A Practice method that can improve your game....

A practice method that can improve your golf game.

Practicing golf:

Thankfully you don’t have to be on the golf course or on the range to practice your golf game. You can also work on your training skills at home, or at the office. To summaries, you can learn a new motor skill over a period of 21 consecutive days of practised activity. Each day you must repeat the motion or movement, 30 to 50 reps, as perfectly as possible. After 21 days of meaningful practice, your new skill will have become “a natural movement”.

The driving range:

The range offers you the ideal setting to practice your golf swing along with refining your practice method. You may need to consider how to condition your body to play superior golf, instead of just hitting a bucket of balls at a target. So why not change your practice approach to a mind-set of cross training.  It would be great, if you have a strengthening and stretching program specific to you and if you do not, I can help you locate a specialise trainer. If you are already an active gym user, you can adapt into your training program “a round of golf”, example:

·         10 – 15 mins golf specific stretch and strengthening exercises

·         20 – 30 mins cardiovascular and functional conditioning for your body

To start off your practice session, I recommend you practice-swing with various golf clubs and swing each club 15 to 20 with a meaningful practice-swing before you hit the first ball on the range (pw – 7 irons – 4 irons – driver; each club 15 – 20 meaningful practice swings).

The key point; a meaningful practice swing should be the best possible swing your can make with that club. Use the practice swings to feel your correct movements and work on your previous golf lesson notes. With each practice-swing with each different club; make a further conscious note where that club’s intended target is located and you should hit balls at that target later in your practice session.

Pick your target:

On the golf course we are always hitting a ball to a target and your practice sessions should not be any different. Add the whole ball-flight image to your meaningful practice-swing.  Imagine the ball flying in the air to your target, the ball bouncing and coming to rest. Practicing feeling confident about the task and staying focused on the target during your practice-swings.

Hitting balls:

You have completed your warm-up session and you have worked on your key swing points. Now it’s time to hit some shots; you have already picked out the targets for each of the clubs you will use in this practice session.  Start with the club for your scoring distance shot, between 75 – 100 yards (this is the shot to build your golf game around).

Begin with your pre-shot routine and hit a shot at the 100 yards target; now hit a number of shots at that target and repeat this action for approx 20 minutes.

Now change club, select that club’s target, go through your pre-shot routine and hit the shot. Change club again and repeat the process.

After ever 5 or 6 shots, note and rate each golf-club shot by direction and distance.  Stop at 36 shots; example; Direction 19/36 (rate, give yourself a point, if the ball-flight is on-line to your intended target) and Distance 15/36 (rate, give yourself a point, if the ball finishing in a selected area around your intended target, perhaps imagine a ten yard circle around your target)

Remember you are ever changing clubs and your practice scores will help you “bring your game from the practice ground to the golf course”. I strongly recommend this type of practice session to help build-up towards playing in important events and to refine your pre-shot routine.

The key point: open and keep an excel file for your distance and direction information from your practice sessions. If you need help please email me: John@conciergegolf.ie

Key point two: Ensure you have frequent concentration break periods in-between practice shots

A sample practice session plan: 15 – 30 minutes stretching & strength conditioning Break 15 – 20 minutes practice swinging with different club & making meaningful practice-swings Break 15 – 20 minutes practicing your 75 – 100 yard shot – this is a key shot to your game strategy Break Approx 30 minutes to hit 36 shots to score and rate – Distance & direction Break Hit a few more shots and try different shots – play around with this plan and enjoy Repeat this method 3 – 7 times a week