Stickner . . . Sorry to keep peppering you with so many questions . . .
How many times do you PLAY in a week? Also let's say that you only had 3 to 5 hours to devote to practice a week would you re-organize your routine or would you continue with the same drills etc? How would less practice time available change your focus if at all?
thanks man!!
B
I play between 45 and 63 holes per week (2.5 to 3.5 rounds). I am lucky in that my Fiance plays and we belong to a private club. We will often play at least one weekday late afternoon round which only takes 3 hours for us to walk 18. I will also once a week play 9 holes before going to work. I will tee off at 6:30am and be off the course by 8:00am
As for my practice, I always make time for it during the "warmer" months. Of my ten hours of practice time, 2-3 hours of that time is spent at the crack of dawn on 3 weekday mornings before work.
When I pratice, that is all that I do. My cell phone is off and I rarely kibitz with anyone else. I am very focused and I try not to get off track from my practice routine by shooting the breeze with someone for 10 or 15 minutes.
If I only had 3-5 hours per week, I would do the same drills, I would just do less reps. Less practice time would not change my focus at all. I would still spend 75-80 percent of my time on putting, chipping, pitching, and wedge play.
Short game and wedge work has been so valuable in my improvement process. I love my pitching drill to the cones. Some days I try and fly every shot real high and land it directly on the cone. Some days I fly every shot real low and try and land it 5-10 feet in front of the cone.
I keep a clipboard with me with my pratice log on it. I am always marking down my results and trying as hard as I can to improve on my performances for each drill. That has also made a HUGE difference in my game. I have seen so many guys hit a few really poor shots on the range and then stripe two or three in a row and think they are doing good. I try and be extremely target focused on every shot I hit during practice. I mark and record my progress. When I hit a bad shot - it is recorded as such. Each one. There is NO fooling myself that I am getting better when I am clearly not improving. Logging your practice as much as I do will undoubtedly show you whether or not you are improving. It will also show you what areas you are not improving with.
If someone followed my routine strictly for 3 months they would know exactly where they stood with their game.
If you throw into the mix getting instruction from someone like Lynne, you will be well on your way to low single digit golf.
I play between 45 and 63 holes per week (2.5 to 3.5 rounds). I am lucky in that my Fiance plays and we belong to a private club. We will often play at least one weekday late afternoon round which only takes 3 hours for us to walk 18. I will also once a week play 9 holes before going to work. I will tee off at 6:30am and be off the course by 8:00am
As for my practice, I always make time for it during the "warmer" months. Of my ten hours of practice time, 2-3 hours of that time is spent at the crack of dawn on 3 weekday mornings before work.
When I pratice, that is all that I do. My cell phone is off and I rarely kibitz with anyone else. I am very focused and I try not to get off track from my practice routine by shooting the breeze with someone for 10 or 15 minutes.
If I only had 3-5 hours per week, I would do the same drills, I would just do less reps. Less practice time would not change my focus at all. I would still spend 75-80 percent of my time on putting, chipping, pitching, and wedge play.
Short game and wedge work has been so valuable in my improvement process. I love my pitching drill to the cones. Some days I try and fly every shot real high and land it directly on the cone. Some days I fly every shot real low and try and land it 5-10 feet in front of the cone.
I keep a clipboard with me with my pratice log on it. I am always marking down my results and trying as hard as I can to improve on my performances for each drill. That has also made a HUGE difference in my game. I have seen so many guys hit a few really poor shots on the range and then stripe two or three in a row and think they are doing good. I try and be extremely target focused on every shot I hit during practice. I mark and record my progress. When I hit a bad shot - it is recorded as such. Each one. There is NO fooling myself that I am getting better when I am clearly not improving. Logging your practice as much as I do will undoubtedly show you whether or not you are improving. It will also show you what areas you are not improving with.
If someone followed my routine strictly for 3 months they would know exactly where they stood with their game.
If you throw into the mix getting instruction from someone like Lynne, you will be well on your way to low single digit golf.
Stickner . . . You are my golf hero man! Your dedication and discipline are to be admired. There is wanting to do and actually doing. You rock.
I don't have as much time to devote but I plan to follow your path beginning TODAY. I will report my progress.
Stickner, maybe you've already answered this and I missed it, but where are you in the development of your stroke pattern? Are you working on specific components, motions, etc.. while you practice or more on scoring/making shots?
I try and do a little of both. That is what I use the video for. When I am using video and reviewing swings (which I do for a small portion of swings nearly every time out), I am very mechanical based.
