every day like I used to, keep it up and you will see a noticable difference and sustainability.

 

[fastmover2]

I love to practice but make sure that you are practicing to play.

For me the difference in my scoring from good to bad is almost totally around the green i.e 100yards in.

As such I devote about 85% of my practice time (on grass) to shots of 100 yards or less. Now that my short game is back in sync I will be concentrating more on putting than before.

If I go to a range with mats I will only rarely take anything longer than a six iron. I find that if I take a driver do it will turn in to a slog fest.