The Recipe For Improvement?

[dcbrad]

Been thinking a lot lately about what the recipe for improvement is. The most constructive way to consistently improve your game over time.

Is it getting lessons with a practice session here or there and playing lots of rounds of golf?

Or is it putting more time in at the range/ taking lessons, practicing and working on different aspects of the game with less rounds of golf overall?

My opinion: more practice with less rounds. I've followed that regimen this year with a large jump in performance of my game compared to last year's prep for the MC. I find myself practicing 3-4x a week and playing actual rounds maybe 1-2x a week. For last year's MC, I played a ton and didn't practice certain aspects of the swing as much as I should have.

My thoughts are that it takes the pressure out of the equation. If you are trying to make changes, hitting a crappy shot at the range during those sessions seems to have less of an effect than being out on the course where the score counts. You are not pressing and are less likely To revert to old habits with specific practice sessions then just going out and stacking up rounds each week. It also allows you to work on different aspects of the swing instead of trying to put it together out on the course.

Don't get me wrong, you have to play the game, but what do you guys feel like is the right ratio of practice to playing when trying to make the most improvement possible?

 

[coers]

Defiantly hear you here Brad, especially after talking with you on the phone yesterday. This is something I need to do more instead of maybe playing 3-4 round a week should maybe play 2 days and just practice the 2-3 days. Will try to adjust to this and I imagine the wife will like it more because I won't be out there for 4 hours. This is a great way to look at it because practice makes you better and better and better.

 

[Evok]

Im actually guilty of sometimes spending too much time on the range and not enough on the course. You definitely have to find that balance. I also like to spend time practicing on the course. I know some in big cities don't have that option but luckily in my hometown there's courses that aren't busy and I can go and practice shots during my round. Just by dropping 3-4 balls and hitting the same shot in, it really helps me.

 

[dcbrad]

Defiantly hear you here Brad, especially after talking with you on the phone yesterday. This is something I need to do more instead of maybe playing 3-4 round a week should maybe play 2 days and just practice the 2-3 days. Will try to adjust to this and I imagine the wife will like it more because I won't be out there for 4 hours. This is a great way to look at it because practice makes you better and better and better.

This wasn't directed at you broseph, I just liked our convo so much yesterday that I thought it would be a good thread for the masses. Keep it up dude!

 

[Trout Bum]

I always practice more than I play, for me it's about repetition and if I can't hit the shot on the range I won't be able to hit it on the course, I also follow a bad shot on the range with a recovery shot. All it takes is a little imagination and a ton of desire to be better.

 

[Metroid]

I've found the best road to improvement is definitely play, but part of that is developing shot intelligence and understanding when to go for the green, or pull back and have the smart shot. Practice has its place, but I think sometimes you can definitely over practice and underthink your round.

 

[coers]

I know it wasn't shoot I'm not the only golfer that want's to play every single day lol. If I could I would be out at the range or learning center. My thought kinda about this is I got a golf pass and can go play 9 or 18 and can 2 or 3 balls per hole and work on my game. Or I can go spend $30-40 a week at the range buying balls. Say I like the range better but all the discount I can get there is 10 large buckets for the price of 8. Say thankfully my my second park district course open so it seems everyone is going over there so I have been playing at the easier course and enjoying doing some extra practicing. Im not saying I change balls or anything on my round I always play the same ball and play by all the rules.

This wasn't directed at you broseph, I just liked our convo so much yesterday that I thought it would be a good thread for the masses. Keep it up dude!

 

[e1iterate]

I'll say this and also add I need to take my own advice here but range sessions and working on short game consistently help me. I've just got to translate my tempo on the range to the course.


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[Smithfaced]

I think more time on the course benefits me the most. I can't duplicate every shot (with the pressure) I'm going to make while standing on the range. One more thing, repetition is not always a good thing.

 

[coers]

Say I was golfing with Zenger on Sunday and was asking for tips on ways to improve my game and one was to play as many rounds as you can. Say it might work for him and it might work for me, but one thing I do know is that the more your out swinging the club and playing your going to improve. Defiantly can't improve if all your doing is playing once a week and watching youtube video 6 of the other days.

 

[Smallville]

I play much more than practice. Although I am heading to the practice bunker soon. Losing too many shots in the sand, and playing away from sand traps because I don't want to end up in one.

 

[v.man]

Obviously, there is an ideal mix of practice and play, but I'm not sure it's the same for every player. I wish there was a simple formula for it. For me, the range is for working on specific things. It could be a swing change your instructor has given you, a weakness that needs reps to strengthen, or a strength that just needs reps to stay sharp. No matter how much imagination I put into practice sessions on the range, I cannot duplicate the shots that I'll actually face on the course. That's why I prefer to play "practice rounds" as often as I can.

