Practise?

Kimbot

Lads/Lassies,


Just wondering what you all do for practise, in terms of is all your practise done on a driving range or do you go out the back garden and swing like a looney etc??

So far I have a power bag that I will crack open and use when the weather improves, have a chipping net aswell and alot of my time will be now taken up going to the driving range but I find it pretty expensive to be going out there the whole time.

Thegingerbear

I try to practice in the practice area at my course. It beats the range any day and is free. Also I find practising on a grass surface alot more helpful than hitting balls offa mat as you get a better feel for the shot.

Alternatively you could go to Celbridge Driving Range, they have a grass area which is available between March and October. I have used it alot of times and find it pretty good.

Dublin Spur

Stopped practicing years ago, totally different hitting a 100 balls when none of them count into an open field compared with getting one down the middle in a competition.

kagni

I used a fairly basic score tracker on the golf digest website to log my rounds over the last half of last year.
It calculates a long game handicap and a short game handicap.
It's telling me that my short game handicap is 10 shots worse than my long game handicap (my actual playing handicap is in the middle).

I've gotten away from banging countless balls with my longer clubs at the range and only practise my wedges there now.
I also bought a putting mat that I practise on at home.

I would say you need to figure out what part of your game is the worst and is costing you the most shots and then use your time improving that.

arg

Spend a good bit of time around the practice chipping green - have seen the benefits over the last while.

Also go to the driving range evry now and then but make sure I always have a very small target for every shot.

spurscormac

kagni wrote: »

I used a fairly basic score tracker on the golf digest website to log my rounds over the last half of last year.
It calculates a long game handicap and a short game handicap.
It's telling me that my short game handicap is 10 shots worse than my long game handicap (my actual playing handicap is in the middle).

I've gotten away from banging countless balls with my longer clubs at the range and only practise my wedges there now.
I also bought a putting mat that I practise on at home.

I would say you need to figure out what part of your game is the worst and is costing you the most shots and then use your time improving that.

That seems like a great idea, and I was considering doing something similar now that I've got membership, will be getting an official handicap, and want to identify the exact areas for improvement - which I am pretty sure is my short game.
That way I can focus on practising that aspect of the game, and maybe get a lesson or two to help out.

Also, with now having membership, I hope to be able to get a few rounds of pure practice in when its quiet, hitting a few balls per hole, rather than feeling I have to get in a full round.

Mister Sifter

kagni wrote: »

I used a fairly basic score tracker on the golf digest website to log my rounds over the last half of last year.
It calculates a long game handicap and a short game handicap.
It's telling me that my short game handicap is 10 shots worse than my long game handicap (my actual playing handicap is in the middle).

I've gotten away from banging countless balls with my longer clubs at the range and only practise my wedges there now.
I also bought a putting mat that I practise on at home.

I would say you need to figure out what part of your game is the worst and is costing you the most shots and then use your time improving that.

Kagni, do you have a link to that tool?

Pen1987

If you're going to a range to hit 100 balls you should hit about 50 of them with 8 iron or shorter. 70% of your shorts come within 150 yards. Spend another hour putting.

Re: Impact bags, they'll destroy your wrists if you use them properly and if you dont use them properly you'll get no swing benefit. If you are prepared to damage your wrists and use the bag correctly you'll find you start hitting the ball far higher because you'll have got used to your swing stopping at impact so your angle of attack of the clubhead will steepen, not beneficial. Only use impact bags if you have a specific problem with your impact position i.e. a fast hing leg or spinning hips.

Best thing for quick winter practice is to get a video camera and record your swing and analyse it/get a pro to analyse it.

kagni

Graeme, it's fairly basic and I'm sure there are better ones out there but it served my needs. Some of these type of tools ask for abit too much info to be logged IMO.

http://www.golfdigestchallenge.com//profile.php

Register and go to the progress tracker tab, it asks you to input info about your previous rounds and will generate your long and short game handicaps.
There are also video tips to improve various aspects of your game.

Also offers free swing analysis from Jim McLean golf school, though I haven't really looked at that section yet.

Mister Sifter

Pen1987 wrote: »

If you're going to a range to hit 100 balls you should hit about 50 of them with 8 iron or shorter. 70% of your shorts come within 150 yards.

