Reader Question 2
Question:
I was hoping to get the panel’s opinion on what the proper ratio or regime might be between practice and playing. It seems to me that there are a lot of things that are better worked on out on the range or within the friendlier confines of a short game area while, in contrast, many parts to the game (and improving your score) can only truly be addressed during an actual round.
To further complicate things there seems to be a movement toward additional factors such as nutrition, the mental side, conditioning, etc (the list is getting longer not shorter). If I really want to shoot lower scores should I be learning while out on the course, concentrating on fine tuning my technique, getting my putter fitted, or changing my diet?
from Bill Paterson
PANEL ANSWERS
Gary Bos
Hi Bill,
Thank you very much for your question!
Should you be learning while out on the golf course – yes!
Concentrating on fine tuning your technique – yes!
Getting your putter fitted – yes!
Changing your diet – Can’t do any harm here either!
There are two types of practice techniques that I suggest students employ depending on specific goals:
- Blocked Practice - where you essentially repeat the same motion or action repeatedly.
- Random Practice – which is more like a simulation of a real round of golf, but in the practice area.
A blocked practice session would be one where you would spend your time repeating a specific movement or change you are trying to make in your golf swing. This would be repeated ongoingly in an effort to build ‘muscle memory‘. After sufficient repetitions of the same movement, long-term muscle memory is created allowing the movement you are trying to make to be made without conscious effort.
A random practice session would be more closely related to playing an actual round of golf. For example, you might play an entire golf course completely within the practice area using different clubs for every shot. Think of the first hole on the golf course where you will play your next round. Hit the tee shot that would be required on your first hole. Then based on your result, choose the appropriate club where you think your ball would be and hit that club next, and so on. This can be done to include both the tee-to-green shots and the short game, should your particular practice area allow for this.
Now take an inventory of your last round and ask yourself some of these questions:
- Did you properly prepare for your round of golf?
- Were your expectations from your round realistic vs. the amount of preparation time you put in?
- Did you stand over your golf ball and hit a shot when you know you should have backed off? How many times?
- Were you frustrated at the bad luck you received during your round? Was it under your control?
- Did you have a focus and a target on every shot?
The Mental Side of Golf
Many of these types of questions relate more to the ‘mental’ side of golf than anything else. Alot of the perceived failures that I hear about in daily conversations with golfers and students have more to do with mental errors that anything else. Be careful not to let yourself be caught up in playing technical golf and trying to ‘fix’ your golf swing in the middle of a round. When you are out on the golf course to play golf – ‘play golf‘ and enjoy your round. Have only ‘one‘ focus and take your swing as it is on that particular day and ‘play‘ with it. If there is something you find you were not happy with after your round, take that into your next practice session and work on improving it then – not during your round.
To answer your original question, the proper ratio of playing to practice time will depend on what specific goals you are trying to accomplish within your own game. I strongly believe there is no substitute for playing golf. To effectively learn to ‘score‘ and ‘play‘ golf to the best of your ability, you have to get out there and test yourself. You need to find out how ‘YOU’ react under pressure situations and perhaps where your areas of improvement lie. Once you have worked with your swing and are happy with it, focus on the short game and making your practice sessions more ‘realistic’!
Good Luck & have fun!
Cheers,
Gary
Michael Crane
Hi Bill,
Great question! I’m not sure we can designate a precise ratio between practice and playing time to improve your game; but without a doubt allocating more time to practicing vs. playing is definitely necessary.
Take for example my 11 year old son (Damon Crane) who is already a scratch player – he practices 2 hours a day from Monday to Thursday, again on most Saturday’s and usually tries to play Friday/Sunday making the total practice to playing ratio 5:2 for a typical week from March to November. Additionally his practice regime is very specific, detailed and focuses on ALL aspects of the game. Even during the summer months (while out of school) his practice time will WELL EXCEED any playing time.
Also keep in mind that from December to the end of February he can ONLY practice and doesn’t get any time to play – all the while producing some serious results in the summer on the course with this type of practice / playing formula. Always remember you can simply get much more accomplished in a 1 – 2 hour practice session than a 4 ½ hour round of golf; and the golf course is the time to play golf … not ‘golf swing’!
It is also important to understand that just playing without developing the right skill sets on the range would be a waste of time if reducing your scores is the ultimate goal. Developing the skill sets in each area of the game required to play ‘good’ golf needs to be done in the confines of a practice facility first so you can develop the proper techniques and or philosophies – but that’s not to say additional specific on-course learning shouldn’t also take place by understanding how to take what you’ve learned and practiced into the ‘real world’; and should certainly be done by doing a playing lesson once the skill sets on the range have been achieved.
Proper practice is ultimately your ‘training ground‘ for the ‘real world’ of playing. Therefore, the more you practice the easier it will be to apply the ‘training‘ automatically on the golf course. Having said that: I also believe it is imperative to play golf so you can get comfortable with the possible scenarios that can present themselves including how to go from one shot to the next and from one club to another – which will likely be different than the majority of your practice sessions. If you’ve designed and developed a proper practice regime on how and what to practice including every shot imaginable then you have established the right ‘training’. Beyond that it’s now about execution on the golf course by letting the ‘training’ take over. Therefore, the better your ‘training’ the better success you will likely have on the links!
