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Does Practice really help?

Actually, I work a full time job. I just practice and play just as much. I am hoping that golf will be my job someday soon.

JB said:
I am guessing golf must be your job Callaway Girl. Because most do not have that time.
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Wow, 40 hours a week at work and 40-50 hours a week of practice. Plus playing time? Doesnt leave a whole lot of time to sleep.
 
Nope, not really. I go to work at 6:30am. Practice on my two hour lunches everyday and practice when I get off of work for about 3-4 hours. Then hit the sack around 10:00pm. I do it all over again until the weekend. On the weekend, I usually play one or two rounds and practice at least 3-4 hours a day. Sometime, when I don't play, I practice for 8 hours on Saturday and 4-5 on Sundays.

JB said:
Wow, 40 hours a week at work and 40-50 hours a week of practice. Plus playing time? Doesnt leave a whole lot of time to sleep.
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I was being sarcastic....It was just a joke
 
Callaway Girl said:
Nope, not really. I go to work at 6:30am. Practice on my two hour lunches everyday and practice when I get off of work for about 3-4 hours. Then hit the sack around 10:00pm. I do it all over again until the weekend. On the weekend, I usually play one or two rounds and practice at least 3-4 hours a day. Sometime, when I don't play, I practice for 8 hours on Saturday and 4-5 on Sundays.
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Wow, I like golf, but not that much...
 
Yeah, but if you want to be a professional someday and don't have a sponsor to foot the bills now, I don't think there's any other way to do it.
 
worst_shot_ever said:
Yeah, but if you want to be a professional someday and don't have a sponsor to foot the bills now, I don't think there's any other way to do it.
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I agree that sponsorship is vital, but until I acquire one, I must foot the bill myself. Hopefully, when I reach that level, I will get noticed if I can place high enough in a few tournaments. I still must improve in all areas of my game. The girls on tour mostly carrry a +5 handicap and I am no where close to that right now.
 
Callaway Girl said:
I agree that sponsorship is vital, but until I acquire one, I must foot the bill myself. Hopefully, when I reach that level, I will get noticed if I can place high enough in a few tournaments. I still must improve in all areas of my game. The girls on tour mostly carrry a +5 handicap and I am no where close to that right now.
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I was wondering about the LPGA. The question is often raised in the context of how good do I need to play on the PGA, or is a +2 good enough to play PGA golf, etc. I haven't heard much about how the women pro handicaps stack up. Thanks for the info!
 
I remember reading somewhere that most PGA players should carry at least a +8 to be very competitive. The reading stated that Tiger is close to a +12, that is insane.

worst_shot_ever said:
I was wondering about the LPGA. The question is often raised in the context of how good do I need to play on the PGA, or is a +2 good enough to play PGA golf, etc. I haven't heard much about how the women pro handicaps stack up. Thanks for the info!
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Callaway Girl, that is not correct. It has been reported by most major publications that Tiger Woods is a +8 and that most players are between +1 and +6 on the PGA Tour.
 
You may be right JB. I was just quoting what I had read.
 
I heard that Tiger carries a +13.5 index. It was during the Tavistock Cup in 2007 and one of the broadcasters went into the clubhouse and checked the club handicap computer.

Now, whether that is accurate or not is a completley different issue.
 
They speak of Tiger's 13.5 Hanidcap in the past. He carried that index during that run that he had in which he won X number of tournies in a row. It was figured by some fans and was amazing. But it was only that stretch of 4 months that they figured. His miraculous run.
 
DDBowdoin said:
I don't have a grass range so I essentially beat balls... I can't work on things without grass and taking divots.
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I can definitely relate to this, in Western Mass its hard to find decent grass ranges also. I have found a couple of decent ones in CT (its not as bad as it sounds I live on the Connecticut border).

I like to go and hit a couple of wedge shots to warm up and then practice on specific shots to a specific target, as if I were out on a course, if my shots are sporadic then I 'll see if I can determine what is causing it (or have one of my friends take a look). That is the best way I have found I can control myself from just going and beating a bucket of balls.
 
I try to work on hit consitent contact in the center of the clubface mostly with wedges. I do some work with the driver as well, but mostly work on wedge shots when I am practicing at the range.
 
I would say absolutely, practice helps.

when i go to the range i try to avoid buying a large bucket.
(large bucket for me is 120 balls,medium 60,small 25.)

i find 60 balls more than enough to practice what i need to, without getting bored. occasionally i will get an additional small basket if i get to the end and havent worked something out.

i have a couple of different routines.
both have a warm up, half shots and chipping to the closest target.
then 1 i will hit 3 full shots with each club, followed by the worst performing club(s) getting a share of the remaining balls
the other routine i split my clubs into 4 groups: PW-LW, 7-9, 4-6, Driver 3wood rescue.
i hit 3 shots with each club, but each group goes to the same target.

i find having these routines stops me beating balls as there is a purpose to it.

i occasionally go on the trackman and play some of the target games, and i am now trying to incorporate putting into my practice time which i have to admit to neglecting last year.

i find i play better on the course when i have practiced mid week, less bad shots creep in over the round compared to when i dont practice..
 
I actually do practice and that's probably why I'm at the range several hours on a medium bucket of balls. I take practice swings and try to figure out what I'm doing wrong and see how I can tweak whatever it is that I need tweaking.
 
Practice is the only way to improve,but it's not just about practice,it's about how you practice
 
BigLeftyinAZ said:
Practice is the only way to improve,but it's not just about practice,it's about how you practice
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I totally agree BigLefty! Just like JB and others I see guys and gals just swinging away at the range.

For me the only time that I take my golf bag to the range is when I am warming up. If I am going to practice or work on something I only take a couple of clubs to the range with me. I think that helps me to focus on what I want to do and limits me just beating balls on the range.
 
I will swing away on the range/beat balls if i'm working on something specific. Maybe a drill the pro gave me or something specific from my last lesson. So if he wants me to use my SW and start taking a divot, I'll get a bucket and go at it.

I'll setup, swing, watch my ball flight, think about what did/didn't happen right, get the next ball and repeat.

Now my last few sessions have been different because the ranges aren't open yet. I went to the school across the street and hit balls on some sports fields. I'll hit 5 balls or so with whatever club and then I'll grab my SW and chip/pitch the balls back. So if I hit 5 shots with my PW, I'll also hit about 10 - 12 more with my SW to get the balls back to my teeing area. I also tend to hit my wedges alot there since I have to worry less about cars/people that way.
 
Practice helps me if I go to the range with a specific purpose. Otherwise I fall into the trap of “beating balls” and from my viewpoint that does nothing to help your game.
 
I practice chipping and putting all the time. I'll hit the range with a small or medium bucket of balls if during my last round something was way off or if I want to change something.
 
Clubs are in the truck and if the thermo show's 40* I'll be on my way to "beat" balls, lol. Been so long that all I want to do is get the muscles good and sore. Last I checked it was 37* with strong North wind making it feel like 27*, but sunny!
 
I work on particular clubs- the ones I know I am going to use on the course I play. I am checking distances and direction. I always work on the driver the 8 Iron and the Wedge/Niblick. That will use up half of my time.

The rest is spent on clubs I am struggling with, or just staring to use. If I can't hit them consistently on the range at least 50% of the time, I won't put them in the bag.

Though today I had one of those days were nothing was working. I was dropping the niblick into the net at 110 yards like a pro, but the rest of the ones I usually rely on (driver, hybrids, etc) were all over the place- fat, hooks, slices and tops. Not sure what the trouble was.

Maybe I was just tired.

Booked a tune up session with my local pro anyway.
 
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