Just my opinion, but i don't find hitting short irons off a mat at the range to be much benefit. If it's a grass range, then perfect. But hitting wedges off a mat doesn't seem to me to be any good for my game.

JONATHANM

jonny24ie wrote: »

Lads/Lassies,


Just wondering what you all do for practise, in terms of is all your practise done on a driving range or do you go out the back garden and swing like a looney etc??

So far I have a power bag that I will crack open and use when the weather improves, have a chipping net aswell and alot of my time will be now taken up going to the driving range but I find it pretty expensive to be going out there the whole time.

I'm always putting in my living room.When watching T.V., I'll practice putting to a coaster during a commercial.Or even practice chipping.Don't know if you want to practice chipping ,it could get dangerous lol.all part of the short game,and as we all know,thats 80% of it.

Jonathan

ShriekingSheet

I practice a fair bit. Something really enjoyable about hitting a few balls and putting your mind to working on the ideas from your last lesson, especially after a hard day at the office or a heavy night on the town.

I go to the range about once a month, really just to work on driving and long shots, or if it's just convenient to drop in.

Far more often I'll be up on my home course pitching and chipping around a green, putting or hitting 80-120 yard shots on the range from the grass. I hit very few 7 irons or drivers in practice as I find once you get the rythm and plane with a 9 iron or wedge, it's easy to replicate with longer shots. I figure these 80-120 yard shots are what get me birdies too so they're my focus.

I find the best practice is getting out for a few holes, even just three or four before dark, and playing a few different balls from different areas. You can make up scenarios, side-hill lies, bunkers in the way, wind etc. Treat them like real shots, as opposed to the bang-bang-bang process you see people go through on the driving range. When playing practice holes I'll always spend an extra bit of time chipping around each green I get to, provided there's no one behind. Obviously you have to be careful not to damage the course and be sensible about not taking loads of divots etc.

Running Bing

I'm only starting off but this is what I do:


I go to the range and use just three clubs: 3-wood, 7 Iron, Sand Wedge (or pitching wedge).


Ill start with the Sand Wedge and hit a load of balls into the nets or at targets to practice my pitching. Then Ill use the 7 Iron to practice my swing and finally Ill use the 3 wood just to get some confidence off the tee with the longer club. Then Ill have a round off golf at the driving range. I'll take my shot with the three wood off the tee, then Ill use the 7 Iron on the "fairway" then Ill use the SW 50 yards out.

I find this is much better as its more realistic than just swinging the one club over and over again. It also focuses you better and gets you used to playing with different length club.


I think the most important thing to keep inmind is always aim at something. I see loads of people at the range just teeing up and swinging, teeing up and swinging and not even thinking. Far be it from me to criticise anybodies practice being just a beginner but I cant see how this is helpful. Every shot I take at the range I set up just like it was really on the golf course and aim at something (the smaller and more specific the better).

I really need to practice my short game around the green more but its always dark by the time I get to the range and I cant do this. Id also question how beneficial it is putting into a cup on carpet at home so for the moment Im stuck.

Mister Sifter

Babybing wrote: »

I'd also question how beneficial it is putting into a cup on carpet at home so for the moment Im stuck.

I wouldn't dismiss it totally Baby bing. I picked up a putting mat last summer for 30 quid or so. My putting at that stage was a mess. I used it right through the summer and it helped me no end.

My average putts per round came down from around 36 in 2007 to around 31.5 in 2008!

Obviously i spent a good bit of time on proper putting greens too, but the putting mat at home was a huge help... and still is.

Myksyk

Love going to the range. Two to three times a week for me at present. I'm a relative beginner too and I think the range is indispensible for putting serious work into building and maintaining a swing and instilling the muscle memory required. I'm of the opinion that building a good golf swing takes a number of years to develop and while the course is definitely the place to road test the current edition of your swing in real conditions I think the range is where you work on the mechanics of it. Of course the quality of that range work is what matters and the structure and manner of your practice (as with all practice).

Perhaps when you've played for years you may feel your swing is consistent enough and engrained enough to tolerate lack of practice but I doubt the logic of that; chances are small changes creep in leading to incremental compensations and eventual inconsistency.

