How do YOU practice?

[RLGC]

After deciding to get back into golf after a few years off and now that the weather has broke a little I've been heading to the range for the past week or so. Just wondering how everyone on here approaches their practice sessions whether it be at the range or on the practice green. Would like to come up with a good routine that I can use throughout the week. I have the benefit of working Mon-Fri evenings so I have all of my mornings to mid afternoons free (for golf and from the wife).

[Amos]

Putting Greens 1 hour each day on weekends.
9 holes mon-thurs
18 holes on Friday.
-Amos-

[BStone]

I have two distinct routines when practicing and when warming up for a round.

Practice:
I will take between five and eight shots with a short iron to warm up and get the blood flowing. I then will go through a round of golf in my head, hitting driver and then an approach iron shot. Unlike some people that I have seen I will never hit more than one shot with the same club consecutively, since I don't often do that on the course. I will usually finish by taking some shots with wedges to different distance targets on the range. The only time I change from that routine is if I have had trouble with a certain club and will then focus on it to start, usually hitting ten to fifteen shots with a lot of positional focus through the swing.

Prior to Round
I have a set routine when warming up before a round as well, this is designed entirely to get a feel for my swing that day. I will take three shots with each club in this order:
8 iron, 6 iron, 4 iron, 5 wood/hybrid/2 iron whichever is in the bag, driver, 3 wood, 3 iron, five iron, 7 iron, 9 iron, SW, PW, LW. I will then take one swing visualizing the shot that I need to hit on the first tee.

[BStone]

Forgot the short game area...
I will chip and putt using one ball since you only get one out on the course. Chip onto the green and then putt out.

[Crossfire]

At the end of last summer, 4 days a week at the putting green, 2 hours or so putting or chipping altrinating days. Usually a quick 9 nine every day, 27 or so holes a day on weekends. Over winter, Indoor range 6 days a week, but only 4 i'd hit balls. The majoring of the time was on their putting green, or practice bunker.

[RLGC]

Originally Posted by tmag

I have two distinct routines when practicing and when warming up for a round.

Practice:
I will take between five and eight shots with a short iron to warm up and get the blood flowing. I then will go through a round of golf in my head, hitting driver and then an approach iron shot. Unlike some people that I have seen I will never hit more than one shot with the same club consecutively, since I don't often do that on the course. I will usually finish by taking some shots with wedges to different distance targets on the range. The only time I change from that routine is if I have had trouble with a certain club and will then focus on it to start, usually hitting ten to fifteen shots with a lot of positional focus through the swing.

Prior to Round
I have a set routine when warming up before a round as well, this is designed entirely to get a feel for my swing that day. I will take three shots with each club in this order:
8 iron, 6 iron, 4 iron, 5 wood/hybrid/2 iron whichever is in the bag, driver, 3 wood, 3 iron, five iron, 7 iron, 9 iron, SW, PW, LW. I will then take one swing visualizing the shot that I need to hit on the first tee.

I believe your practice routines on the range and the green make loads of sense. I never really thought of approaching it like that but why not? I could see where you would have to deviate from this if your swing wasn't quite grooved. I'm not saying mine is, but having taken a few years off its not as rusty as I thought it would be. Thanks for the advice!!

[BStone]

Originally Posted by RLGC

I believe your practice routines on the range and the green make loads of sense. I never really thought of approaching it like that but why not? I could see where you would have to deviate from this if your swing wasn't quite grooved. I'm not saying mine is, but having taken a few years off its not as rusty as I thought it would be. Thanks for the advice!!

Glad to be of help. I always found it was better to practice like you would play, but didn't always use such a set routine. I was taught this routine by the first pro that I worked with, one of the few things that I can say that I learned from him.

[VtDivot]

I don't have time to practice. If I am playing somewhere that has a range I might hit a bucket of balls.

[ezra76]

I rarely go to the range and mostly just play. When I do go to the range I bring a wedge, short and mid iron, a FW wood and Driver. (Now I have hybrids too ) Problem is if I am swinging well it's rather boring with the irons. Pop off 7 or 8 in a row, what's to work on? I spend more time with the driver, trying to keep the ball within a certain area, usually a 20yd. lane. Just trying to groove the swing.

Before or after I'll head over to the grass area and hit 25-35 wedge shots. I vary trajectory and distances. As far as chipping and putting I really don't practice much. I have a mat at home I use to just keep my stroke back and through. I'm happy with my putting and chipping strokes and it's usually just a matter of having a feel for the speed and getting the read. Of course I spend many, many hours on the practice greens to develop the confidence to not practice it much.

[warbirdlover]

I just swing my weighted practice club over the winter a few times a day and don't practice in the summer because I'm playing all the time. If I have a problem I'll go to a range and hit some balls and if I can't fix it I'll go for a 1/2 lesson but usually I play as much as I can...

[BStone]

I guess that is the advantage I have working at a course. Lots of time to practice each night after I finish lessons and other responsibilities.

[Eracer]

I start with the "wedge du jour". I hit about ten shots to warm up, focusing on a target, but being more concerned with tempo.

Then I try to hit three wedges to the left side of the 75-yard target flag, three wedges to the right side of the target flag, three more over the flag, and finally three more short of the flag.

