HI all;
Sorry for the delay in posting, I will be getting back to a more regular posts now.
This weeks discussion is about Quality Golf Practice.
All too many times I see golfers come to the range and practice with no objective in mind. All they want to do is learn how to hit it farther. There really is a better and simpler system and method for learning, but it’s not with the driver. Yes you will learn to hit some better shots by practicing with the driver, but the driver is one of your SET UP clubs, not your scoring club.
Why is your driver your set up club. Pretty obvious really, it sets up your shot into the green. Most people see the driver as the big dog on the bag and the one that only produces the farthest distance. But the truth of the matter is this… the driver is the tool in your bag to use use for distance positioning. It is the club that let’s you fly past the trouble not into the trouble.
So when you are practicing with your driver, you should really be practicing for exact fairway position NOT DISTANCE. But include distance in your exact position. Yes I know it’s fun as all get out to let the shaft out and hit it forever and a mile down the fairway. But have you ever noticed why tour players don’t always hit their driver. It is entirely because it is more important to hit the fairway.
So let’s get back to practicing for quality.
When was the last time you really studied your practice session? And how do you study your practice session. Well the first thing you do is a get notebook to keep in your bag. For this example we will use a large bucket of 100 balls.
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- Monday – Day off, you played golf over the weekend, but you do want to do your notebook and replay every shot you had write what was good and bad. use a + for good shot and a – bad shot. and ? for an in between shot.
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- Tuesday – Range time – 100 balls – direction day – 20 short and medium wedges (focus on direction), 20 mid irons, 20 long irons & fairway woods, 20 Drivers, 20 Wedges tighten the shot pattern up and hit it close to your target, NOW do this in that exact order.
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- Wednesday – 1~2 hours putting only, varied distances, clock drill start at one foot away ten balls make all ten and go to two feet, repeat process, go to three feet, repeat process, four feet, etc. Caveat…miss any putts start all over at one foot again…grin, I know, cruel task, but needed. This will give you your can’t miss distance really quick. PS. take a break every 50 putts to stretch your back!
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- Thursday Session 1 – Chipping / Sand only 50/50 mix 150 shots total (they go quick) no shots over 40 yards and stagger the distances (example 20 shots @ 10 yards->, 20 shots @ 30 yards->, 20 shots @ 20 yards->, then 20 shots @ 40 yards->, then 5 shots each from each yardage but one shot at a time i.e, 10->,20->,30->,40 and repeat for the five shots. ten minute break then on to the sand.
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- Thursday Session 2- Sand – 50 shots – all of them on the green! Now here’s your caveat to this. All shots must be within 6-10 feet of the pin or you start the process over from square one. heh heh pretty tough eh.
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- Friday – Small bucket maybe or day off, you choose you earned it this week. Whatever you do keep it light.
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- Saturday – Play day? if not then day off
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- Sunday – Play Day? if you played Saturday then day off and restart your practice on Monday
The whole point of all this is to give you some idea of what an organized quality practice schedule would be for one week. You are more than welcome to modify the above in any way you see fit, but I would highly recommend that you accomplish all goals above at a minimum once a week.
I am more than positive you will see radical improvement in your golf game if you follow the above schedule.
Until next time, hit em long, straight and as few times as possible. Happy Golfing and have a Great Day.
Robb Nunn
PGA Professional
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