But the vast majority of the time I am simply working on making the ball fly a certain way to its intended target. I try not to get 100% focused on the mechanics. About the only thing I do often that may be categorized as "mechanical", would be the verification of my stance and posture prior to hitting a golf shot. A laptop and camera are absolutely INVALUABE TOOLS for me!!!
If someone doesn't want to spend the cash on a decent laptop, they could get a small portable DVD player in the $130 range that would allow them to hook their camera up to it. That would work just as well.
(snip)
It is not that I don't know how to make a good golf stroke, it is not that I can't make a good golf stroke, it is that I can not Score consistently .... I discovered just recently that playing short courses vs normal course indicates that I lack distance to score. Par 4s of 420 yds have me hitting 5 or 3 wds to the green. Hitting the green can be a problem, but if I do hit them I am still three zipcodes away from the hole.
So either I discover and correct massive power leaks if they exist or I get off the couch and away from the computer and get FIT....and then there is the thought that that new ball and driver will be the answer .
If it's any help, do what I do.. play long par-4's as par-5's and hope to get away with just a chip and a putt. Apply the same technique to long par-3'
s and long par-5's too. At my level I don't count GIR's as important data on my personal score sheet.
Stickner, I'm currently between a 5-7 handicap, with a typical range of 76-83. I am not nearly as structured as you are regarding practice, however, have recently noticed that I'm not getting nearly enough birdies to reach my goal of par. I love your short game practice techniques and I must get better with the wedges. There is nothing more frustrating then missing greens from 150yds in, or leaving yourself putts over 20 feet when your inside a 100.
I think your approach of hitting wedges to get more birdie opportunities, and chipping and pitching to save par, is definitely the way to go, if your swing is relatively solid. Thanks for the routine.
I will also tell everyone that pre-shot routine and knowing your strengths and weakness's are critical. When I get out of routine bad shots occur much more frequently. I utilize a routine that Ben Doyle demonstrated at Woodmont that has been greatly helpful. Also trying to play smarter. I have stopped shooting at pins and play to the known. I use to kill myself by firing at pins, ball goes a little long and falls of a cliff, as opposed to playing a bit short and having a longer putt. I use to make so many stupid decisions I would just dummy my way out of a decent score.
Stickner, I'm currently between a 5-7 handicap, with a typical range of 76-83. I am not nearly as structured as you are regarding practice, however, have recently noticed that I'm not getting nearly enough birdies to reach my goal of par. I love your short game practice techniques and I must get better with the wedges. There is nothing more frustrating then missing greens from 150yds in, or leaving yourself putts over 20 feet when your inside a 100.
I think your approach of hitting wedges to get more birdie opportunities, and chipping and pitching to save par, is definitely the way to go, if your swing is relatively solid. Thanks for the routine.
I will also tell everyone that pre-shot routine and knowing your strengths and weakness's are critical. When I get out of routine bad shots occur much more frequently. I utilize a routine that Ben Doyle demonstrated at Woodmont that has been greatly helpful. Also trying to play smarter. I have stopped shooting at pins and play to the known. I use to kill myself by firing at pins, ball goes a little long and falls of a cliff, as opposed to playing a bit short and having a longer putt. I use to make so many stupid decisions I would just dummy my way out of a decent score.
The short game is where it's at in my opinion. Whether you want to go low, or are trying salvage a poor ball-striking round, the short game must be working.
Stickner, I'm currently between a 5-7 handicap, with a typical range of 76-83. I am not nearly as structured as you are regarding practice, however, have recently noticed that I'm not getting nearly enough birdies to reach my goal of par. I love your short game practice techniques and I must get better with the wedges. There is nothing more frustrating then missing greens from 150yds in, or leaving yourself putts over 20 feet when your inside a 100.
I think your approach of hitting wedges to get more birdie opportunities, and chipping and pitching to save par, is definitely the way to go, if your swing is relatively solid. Thanks for the routine.
I will also tell everyone that pre-shot routine and knowing your strengths and weakness's are critical. When I get out of routine bad shots occur much more frequently. I utilize a routine that Ben Doyle demonstrated at Woodmont that has been greatly helpful. Also trying to play smarter. I have stopped shooting at pins and play to the known. I use to kill myself by firing at pins, ball goes a little long and falls of a cliff, as opposed to playing a bit short and having a longer putt. I use to make so many stupid decisions I would just dummy my way out of a decent score.
Tball88 smart post brah. I read a few things this weekend that make a lot of sense in this regard. If you are a handicap player you should step on the tee saying, what do I have to do RIGHT NOW to make PAR on this hole. If that means hitting 5 wood of the tee or playing to the fat of the green so be it.
Another thing in Pia's book was "It's not about hitting spectacular shots. It's about not hitting spetacularly BAD shots."
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