I then hit a set of nine shots:
Wedge, driver, wedge, 7-iron, wedge, driver, wedge, 7-iron, wedge. I might do this once or twice.

I then go to the putting green and do a couple of drills. My back can't take much of that.

Finally, I go back and finish my small bucket of 40 balls with a variety of clubs. Sometimes I'll try to hit three-quarter 7-irons and try to hit alternating fades and draws, trying to groove the feeling of the clubhead face angle and swing path that produces those results. I never hit more than 40 balls.

Finally, I grab a wedge and head to the chipping area for about 30 minutes.

I try to always go through my routine prior to every shot.

[cypressperch]

close as possible to how one plays on the course is sound. Playing a round on the practice tee does help one get ready for the real thing. Too often we go to the range, start hitting shots, find a groove, and start hitting shots pretty good. If we are just going through the motions in this process, we may not be gaining very much. I think I could improve my handicap considerably if I took three or four shots from each position I found myself in before hitting the one that I counted. So having at least some of one's practice session given to changing clubs and targets every shot makes good sense.

Some advise us not to warm up by hitting golf shots. Vjay, for example, rides a bicycle before practice to get the blood flowing before he starts to hit golf shots. Doing various exercises and stretches routinely before practice and/or before we play has a certain logic to it. If that warm-up is always done before either play or practice, our body is in the same state or condition BEFORE we begin. This is important.

When we are varying shots, it is important to precede each shot with your pre-shot routine. This creates a constant that precedes all the different situations we will be in. This constant routine makes every new shot somehow familiar since we go through the same process of evaluating, visualizing, and then executing every shot. We can improve our confidence by doing this. This comes in handy when we are under pressure. A good pre-shot routine will help to eliminate some of the bone-head mistakes we make by not thinking things out. Thinking things out is automatic if that becomes routine.

There are certain drills that I go to which I think help my swing in many ways. The feet together drill (I use a five iron.) is one of these. To improve timing, rhythm, and over-all smoothness, I like hitting drives with "full motion, half speed." In somewhat of a contradiction to what I have already written, I will sometimes lay down clubs, railroad fashion, and omit the pre-shot routine. In this, I am working on things in such a way that I do not want too much time to pass between shots. I hopefully will fall into a good groove, BUT I will be very alert to everything that I feel. The more I can get myself in tune to the feel of good shots, the better the chance that that feeling becomes my usual feeling. I am building muscle memory (though I am aware that the memory is not really in the muscle, but rather the brain).

THE TIME SPENT WORKING ON THE SHORT GAME SHOULD BE EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT ON FULL SWING SHOTS.

I will practice with the even numbered irons one day; the odd numbered irons the next day. This is in keeping with my philosophy that all of my clubs are my favorites. I refuse to consider the concept of a "go to club." When you visualize a shot needing to be a certain shot, there is one club for that specific shot, and yet there are some who would pull out their "go to club." OK, if that is the only club they have confidence in, fine. But that is my point. If you practice all your clubs and all kinds of shots, you can GO TO THEM ALL with equal confidence.

Sincerely, Cypressperch

[Sandpiper3]

Unlike a lot of people, my ACTUAL practise (this is real practise with a real purpose, the way i practise can be confused with a guy who just doesnt want to go home to the Mrs.) is repetition. Every sport i've ever played i've always had repetition preached to me, and its found its way into my golf.

I hit hundreds of balls, and i almost never put a club back in the bag if im out on a real practise day without hitting at least 4-5 "perfect" shots (on my range there are lots of bunkers, so mostly aiming and getting them into the bunkers, if the pin was in the middle of these bunkers, i'd be inside 15ft everytime). Every shot i go through my semi routine (everything above the ball, the practise swing behing the ball i do is moreso for loosening before a shot), which is a Mike Weir kinda waggle now, then look, look, pull.

Short game is a lot of the same, LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of standard chips. Spinners, bump/runs, checkers etc. Then ill putt, through two tees barely farther apart then my putter for awhile (on a normal practise day, usually around an hour of putting alone at least).

I find repetition is better for me because my swing is never perfect, so i work with my pro, find out which things i gota fix up to get it better, then hit ball after ball until i get it in a groove for longer than a day. Once it's "perfected", then i go back to my pro and find more stuff to fix

My swing is never, nor will never be perfect, even if i win 3 straight tourneys, ill still go back to my pro and find stuff i can do better. Golf isnt a game of perfection, so whats the point in treating it like you can right?

[Eracer]

I also question the argument that repetition in practice isn't a good thing. Seems to me that confidence is such a big part of success in golf. What is "muscle memory"? How do you achieve it? Through repetitition of motion. Of course, one had best repeat the proper motion!

Seems to me that our brain can perform the task of hitting a ball on the course better if it has a lot of good history to call on. If I hit 100 "grooved" shots on the range, doesn't my brain have a template to use on the course. There's a reason the pros hit the same shot over and over again, grooving their swings on the range.

I'll grant that one needs variety in a practice session. And standing over the ball hitting shots without going through your pre-shot routine is to be avoided (unless one is doing a rapid-fire drill).

I think variety is the spice of life, and it is helpful to vary one's routine between repetitive "muscle memory" drills, and mimicry of on-course play.