It’s widely acknowledged that when it comes to golf unless you practice regularly you’ll never achieve serious game improvement. Having said that I wonder how many of us properly utilise the time we spend on the practice range. Read something in “The Wisdom of Harvey Penick” by Harvey Penick that I thought might be worth sharing. Your thoughts on this passage?

Nearly every day I see golfers out there banging away at bucket after bucket of balls. They are all getting exercise, all right. But few of them are really practicing.

Let me suggest a practice procedure that I know gets results.

After you have done your stretching, which you should always take time to do, pull out your wedge and hit 5 full shots with it. Then put it away.

Now use your 7-iron. Hit 5 shots with it. No matter how good they are, resist the urge to hit more in an effort to “groove” it. Chances are you might lose it.

Put your 7-iron aside and take out your 3-wood. Hit 5 shots with your 3-wood, always aiming at a target. Then put it away.

If you feel like it, you may pull out your driver and hit 3 or 4 balls with it. Try your best to hit them good, as though you were on the 1st tee. But if they are not great drives, forget it. Put your driver away.

You have now hit a few more than 20 full shots. That’s enough full shots for an efficient practice session.

Now take your putter, wedge, and a couple of chipping clubs and go spend the rest of your practice time sharpening your short game. This is where you are going to lower your scores.

Hi Gripnrip,

To me the most important part or playing or practicing is the pre-shot routine, if this is followed with every shot your only concern should be shot choice (which for me is a challenge).

Sounds good if you are trying to maintain a swing….but if you are actively working on changes I am not sure that 5 balls each with 4-5 different clubs is enough to ingrain any sort of change.

He is right about people banging away, ball after ball, achieving little though…I think we have all been there at some point!

I prefer to practice on the course with a mid week hit, I have a practice net at home also and my own bunker at home also

occosionally I hit a bucket of balls…get bored though…I need a purpose to practice, just improving funnily enough doesnt inspire me more to practice and I see golf as a hobby just as much as a sport. Whatever I’m doing it has to be fun!!

I’m the same Dave, I lose concentration with hitting buckets of balls at the range and would rather play an extra round instead

I go to the range maybe once a fortnight. I get 100 balls and hit off the grass. Start with about 10 threequarter eight irons, hitting at a target 100 mt on the full. Then 10 or so (no need to be anal) 6 irons, then a few 4 or 3 irons. A few rescues and /or 5 woods, then hit maybe 8 or 10 driver. Then whatever’s left I hit with my wedges, just focusing on distance control. Just stay relaxed, and most importantly, take your time. I generally sit down at least a couple of times, have a drink, and think about what I’m trying to do. Good luck.

i usually start by hitting a few 3/4 8 irons to warm up. then i start with wedge, 8,6,4 and so on, hitting about 5-8 balls each club. i then work back hitting the other clubs 3,5,7,9 etc. but ultimately short game and putting is what will lower your handicap. putting is almost half the amount of shots you will have each round, and i reckon no1 would practice there putting as much as they practicing hitting the other clubs in their bag.

golf is about repetition. swinging the club exactly the same time and time again is what one is trying to achieve by practicing, but there is no use practicing if you are practicing the wrong thing.

This is one thing I just dont get. People crap on and on about the short game as if it’s the be all and end all of golf. Putting I agree should be one of the most important aspects to practice, but if you dont get to the green in regulation you have to have one hell of a short game to save par each time. And I have only ever seen one person do this, and funnily enough he was a pro and I dont think anyone is going to hit the shots he was hitting without an awful lot of practice and instruction.

Now if you perfected your swing instead, you would increase your chance of hitting the GIR, therefore increasing birdie chances and so on.

Focus on where the shots are going wrong, not where you hit most of your shots (the argument so often used for the short game). Hitting fairways and then greens is far more important than being a chipping master.

I also dont like anything inside 100y to be referred to as the short game as really they’re four very different aspects.

preparesforonslaught

Hitting fairways and then greens is far more important than being a chipping master.

