We've launched the new forums! Read more here

practice with purpose?

D

Danny

New member
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
Arizona
Handicap
7
Practicing can get monotonous for me at times and I find it hard to stay focused but I still do as I feel every ball counts. However, one thing that surprises me is how many people practice without purpose. It’s sad because the people I’m talking about obviously are dedicated enough to put the time in. But the return on their investment is not being maximized. Why is that? I mean they spend a lot of time and money in pursuit of improving but there practice methodology needs brushing up. Surely we don't need to teach "practice with a purpose"?
 
First, welcome to THP! I would actually guess that most amateurs don't "practice with a purpose" as you put it. I would guess that most, when/if they practice, go and pound balls at the range. And may spend a tiny bit of time on short game practice, if at all.
 
First off welcome to THP

Danny said:
Surely we don't need to teach "practice with a purpose"?
Click to expand...

Yes yes it does need to be taught.

Here is why-

most amateurs and weekend hackers have never had a lesson and therefore have no idea what they should be working on at the range besides hitting the ball straight.

with out lessons or some very good pointers most players will never know how to fix whats wrong in their swing.

I for one went to the range just to hit balls and to see if I could make things work to hit it straight. Now since taking lessons I go with a purpose and specific things to work on.
 
Thanks for the welcome.
Without a doubt, there are lots of people who hit the driving range every once in a while to get into a groove or even just to have a bit of fun. These aren’t the people I’m talking about though. But I do see a lot of the same people there repeatedly over the course of a season. In many cases, these people are engaging in the “Rake ‘n Beat”. They hit one ball and rake another one over with their club and hit it and do it over and over until they’re out of balls. It’s as if their practice session is just a trip from A to B.


I don’t see them using the same pre-shot routine that you’d use on the course. And I also don’t see them hitting each shot with a purpose. Watching each shot to completion and learning from it is important. It’s much better to hit fewer balls, but hit each one with a purpose, than it is to rake ‘n beat as many balls as you can.
 
This is something I'm trying to be better about more recently. Having a couple lessons really helped give me some direction and insight into what I should be doing. With that, I'm paying more attention to things and really trying to make sure I'm not just making the same mistakes over and over again and attempt to get some sort of consistency and quality practice going.

Definitely feel it helps to be taught to practice properly more than just going out and hoping/thinking you're doing it right.
 
It's an interesting question isn't it?
But also.. isn't it just an attitude?
And how do you teach attitude?

It's like, "Be brave" you may hear people saying sometimes.
But how to be brave when it's running down your leg.
I'm just not sure everything can be taught.
 
Danny said:
I don’t see them using the same pre-shot routine that you’d use on the course. And I also don’t see them hitting each shot with a purpose. Watching each shot to completion and learning from it is important. It’s much better to hit fewer balls, but hit each one with a purpose, than it is to rake ‘n beat as many balls as you can.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you do not see me on the range then cause there are times that I genuinely don't care where the ball is going. The reason I don't care at times is cause I am working on setup, take away, getting to certain points in the swing, getting a certain feel in my swing, weight transfer, or what ever it is I am working on at that moment.
 
Is it difficult to define? Hitting with a purpose? For example, going through the same pre-shot routine on the range that you’d do on the course. And for every ball! It’s hard to build that discipline and in fact, that’s one area of my own practice that needs work. Before making a shot, imagine what you want the ball flight to do. Are you trying to hit a draw? Fade? Straight? If you don’t have a plan (before you execute the shot) for what you want that shot to do, then it's much more difficult to judge the effectiveness of your swing.
 
Golf Digest just had an article about this and gave a few ways to have a more constructive time at the range. One is to hit your clubs the same way you do at one of your favorite courses, playing nine holes that way. So if the first hole is driver, 5 iron, wedge, hit those three clubs to a target and then give yourself points for each shot hit to the target. I've done it a few times and it's a good way to rehearse for the course.

Every time I go to the range, I ask myself what I want to accomplish or work on. Going through your pre shot routine for each shot is helpful and I definitely agree you have to stare down each shot, even if it's grossly mis hit. Most importantly, hit to a target for each shot.
 
That's exactly it Philiy. Aim to get a feel for your club distances. It's all in the head. It's all feel. Depending on your range, it might be difficult to get hard numbers to take to the course because the balls they use on the range may be made to fly shorter distances or may be beat up some. But your distances should at least be consistent. For example, if you’re seeing swings of 10+ yards on pitching wedge shots, then you have a problem with consistent ball striking and should be working on that. However, I still think attitude is a lot harder to teach or instil if it isn't your nature.
 
golfinFF said:
most amateurs and weekend hackers have never had a lesson and therefore have no idea what they should be working on at the range besides hitting the ball straight.

with out lessons or some very good pointers most players will never know how to fix whats wrong in their swing.