As for nutrition – food fuels the body and the body has to perform the golf swing… not to mention eating properly is simply good for our general health. Additionally food will also increase your stamina on the course as will designing a golf specific workout to help with you with your overall conditioning and increase your ability to perform without fatigue.
As for the mental aspects of the game I’m a huge believer that if you’ve established the proper ‘training‘ (mentioned above) you will develop confidence; and confidence produces a better mental state which in turn will definitely produce better results. Additionally, another way to improve the mental aspect of your game is to develop a sound pre-shot routine which will help reduce any anxiety before hitting your shots and will also allow the ‘training’ (mentioned above) to be even that much more successful. Lastly, always be sure to picture the shot you’re about to hit in your mind before doing so – as visualization stimulates the brain which ultimately influences your bodies ability to perform.
In summary, play enough golf to gain the necessary experience of what the course may have in store for you but definitely be sure to design and structure the best practice regime possible including every shot imaginable. Additionally, good nutrition, proper conditioning, club-fitting and working on the mental aspects of your game will certainly add to the bottom line in helping you develop lower scores.
Best of luck!
Mike Skimson
Hello Bill,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your question.
With regards to the proper ratio/regime between playing and practicing the first thing that you need to look at is how much time you really have to dedicate. Once you have determined the amount of time that you have you then need to break that down into time you wish to play and practice. Let’s just say for example sake that you have 3 hours of time per week that you have set aside for practice you may want to develop a schedule that looks like this.
Session # 1 – Swing Maintenance – 40 minutes (Drills and fundamentals review) the best players always go back to their key fundamentals and continue to refine them. Use the final 20 minutes to work on putting, specifically your pace. A good drill is to use the fringe of the green and a tee. Placing the tee 1 foot from the fringe, start hitting putts from 25 feet till you can consistently have the majority of your putts end up between the tee and the fringe.
Session # 2 – Short Game Work – Up and down practice (1 hour) – The best players continuously practice game like situations to ensure they are best prepared when important shots are required during their rounds. Using 3 balls and a specific hole work on different locations and shots to this hole. The idea is to work on getting the ball up and down just as you would be trying to do on the course. This should be repeated 6 times for a total of 18 up and down attempts. Create a goal for you to finish no worse than 4 over par for 18 holes. Each up and down attempt will count as a par 2.
Session # 3 – Work on your Pre-Shot Routine – 45 minutes executing your routine on the range and 15 minutes executing your routine on the practice green. Practicing your routine will solidify your approach on the course and will again bring the game like scenario to your practice.
As far as the nutrition, mental side, physical conditioning etc., these are all important factors in golf but maybe even more importantly in life. To be fair to yourself you should be trying to determine what your ultimate goal is in golf and creating a short list of what you hope to achieve. I can honestly tell you that making these changes will pay dividends to helping you improve your game, but remember these services all come at a cost. I found it interesting that you mentioned having your putter fitted? Do you currently play with custom fit golf equipment? This may very well be an avenue for you to see an improvement on the course. The proper lie angle, shaft flex, shaft type, ball will all greatly influence how your ability can be maximized. The purpose of getting your equipment fit is to ensure you have equipment that is specific to you and your swing.
I hope this information can help you to achieve your goals.
Cheers,
Mike Skimson
Liam Mucklow
First let me start off by saying good question Bill. Before setting out down the road to game improvement it is important to first get an accurate picture of your skill set. When I begin working with a new student the first step is to put them through a total game evaluation. The VIP Skill Set Analysis is comprised of a High Speed Video Mechanical Analysis, Equipment Evaluation using a FlightScope Launch Monitor, Putter Stroke Profiling using TOMI, a Golf Specific Biomechanical Evaluation and Long and Short Game Handicapping using the Shot by Shot system. After all the practical testing we go through and extensive interview process where we discuss goals, time commitment, injury history, fitness routine, mental strengths and weakness and so on.
After collecting all of this data we are able to more accurately able to prescribe an order of operations to rapid improvement in scoring. Each golfers’ unique skill set will help determine their best prescribed practice regimen. The most important thing that I can stress to players looking to lower their scores is that fastest way to get better is to work on your weakest skill. If you are a player whose lack of distance due to a fade is preventing them from scoring lower, then you should spend most of your time on the practice tee learning to hit a draw. If you are a steady ball striker who misses 80% of their short putts to the right and use a face-balanced putter, then go get fitted for that new flatstick! Some players who track their scores will notice that they consistently shoot higher on the last 4-6 holes regardless of what course their handicap; these people are candidates to look at changing their diet and exercise routine or go through appropriate mental exercises.
A good rule of thumb for dividing up you time is this:
- Spend as much time in the short game area as on the driving range
- Go out by yourself once a week for 9 holes and play 3-4 golf balls
- Work on the weakest part of your game
- Get properly fitted for your equipment
Good Luck, Liam
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