I agree, when I used to hit 10-15 GIRs I was off 2, now I’m lucky to get 10 GIR and I struggle to play off 5 (for those who know getting below 5 is hard work), the good thing is I know where my game is faltering, PW-7 iron.

Myshoulderhurts – Agree with the theory, however the short game ( chipping and pitching) focuses on making good contact with the ball which in turns improves your contact with longer irons/drives which in turn improves your GIR’s and bridie chances. The important thing is the moment of truth – impact – and short game practice helps this along with the saving of shots when you are on the course and in trouble.

myshoulderhurts,

what handicap do you play off champ?

I practice at the range on a fairly regular basis but I always try to practice with purpose. Each and every shot (and I do mean every single one) is preceeded with a preshot routine which I use on course. On each shot I pick targets and think about the shape shot I want to hit. Of course, if I am working on a particular change or problem then I may only hit one club for the whole range session.

I always start with my wedges and end with my wedges with the driver getting probably the shortest run. To add some fun to the practice session I have of late started to ‘play a game of golf’ on the range. ie: decide the par of the hole you are about to play and distance…. then take driver or whatever (you just imagine a whole at your own course and any obstacles) Look at the shot you produce and think about where your shot would have actually gone on the course then decide what sort of second shot you have. Our range has some flagsticks and raised areas at different ranges which I use as the greens. If I hit a good second shot into the green all well and good, if not then I have a chip to make… obviously its a bit hard to putt on a driving range but you get the idea. Afterall, you don’t get to bang 7 iron after 7 iron on the course so why just get into that habit on the range.

As to short game, whilst I accept that the key to low scores is GIR, come to my course and show me how you can hit our little postage stamps in regulation hole after hole…. ie: no short game no score….......:)

Regards

Outcast

Having a reliable short game is like having money saved in a bank, its there to use when you need it. If you are gitting GIR then you dont need to dip into your savings.

Myshouldershurt, i agree with what you are saying about increasing your number of GIR. But lets face it, even tiger would like to hit more GIR and he’s the best player in the world by a long way. So when we arent on the green in regulation isnt it comforting to know that we can chip the ball close to the hole and sink the put for par?

1. Most important is bunkers/chipping/putting or anything from 100 yards in. 2. Building a relatively compact swing that is easy to repeat/good tempo and holds up when you are under the pump. 3. Confidence/course management. Cheers

There’s a few good ideas in here, but from my point of view, it really depends where your swing is at any given point.

If you hit 5 shanks with your 7i, and don’t have an inflatable pro in your bag, then my guess is you are going to have to try and work out what the f@$& is going on before you pull out your 3 wood. When I go to the range, I normally start with some really crap shots, and do some self assessment as to what might be the problem based on the swing keys I’ve been taught. It usually takes a bit of trial and error until the light switches on again. In general I’m trying to regain an “unthinking” swing, where all I have to do is concentrate on the right setup position and a good starting trigger then let everything else happen. Sometimes that happens after 5 balls – sometimes after 50.

If you can make good connection with the full range of clubs in the bag, and can hit a variety of wedge shots, then yair – most of your score improvement is going to come from the short game. When pros have a diabolical day, missing fairways and greens, they normally still score +2 rather than +22 because (a) they still get near the green in regulation and then (b) get up and down 80% of the time or better. And give the hole a really good scare most times they do get on in reg.

If you are regularly topping tee shots, hitting banana balls into adjacent fairways, gouging a pit under your pitching wedge, etc, then practising your putting is pretty much a waste of time – you’ll be trying to one-putt for zero points while your playing partners stare into the distance.

Don’t mention the shank word Muntz, terrible habit to get into! haha Very true though, why practice your putting if you are cutting trees down for half the round? But still, a higher performing short game will pay off in the end even on a bad day. Cheers

Myshoulderhurts – Agree with the theory, however the short game ( chipping and pitching) focuses on making good contact with the ball which in turns improves your contact with longer irons/drives which in turn improves your GIR’s and bridie chances. The important thing is the moment of truth – impact – and short game practice helps this along with the saving of shots when you are on the course and in trouble.

