Practice vs Playing

[LefTe]

I enjoy practice I'm lucky there is a great muni minutes down the street from my office during the season at least 4 or the 5 days I hit at lunch at the courses grass range, chipping area and putting green. At least twice a week I stop for an hour or so to hit again. I enjoy playing but I think given a ultimatum of giving one or the other up I'd practice and not play.

 

[HardcoreLooper]

I kinda do both at the same time. My course is usually empty, which i dont know is a good thing or bad thing, but i usually drop like 4 balls down a hole and play them all up so i can play different shots while still playing. I just average the best and worst score on the hole for my score at the end

That's what I used to do when I was a kid. For posting purposes, I'd turn in the score I shot on the first ball off each tee. For the other three, I'd usually try different strategies on the hole than what I usually used. If you play the same course frequently and you have the chance to play it during off-hours, it's a great way to practice on-course situations.

 

[worst_shot_ever]

I turn in the score based on my \best ball after each shot. I usually can manage a bogie if i'm playing with enough of them.

J/k, I actually don't play enough to maintain a handicap.

 

[ClairefromClare]

I turn in the score based on my \best ball after each shot. I usually can manage a bogie if i'm playing with enough of them.

J/k, I actually don't play enough to maintain a handicap.

That's a variation of the Internet-adjusted handicap index. Under the IHI, I'm +2 from the tips.

 

[HardcoreLooper]

I turn in the score based on my \best ball after each shot. I usually can manage a bogie if i'm playing with enough of them.

J/k, I actually don't play enough to maintain a handicap.

IIRC, you don't need to turn in that many rounds to establish a handicap. I think that after you turn in five they start calculating your handicap. And you don't need to play 18 holes to turn in a card either. As long as you play 13 holes, you can turn in the score. You just use the handicap ratings of the holes you didn't play to estimate your score (i.e. if you would have received a shot on the hole, you turn in a bogey).

http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/survival_kit/handicapping_qna.html

I do that all the time with abbreviated after-work rounds.

 

[Release]

For me, I'll play every chance I have, simply because I don't have a lot of time for golfing and budget is strictly enforced.
I only go to the range when I could not get on the golf course for the reason of bad weather or needing to work on my game. When I was new in the game I used to hit 700-1,000 range balls per session, a couple of times per week. That was long ago and with a much younger body.

 

[LBlack14]

I definately play more. No time to practice, except this time of the year to more loosen up than practice. Then I play every chance I get. Wife works different hrs every day and I want to be with my 4 yr old little girl. I even take her with me from time to time. She loves it!

 

[Dent]

I used to practise so much, There would be days where I would get on a roll and just hit buckets and buckets. Most I hit I think was around 9, near the 5th bucket it started to pour, everyone went inside but I stayed out there.

 

[GolferGal]

I wish I had the opportunity to play more than I do. I usually practice much more than I play. I love being out at the range but to me playing is so much more fun. I like encountering different situations rather than just hitting a ball over and over again from the same spot with a different club.

 

[Dent]

I wish I had the opportunity to play more than I do. I usually practice much more than I play. I love being out at the range but to me playing is so much more fun. I like encountering different situations rather than just hitting a ball over and over again from the same spot with a different club.

That's why a great drill to do GG is to visualize your golf course on the range. Go hole by hole and if you remember where critical hazards are or how the course is laid out you can play it. Every straight shot would be fairway, and then judge how far you hit it vs. how far you have to go on that hole (if you remember the yardages) and take out the club you would usually hit for your next shot. Choose a target on the range for the green, and if you are slightly off, choose another target closer to be chipping to, as if you were chipping onto the green.

I usually go through the front 9, but you can do as many as you want as long as you remember the hole yardages and how they are laid out. You can practise all different kinds of shots, for me usually If I spray a drive I'll pretend I have a tree in front of me and hit a low punch, or a nice high fade so I can use a ton of different shots.

 

[worst_shot_ever]

I just had a (rare) great day at the range. I was really focusing on keeping a solid, balanced base and minimizing lower body shift. I love my new driver; the shaft is sweet, and on a good swing the distance and traj felt really good (pretty loud though, jeez). My short irons were hot, and I was ok with the long ones (that's all I ask for -- I usually play the rescue for anything over 175 anyway). The 56 wedge felt really good, and the putter was on as well. Man, too bad it was all at the range!!

 

[HardcoreLooper]

That's why a great drill to do GG is to visualize your golf course on the range. Go hole by hole and if you remember where critical hazards are or how the course is laid out you can play it...

Fantastic drill. Another one I do is to go through the entire bag, one club at a time, but critique each shot. Start with your sand wedge and hit one ball. If you hit it well, move up one club. If not, try again. Be brutally honest with yourself. If you get through the bag before finishing your bucket, make it even tougher drill by dropping back one club if you hit it poorly. There are sessions I can't make it past my six iron. And generally, that's when I need to be working on my mechanics with shorter clubs anyway. If I can't hit good shots with my middle irons, I really don't need to be hitting long irons and drivers. I have a buddy who is not a very skilled player, and I don't know how many times I've heard him say that he was "just killing it on the range." Problem is, he was forgetting about all the foul balls he hit out there.

Another nice thing about this drill is that swinging a different club for each shot makes you go more slowly and think about each shot.

 

[thebread]

Last season was my first time playing since i was a teenager.
I played more then I practiced. At least 4 or 5 rounds per week vs maybe hitting balls once a week.

This season that wont be the case...Im going to take lessons and hit the range hard and maybe take in only one or two rounds per week.