 

[robmypro]

There are a lot of things you just can't practice on the range. I think you need plenty of both, but translating range skill to course skill presents a bigger challenge than I thought it would.

 

[JB]

If one is seeking help of an instructor and I dont mean youtube videos, practice will be more critical than play. To the tune of about 70% - 30% in my opinion. You must fine tune strokes and swings at practice. If one is beating balls, they are getting nothing more out of it than they would during a round. But if they are implementing the instruction they received and making changes, there is just no way to do that without spending time practicing.

And no matter what anybody says, there is not true way to practice short game while on the course. In my opinion its why so many amateurs struggle with it.

 

[TNTCigarguy]

If one is seeking help of an instructor and I dont mean youtube videos, practice will be more critical than play. To the tune of about 70% - 30% in my opinion. You must fine tune strokes and swings at practice. If one is beating balls, they are getting nothing more out of it than they would during a round. But if they are implementing the instruction they received and making changes, there is just no way to do that without spending time practicing.

And no matter what anybody says, there is not true way to practice short game while on the course. In my opinion its why so many amateurs struggle with it.

What you have said about the short game is very true. That has almost single handily been the improvement for me. I know what and how I need a shot to feel now and how far to take the club in distance to get what I need.

 

[dcbrad]

If one is seeking help of an instructor and I dont mean youtube videos, practice will be more critical than play. To the tune of about 70% - 30% in my opinion. You must fine tune strokes and swings at practice. If one is beating balls, they are getting nothing more out of it than they would during a round. But if they are implementing the instruction they received and making changes, there is just no way to do that without spending time practicing.

And no matter what anybody says, there is not true way to practice short game while on the course. In my opinion its why so many amateurs struggle with it.

This is pretty much my stance. Especially if swing changes are being made. I have found that by practicing (with a purpose) more, the better my results have been out on the course (Although you didn't really see the fruits of my labor in FL, Lol.)

Basically my week looks like this for practice:

Monday: TRX Workout, 50 yards and in/Chipping
Tuesday: Irons, Stretching
Wednesday: TRX Workout, Putting
Thursday: League Night (Starting in May), Face Angle Drills, Compression Drills.
Friday: TRX Workout, Woods/hybos, Wedges.
Saturday-Sunday: Golf, usually 18 a day, but sometime only one round depending on plans.

I feel like I really hit all aspects of the game and don't allow one to get neglected for too long. As I transition into May, A few of those sessions will consist of all short game. As far as cost, the short game area is free at the range, and I pay $7 for 70 balls twice a week. So $14 total during the week for practice is pretty reasonable in my opinion.

 

[kc720]

Absolutely more practice than playing when implementing changes to the swing given from instruction. No way to make the changes stick without repetition and practice

 

[Jmilla]

I've only been playing a few years but I find that the more rounds I play and the less I hit balls at the range I seem to do better and figure things out easier. May be the minority though.

 

[rollin]

I've only been playing a few years but I find that the more rounds I play and the less I hit balls at the range I seem to do better and figure things out easier. May be the minority though.

its possible that it depends just what it is that's getting better. If one talks about managing ones game and making good decisions vs poor ones then the course is the only place you can actually do that and improvement can come from just that alone.

But in general (not to you specifically but as a response to the thread) I think range time is where one works on tips and works on swing changes and works on correcting things or continues to keep good things swing wise in check and even also some experimentation if one wishes and then attempts to apply these things (whatever they are) to his golfing rounds. I think a lot also depends on just where one is at and what they are fixing or trying to improve on.

For me right now, my biggest culprit of all flaws is tempo above most other things. That certainly is something that comes from range sessions in practicing it to keep good tempo at the range. Just not possible to practice that on the course. All you can do on the course is try to have good tempo. But if its not there its not practicable to a significant extent. Practicing it and repeating it at the range is huge for me imo. Really working at staying loose and smooth at the range is starting to translate to the course little by little and slowly more and more. Without range sessions giving this some good effort there is no way I would be improving with it on the course.

I think its safe to say that this is true for a ton of things and not limited to tempo or golf. Swing changes and such or in fact just about anything anyone does (even non golf related) requires repetition, practice, and time and effort working at them while not actually performing them. Just like a student studying for an exam or doctor keeping abreast of the latest or a chef creating (or tweaking) great meals or any athlete trying to improve in any specific area of his sport. Everything and anything that anyone strives to be the best at or even improve upon what he does requires and even demands time and efforts to be given above and beyond the actual time spent performing those things. That's just the way it goes and part of life with anything we do including golf. This doesn't mean one has to do this and they may be content and happy where they are at but regardless of where one is at or how happy they are about it, they will only go so far without putting in the time and efforts outside of the actual performance/playing times.