I for one went to the range just to hit balls and to see if I could make things work to hit it straight. Now since taking lessons I go with a purpose and specific things to work on.
Click to expand...
This is exactly me. And one of the biggest reasons I want to take lessons.

Well...when I actually get to the range.
 
I've always preached practice perfect. The days of beating 100s of balls is over. My practice session are 1.5 hour long and very specific in my goals. If I hit 40-50 balls in that time it's in the high side.
 
Freddie, one of my favorite sayings:
Practice makes permanent not perfect.
Otherwise don't just bang balls. Practice with purpose

tappin from my big as note2
 
I learned to play golf from a very knowledgeable man when I started. He called himself the boring golfer. He was in his late 50's and all he wanted was fairway gree 2-3 putt. ( dont we all)... which ironically he did most of the time.... that man tormented me in the range. It was never just swing for the fences hit them hard....it was always routine, aim, swing speed tempo... ive played golf courses all of the world that ive never been to. Print out course print outs and play augusta, pepple beach..ive played them all on a range... it was also very nice to have a partner to smack me when I tried to hit a pw 130 for no reason and analyze to much turn, too fast on the downswing and the always what the hell was that wrist move you just did...( which I still do... sorry Don). The best part about all of this is that on the course we just played golf... so my long ramble boils down to this...
You work hard on the range...have goals and pro actively fine tune areas you struggle....
On the course.. have fun and hit the ball... dont overthink and dont get mad...enjoy chasing the ball..

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk now Free
 
The only thing worse than no practice, is bad practice!!
 
I make every attempt to practice for a purpose and do many of the things many posters have suggested. My problem is, for whatever reason, I have trouble translating it to the course. I am trying to improve my consistency and grooving a repeatable swing. I will have a practice session where my swing feels great and consistent with 90%+ good strikes and, more often than not, none of it carries over to my round. I'm pretty sure this is a mental thing, any suggestions?
 
I know, back in high school that I didn't "practice with a purpose" until my Dad pretty much made my brother and I do this. Back then, I didn't like it at all...working on my short game for an hour before I got to actually PLAY on the course. I often wonder how much better I would have been had I been more focused on listening to my Dad's advice and working harder...like he said. I didn't really start to see this, until I was playing in college, but even THEN I don't think it still hit me like it does today.
Now, when I want to reignite my game, I work on my short game (130 and in) just as much as I do hitting balls on the range. When I'm "off" I'm losing most of my strokes in that range. I can usually keep myself out of trouble off the tee with start decisions and course management, but I get most of my birdies and eagles when my short game is on, same with most of us I would guess.
 
There are times when I practice with a purpose, and I definitely realize the value in it. Visualization not only makes it easier to apply what I practice on the course, but it makes the time spent practicing more fun too. My struggle for a while has been that when I lose my way and the swing just isn't working, I struggling even to make solid contact. That purpose goes out the window and all I can think about it is trying to hit the ball.
 
I'm on both sides of the fence with this. If I'm trying to groove a swing change or work on one specific thing I'll usually just bring my 6 or 7 iron out with me and hit ball after ball to get the change down. If I'm comfortable with where my swing is than I have most of my clubs out and surrounding my bag because how often do you hit the same shot twice while you are playing? When I'm not working on a swing change the vast majority of my practice is on or around the green.
 
I use the approach that Philly described sometimes. I act like I'm playing the holes I struggle on at my home course. And grade myself at the end of the "hole". Helps me focus on what I am doing and keeps me away from just pounding balls.
 
What I’m really trying to get across is that if you’re trying to get a good score, then it's often a head game. It all starts on the range or practice ground with the right attitude. If you're in a serious competition, attitude counts more than ever. You don’t want to be jeopardizing a possible win with a poor mental game. Two players of equal ability in any sport; who will win? Usually the one with the right attitude, the one who has practiced with a purpose. So what usually separates those at the top is all in the head, isn't it?
 
I played a round with a purpose today. I did ary's water bottle drill the whole round to work on swinging to right field.

You don't hit real good shots when you hit the water bottle first!

I think I am going to keep working on this for a while.
 
There is no practice if you have no purpose.
 
AngryYankee said:
There is no practice if you have no purpose.
Click to expand...

There may be another side to this too. Sometimes hitting and raking over the next ball actually has a purpose. It could be argued that before a round loosening up safely should be considered, starting with easy swings and gradually building up. The goal there is not to get in the zone so much but just conditioning. If done with the right mindset, we could say it is practicing with a purpose.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top