In the summer my practice will shift 70% to around-the-green work. I currently practise putting at home on a 16ft putting mat working on distance control within that range (as I said before I use a dead-hands Pelz-type swing so I work on all that that requires). I also consistently use a pathfinder putting aid which I find very useful to work on swing path.

To me this is a no-brainer. The only common factor amongst serious golfers is that they practice a lot. It is not a bizarre coincidence that the guys who reach the very top of the game practice almost all day every day. You may get good playing once a week down your local club but all that says to me is that you could probably be a scratch golfer if you practised regularly. To each their own but I don't intend reducing my practice regime unless life events interevene! Anyway, it's bloody fun and a great stress buster.

Running Bing

Graeme1982 wrote: »

I wouldn't dismiss it totally Baby bing. I picked up a putting mat last summer for 30 quid or so. My putting at that stage was a mess. I used it right through the summer and it helped me no end.

My average putts per round came down from around 36 in 2007 to around 31.5 in 2008!

Obviously i spent a good bit of time on proper putting greens too, but the putting mat at home was a huge help... and still is.

I think Ill pick up a mat Graeme. At the moment I am just doing it on carpet. The reason why I am sceptical is because I seem to be able to make putts like Greg Norman at home. Every one goes in or right beside the cup yet when I get onto a real green Im atrocious:D


I remember years ago I had a mat from Argos it was a thin one, about 6 feet long, hole the same size as on a golf course but I could honest to god hole every putt I made on that mat with my eyes closed. Similiar surface to a green, same size hole but literally every putt went in. I never figured out what made it so easy. Perhaps it was the fact that you knew all you had to do was keep it on the mat and it would go in because the mat was so thin? Can anybody explain it?

ShriekingSheet

Babybing wrote: »

Can anybody explain it?

Yeah, those mats get a a little trench down the middle of them after a while. A very slight V shape. Especially at the end where the upslope comes in, it's not really flat. But the perfect surface of the mat, versus the imperfect surfaces of greens is a factor. And also hitting the same straight putt over and over on a surface that stays constant... you can hole hundreds in a row. It may not be realistic but who says that's a bad thing?

Mister Sifter

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Yeah, those mats get a a little trench down the middle of them after a while. A very slight V shape. Especially at the end where the upslope comes in, it's not really flat. But the perfect surface of the mat, versus the imperfect surfaces of greens is a factor. And also hitting the same straight putt over and over on a surface that stays constant... you can hole hundreds in a row. It may not be realistic but who says that's a bad thing?

I think seeing the ball go in the hole is a big confidence builder. I live in a old house and a few of the floors are a little off the level so depending on where i lay the mat i can get a slight break.

The main benefit to me is that i can work on hitting it exactly where i want to as i know the break. I think it has helped improve my stroke.

Myksyk

Babybing wrote: »

Can anybody explain it?

Mats are good for practising the various mechanics of your stroke. This is good and well worth doing. But there's no breaks, no wind, no lumps, no water, no spike marks, no pressure etc etc.

The skills required for on-course putting include these mechanics but they are only part of the picture. You do need to be putting time on real greens if your lag putting, green reading, etc are to see your putting average head south.

HuntingDrog

does anyone find it annoying when you've a thin mat (1.5 ft width) and therefore the ball is above the soles of u're feet?

I find this very annoying as I like my arms to drop while putting (and use 31'' shaft on the putter).

put simply, I just can't putt unless i've a wide mat.......(and i'm still looking for one that doesn't cost a pretty penny).

Does that sound reasonable or nuts?

ShriekingSheet

HuntingDrog wrote: »

does anyone find it annoying when you've a thin mat (1.5 ft width) and therefore the ball is above the soles of u're feet?

I find this very annoying as I like my arms to drop while putting (and use 31'' shaft on the putter).

put simply, I just can't putt unless i've a wide mat.......(and i'm still looking for one that doesn't cost a pretty penny).

Does that sound reasonable or nuts?

No, it's reasonable - especially if you've gone to the trouble of getting a putter that's 3 inches shorter than most. Would you not just lay a normal door mat or old blanket or something under your feet?

