Making the Most Out of Your Golf Practice
Making the Most Out of Your Golf Practice
Most golfers, if asked, would provide many reasons why they enjoy golf. Most would also agree on one thing: it is more fun to shoot a lower score than your average, and it's also hard to do that. With this in mind, let's take a look at a simple strategy for getting the most from your abilities.
There are many different course layouts, and to cover them all is impossible, so let's arbitrarily use a typical par 72 layout. This course will have 10 par fours, 4 par fives and 4 par threes.
This means that you will play 14 tee shots where you can usually just give the ball a good whack. The only objective is to get it out there as far as your physical abilities permit. Hitting the fairway is a bonus, of course. Top professionals don't hit every fairway. Many of them would say they would take closer to the green, but in the rough over in the fairway, but farther back.
Par fives, for those of us who don't think of them as a driver and a six iron, allow you a second shot where the objective is simply to get as close to the green as possible. Again, it's desirable to keep the ball in the fairway, making the next shot easier.
That leaves 4 tee shots on par threes, where being able to hit the ball a predictable distance is desirable, and accuracy is important to hit the green.
To summarize: 10 tee shots and 10 approach shots on 10 par fours. Four tee shots, four-second shots and four approach shots on par fives. Four tee shots on par threes.
If by skill, luck or imagination, you were able to hit every green in regulation, you would've hit 36 shots. In order to shoot even par 72 in this scenario, you would need to 2- putt all 18 greens, for a total of 36 putts. By now, you've surely figured out where this is going: putting is 50 percent of the game.
How many golfers do you think spend 50% of their practice time putting? Very few, almost none, with the possible exception of the guys you see playing on TV. This is not meant to criticize those golfers who like to pound balls on the range. We all like to do that. It's fun.
We'll methodically go through our bag, starting with wedges and moving up to short, mid, and long irons or hybrids and finishing off with three metals and drivers. How many times have you seen golfers with three empty buckets behind them on the range?
Next, we drop three balls on the putting green, hit six putts, and then step onto the first tee.
What's wrong with this picture? Just ask this question: would my scores improve, with my game get better, would I have more fun and satisfaction, if, for every 70 ball bucket I methodically burned through on the range, I hit 70 practice putts from various distances and varying lines?
We all know the answer to the first part of the question, about scores coming down: yes. As for the second part, about having more fun and satisfaction: maybe. If you golf for fun, just enjoy having a nice walk on superb landscaping, and don't have much concern for your score, why punish yourself?
Go play. Don't waste time practicing if you don't want to practice.
For that last part, if you can show the discipline to hit one practice putt for every ball you hit, remind me to leave my wallet in the car if we should ever meet up for a friendly dollar Nassau.
Now for a final thought. Since professionals don't hit every green in regulation, and they often one-putt greens, what other skill deserves a fair amount of practice time? Chipping - any shot that requires less than the full swing you get to use on tee and approach shots. The ability to control your distance at random short yardages will do more to improve your score than any $500, 460cc graphite shafted driver ever will, and it's much less expensive. Take half of those 70 practice putts you were going to hit, drop them 5 to 10 feet off the green, and try to get up-and-down in two. Many an 18 and higher handicapper have gotten down into single digits by getting proficient at this skill.
For more information on golf, visithttp://uspga.com.
The Ping Golf Store Play Easy Golf Titleist AP2 Irons give you confidence as a golfer The Father of Televised Golf,Frank Chirkinian,Dies at 84 Singh Praised the Development of Golf in India The list of Essential Golf Accessories U.S. Media Selected Top 15 Coolest Golfers Adidas Golf Announced First Exclusive "Pink Panther" Shoes Greatest Golf Clubs Sale Ping G15 Complete Sets Can a Golf Swing Hook Be Cured? Have You Played These Two Taylormade Golf Clubs? Simple recommendations for Correcting a Slice golfing Swing The Peak Seasons Of golfing Courses