Practice!? We Talkin’ About Practice, Man!

Does practice make an expert golfer? I think we have all heard the 10,000 hour rule.  It takes 10,000 hours of doing something to be considered an expert.  That’s a lot of hours!  By applying that to golf means if we practice 6 hours a week for 30 years we will be just short of 10,000 hours!  Will that make you an expert golfer?  There are too many variables involved to reach a definitive answer, but I will say one thing, if I am no better after 1 year, I will probably quit the game.  According to Golf Digest the average men’s handicap in 2014 was 14.3 and the average women’s was 26.5.  Neither one of those numbers reflects excellence in the sport.  It stands to reason that if we want more immediate improvement in our game we have to consider better more efficient ways of practicing. Time on the range needs to be devoted to replicating the feelings, challenges, and conditions we experience when we play on the course.  As simplistic and sensible as that sounds, it is surprising to me just how few people actually practice this way. 

Try this:  Hit 20 balls in 1 hour.  No more, no less.  This means you will hit 1 ball every three minutes (about the time it takes to hit a shot then walk/ride to the next one). Think you can do it? Answer that question now in your head, but keep reading…I will outline the rules later on in this article

 According to Dr. Bob Rotella in his book, Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect, there are two states of mind in practice – the training mentality and the trusting mentality.  “In the training mentality, the golfer tries to make things happen.  In the trusting mentality, the golfer lets things happen.”( Rotella, 1995)  We can relate the training mentality to someone who beats ball after ball working on one variation of a skill.  This is referred to as blocked practice.  Some of the best players in the world practice this way, but in limited doses only when swing changes need to be perfected.  The trusting mentality is applied by those who practice to compete in game time situations.  This requires practice variability.  Under pressure, the last thing a player wants to do is start thinking analytically, judgmentally, and mechanically. ( Rotella, 1995)  Trusting in the club selection, the pre shot routine, and the visual shot itself are what makes great players better than the rest.

Ok, so we know the best players practice this way… so shouldn’t we do the same? 

 Now do not get me wrong, if you are new to the sport, you have to spend your time in the trenches banging balls to become accustom to making a golf swing and striking the ball with some level of consistency.  However, if score improvement is the ultimate goal, then simulating on course situations on the practice range become a must.  Going back to the original goal of hitting 20 balls in one hour requires concentration, patience, focus and discipline.  Discipline being the most important.  All of these qualities are requirements for high level play and proper golf course management.

Here are the rules:

1.  Hit only 20 balls in 1 hour – set a timer to do this
2. Go through your pre-shot routine for each and every shot
3. Pick a new target each shot
4. Pick a new club for each shot
5. Never re-hit the same shot no matter how poorly you hit it
6. Keep track of how many shot you hit well and how many were poor.  Try to improve over time.

Give it a go and see if you can do it!  If time is an issue, just reduce it to 30 min. and try to hit 15 balls during that time span.  The bottom line is that you are trying to create a practice environment that creates better carryover to the course.  In part 2 of this article I will get into the dangers of “blocked practice” when trying to change movement patterns in your golf swing.  I also discuss how varying your exercise routine to create more efficient/proper movement can help improve your swing.