 

[Paladin]

My dad, who is a very skilled bowler (which has more layers of complexity for match-play competition that I ever thought) described bowling in a way I think translates very well to golf: The ability to do almost exactly the same thing every time, while facing a nearly endless series of variation. Golf on the course is hardly ever how it looks, feels, or sounds the way it does on the range. As much as I love being on the range, where things are consistent, I would rather be on the course, aware that my index could improve, or that I could save a bad round, and feel the endless variation. While the macro-elements of a swing are the same, I think once you've got that down pat, the micro elements, course management, that's where you really get better, IMO.

 

[rollin]

My dad, who is a very skilled bowler (which has more layers of complexity for match-play competition that I ever thought) described bowling in a way I think translates very well to golf: The ability to do almost exactly the same thing every time, while facing a nearly endless series of variation. Golf on the course is hardly ever how it looks, feels, or sounds the way it does on the range. As much as I love being on the range, where things are consistent, I would rather be on the course, aware that my index could improve, or that I could save a bad round, and feel the endless variation. While the macro-elements of a swing are the same, I think once you've got that down pat, the micro elements, course management, that's where you really get better, IMO.

Yea but I think as you say "once you have it down pat" is a very loose and also relative term. Who really does have ones swing a true second nature? Even those much better at the game including those top tour (freaks of nature) pros still spend tons of time hitting balls, tweaking, experimenting, and always learning. why? because as I said before, If one wants to continue to be the best or continue to improve no matter what level and no matter what we are talking about it all still requires time and efforts above and beyond the times spent actually doing it. Of course practice rounds on the course itself is certainly included in that and sure there are tons of variances on the course we cant get at the range but it still also must include range sessions and tons of them if one really wants to improve.

Whether its a baseball team in batting practice every single day or a golfer at the range its the same thing. Its where one hones in on the skills, maintains and works on the skills. Without maintaining the constant, repetitive, and sound platform one builds at the range then anything else will only go so far. Whether its practicing different types of shots or even if its to maintain the basic fundamentals which lead to and allow for the more complicated shots. Nothing will imo continue to be so second nature at all if it is not maintained and repeated.

There is also imo a big difference between one being content where he is at and one really wanting to get better. Those two things are a huge factor in how one might view this topic. It doesn't make anyone right or wrong but for the later of the two there is no denying its only going to go so far without the repetitive and sound platform developed and continuously maintained at the range. To loose or even fall just a tiniest tad backward with any such so called down pat or "second natured" thing will then make it impossible for anything else to get better.

 

[Tedfroop]

Not just practice but structured practice. Doing drills, working on some piece or part of your swing to get it all working right. To me, there is nothing better than video for this. To work at 30% and get the move right and grooove it while ramping up the effort is where you make improvement stick.

If I was to put the whole thing down as a recipie it would go:

A ton - of desire to improve.
Coach - Someone who desires to see you improve. Someone who invests in your improvement as much as you do.
Lessons - Often enough you have a chance to improve what you worked on the last lesson before the next lesson.
Structured Practice - About three times as much practice time as lesson time. Solid, focused, objective based.
Other practice - A short game does not maintain itself.
Patience - in the process of improvement. Its not always easy. Don't get down on yourself, focus on your goal.

Play - Taken on days when you don't have a lesson. Mistakes will be taken as a reminder of swing flaws and nothing more. Play will be used for enjoyment of the game, socializing, celebrating when you do things well. Play less when taking lessons so you are focused on changes and don't let bad habits creep back into your swing.

 

[golfinFF]

Great discussion points Brad.

For me this year it's been lessons and tons of practice so far. Lots of time shadow boxing in a mirror doing slow speed drills and hitting balls into a net. The net is great because I didn't care what the ball flight was I only cared what the swing felt like (takeaway online, weight transfer proper, shoulder turn, hands stopped when shoulders did, proper swing path, proper impact position, follow through) I have drills for each and worked at one maybe two items at a time for most of the winter.

Right now it's a combo of shadow boxing, range time and playing.

Shadow boxing is great to see if what you feel is reality and to get the new move ingrained.

Range great place for me to work on what I learned in lesson or what I found a flaw in on the course. Tempo is the big one lately for me.

Course time to work on management of course, alignment, and accuracy. It's also where I find out what I need to work. I've worked on two things on the course this yr tempo and swing length as both have been a huge problem once I step on the course.

 

[ATLGolfer]

I agree with a lot of this.

I'm a firm believer in practice time to improve your game. You just cannot work on your mechanics and tempo by playing a lot of rounds.

Playing serves two purposes for me. First, it lets me put my work into game conditions. You work on course management, feel for playing during a round.

Second, playing lets me see how my practice is working. It's like seeing the return on my investment.