HuntingDrog

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Would you not just lay a normal door mat or old blanket or something under your feet?

jaysus, never even thought of that. Good man Shet, tks for that tip. that just might work a treat alright.

Like I believe that one shouldn't be concentrating on the target when practising on mats (or sheets:))...u should be concentrating on the stroke mechanics. even closing you're eyes will give you even more "feel"/idea of how your arms are moving throughout the stroke

ShriekingSheet

HuntingDrog wrote: »

Like I believe that one shouldn't be concentrating on the target when practising on mats (or sheets:))...u should be concentrating on the stroke mechanics.

ARGH!!!

This is really, really not the case according to pretty much all decent sports psycologists. Bob Rotella's book Golf is not a Game of Perfect has a chapter on it called Practicing to Improve. The technique is called "Train it & Trust it".

You've descirbed the "Train it" type of practice pretty much perfectly. But by far the majority of your practice should be "Trusting it" which is forgetting about your technique, letting your auto-pilot take care of the shot.

The whole idea makes sense because it's widely accepted that you can't go out on the course and focus on mechanics. If you spend all your time in practice focusing on mechanics you won't be able to get that easy, free-flowing feeling you need on the course to get on a hot streak.

Train it is important - especially off-season and after a lesson. But Trust it is more important, especially the closer you get to the day of competition.

The_Kew_Tour

Graeme1982 wrote: »

I wouldn't dismiss it totally Baby bing. I picked up a putting mat last summer for 30 quid or so. My putting at that stage was a mess. I used it right through the summer and it helped me no end.

My average putts per round came down from around 36 in 2007 to around 31.5 in 2008!

Obviously i spent a good bit of time on proper putting greens too, but the putting mat at home was a huge help... and still is.

agree I did the same good few years back when I was younger.

I used to be the "big hitter" amoung my friends when I was younger playing in youth competitions but could never understand why a guy who was about 40 yards behind me after every drive could beat me.

it was simply the putting and mine was poor.

So I practised it at home you dont even need a putting mat, carpet if you have it and can even play games like if you have big hall you can putt to a curb but not hit it for feel etc. I used to get a straw (dave pelz showed it one night on tv) and just basically stick the straw on your putter 9with clay or whatever) to see where you are aiming I found out few things that i was doing wrong. Plenty of other things too just few examples

My handicap went from 18 to 9 in space of year and that was all down too hard practise at home working on my putting skills.

ShriekingSheet

adrian280582 wrote: »

I used to get a straw (dave pelz showed it one night on tv) and just basically stick the straw on your putter 9with clay or whatever) to see where you are aiming I found out few things that i was doing wrong. .

Can you describe this in a bit more detail. Not sure what you mean/where you attach the strw but it sounds interesting...

The_Kew_Tour

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Can you describe this in a bit more detail. Not sure what you mean/where you attach the strw but it sounds interesting...

You get the straw and stick it onto the centre of the putterhead sweet spot (i used to use clay to stick it onto the putterhead)

anyway what it does is it helps you to look at where your putter face is aiming compared to your target that you intend to aim at. I used to find that my putterhead was sometimes open to where I intended to aim and this helped me square my putterhead to the target i aimed to putt on in the first place.

hope this helps

if not let me know again.

Myksyk

Good idea. One thing I used in this regard was a cheap laser thing I found in a hardware store ... it was a level and had a laser for shining along the wall to get straight lines. Anyhoo, I place my putter down and aim at a target until I think I'm dead on line. I then carefully place the laser behind the putter along the sight line and lift the putter up. The laser shines all along the mat past the target and shows how much I'm off. You can of course buy laser gadgets which attach to your putter to do this but this was just a cheap alernative. The one thing I found and probably most people do is that they tend to aim at the target a tad right of the actual correct aimline. I think this is due to the fact that you are looking from the side of the aimline as you stand with your putter and you are looking sideways. It always surprises me on a green when you stand behind the ball and choose a little fleck or mark which is definitely on the right line and then when you stand over the ball to putt it just seems to be aiming too left ... but I've learned to ignore my instinct on this point and go with the chosen mark.