I completely agree that the short game can be (and is if you are decent at it) a saviour, but it makes no sense what so ever to not practice (the most) the most direct route to the green.

Having a reliable short game is like having money saved in a bank, its there to use when you need it. If you are gitting GIR then you dont need to dip into your savings.

Myshouldershurt, i agree with what you are saying about increasing your number of GIR. But lets face it, even tiger would like to hit more GIR and he’s the best player in the world by a long way. So when we arent on the green in regulation isnt it comforting to know that we can chip the ball close to the hole and sink the put for par?

I’m not diagreeing with cure, but prevention is more efficient.

Stretching and short game is the key to good practice routines before a game. My routine is one hour in duration. Ten minutes of gentle stretching , 20 minutes of chipping , 10 minutes hitting balls and finish off putting. My only variation to this routine is added stretching if I do not feel loose. Keep it all pretty simple and trust your every shot is also a valuable key. The results of your practice shots are not important, just feel loose and get on the first tee in the right frame of mind and go from there.

Toolish & Muntz – Good points. I imagine Penick’s advice, although directed at amateur golfers, is more applicable for those of us reasonably competent in the areas of swing, grip and set up/posture.

Philsom 68 – Spot on mate. This is what I reckon Penick was gettin’ at. Most of us work and we don’t have the time to fart around hitting buckets on the range. And yet if we limited our practice time to 20 odd full shots and a half-hour session around the greens, we’d no doubt practice more. Yes, we can practice ball-striking around the greens. The pros I know all say that chipping/pitching is a mini version of the full swing.

Bradharro – Beautiful analogy, mate. A solid short game is savings in the bank, to be used when you don’t hit G.I.R and are in trouble of saving par.

Shoulders – Yep. Who doesn’t wanna hit more fairways and greens? Unfortunately there is such a thing as hand-eye coordination/natural talent. Some of us have been blessed with more of this than others. I wish I had more. And yet I know I can still help myself by utilising the time I have to practice golf. Do you think you’d practice more if you followed Penick’s practice procedure? For me the answer is yes. And that means there is merit in what he is saying.

1. Most important is bunkers/chipping/putting or anything from 100 yards in. 2. Building a relatively compact swing that is easy to repeat/good tempo and holds up when you are under the pump. 3. Confidence/course management. Cheers

100%. hitting 5 balls with 4 clubs would feel like i am rushing my practice session . i usually start off stretching, then take a few 3/4 swings with the driver.then i hit a few chips with sandy, then wedge, which usually is one bag (about 50 balls), then i will a hit a bag of 7 irons, then a bag of 5 irons, then finally a bag of 3w and driver,this takes about 3 hours.i don’t just stand there beating golf balls,i try too hit different types of shots and i also do my pre-shot routine with each shot which is stand behind, look at the target and only the target, then stand up and hit it. i do exactly the same out on the course, no practice swings, just picture the shot and hit it.i leave all my short game practice for when i go out for a few holes after work.

I hit warm up wedges about 10 than 30 7irons working on rythem than 30 5irons 15 3 woods 15 drivers all with full routine ,than i head to the chipping green spend 30 min to 1 hour chipping and pitching using different clubs than i putt for 30 minutes

i hit 5 balls with each club, i also keep a note of what works and what doesn;t

Hitting fairways and then greens is far more important than being a chipping master.

I also dont like anything inside 100y to be referred to as the short game as really they’re four very different aspects.

preparesforonslaught

I have consentrated on chipping and pitching in order to get rid of my flipping , because this will not only help my short game but also my full swing. I was banging bucket after bucket on the range without lowering the score signifikant, so I guess it all depends on what level the player is at. Hate practicing putting though, just boring.

Kim

My range sesions usually go something like this:

Hit seven iron 9 or 10 times – mostly pretty good

Hit five iron 7 or 8 times at guy on tractor (hes safe if I aim at him)

Hit 3 wood 20 times or more – again mostly ok

Hit driver- first 5 or so not bad, get confident (insert lose concentration here!) , get progressively worse slice

Go home pissed off!