HuntingDrog

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

You've descirbed the "Train it" type of practice pretty much perfectly. But by far the majority of your practice should be "Trusting it" which is forgetting about your technique, letting your auto-pilot take care of the shot.

Absolutly totally agree here. I was just describing what i do at home. I try to train for feel and "trust" my putting on real greens.

stevire

Not tried or tested, but im sure the cloth for snooker tables would be a decent mat. Might not be enough friction but it's certainly a cheap option for bigger putting areas....

Plus 10

I noticed this a couple of times - generally at times when courses are quiet - guys hitting 5/6 balls out of a bunker, 5/6 pitches from the 100 yard mark.

It would seem to me the best way to practice - spend an hour or two on a couple of holes.

My question on this - is it acceptable to do this ie would golf clubs frown upon it?

Mister Sifter

Plus 10 wrote: »

I noticed this a couple of times - generally at times when courses are quiet - guys hitting 5/6 balls out of a bunker, 5/6 pitches from the 100 yard mark.

It would seem to me the best way to practice - spend an hour or two on a couple of holes.

My question on this - is it acceptable to do this ie would golf clubs frown upon it?

I do a good bit of my practicing this way. I'd limit it to 2-3 balls at most though. That way you can move on quickly if needed.

I'd only do it if the course is quiet obviously. If a commitee member or something saw you doing it, some would no doubt have a word. As long as you're repairing divots (i'd generally try and not take more than one within a few yards of another), pitch marks and not holding anyone up, i don't see the problem though. If done correctly, it's a good way of practicing that harms nobody.

PhilipMarlowe

I'd agree with that. You sometimes find that greenkeepers/courses don't like too many scrambles because of the people hitting from the same place. Sometimes it specifies on a sign that only one ball is allowed... I'd say once you are a bit conscientious about it, don't take too many shots from the same area and fix up after your self it's acceptable (to me, not necessarily to the course managers). And you won't see too many people doing it on the 18th in full view

JCDUB

Plus 10 wrote: »

I noticed this a couple of times - generally at times when courses are quiet - guys hitting 5/6 balls out of a bunker, 5/6 pitches from the 100 yard mark.

It would seem to me the best way to practice - spend an hour or two on a couple of holes.

My question on this - is it acceptable to do this ie would golf clubs frown upon it?

No, not acceptable, all golf clubs frown on this.
The course is not a practice facility and should not be used as such.(Obviously playing a casual round for practice purposes is fine, but hitting multiple balls from bunkers etc. is not.)

That said, hitting a putt again or hitting a few practice putts while you're waiting on the next hole to free up is ok, provided there is nobody behind you waiting to play and it's not a competition obviously.

arg

JCDUB wrote: »

No, not acceptable, all golf clubs frown on this.
The course is not a practice facility and should not be used as such.(Obviously playing a casual round for practice purposes is fine, but hitting multiple balls from bunkers etc. is not.)

That said, hitting a putt again or hitting a few practice putts while you're waiting on the next hole to free up is ok, provided there is nobody behind you waiting to play and it's not a competition obviously.

I knew that hitting a number of balls from the same spot was a no no (when divots are taken), but I can't see the problem with chipping around a green or practicing from a bunker where you're not doing any damage to the course - and once you're not holding anybody up.
I would have thought any of the low handicap players would have spent a lot of time practicing around the greens on their course, getting up and down from various different lies on the same hole.

Are there many others of the same opinion as JCDUB? I might have to rethink my own plans for practicing my short game.

JCDUB

Sorry I think I worded that last post a bit strongly.

I have in the past had a second go at shots if I've made a pigs ear of it, and this is cool I reckon.

But I don't go out and play two balls everywhere and this business of dropping half a dozen balls around a green is not acceptable.

The odd few shots here and there is grand though.

ShriekingSheet

JCDUB wrote: »

The course is not a practice facility and should not be used as such

According to who?

Golfers who do not know how, or knowingly refuse to take care of the course do the damge - and that's whether they're playing or practicing.

Good golfers respect the course, and the fact that while they might wish to raise their game through practice, it doesn't mean they have a right to tarnish the course for members who simply want to enjoy a game every Sunday. There are ample ways of practicing on the course without causing any harm.

If a guy hits three full sand wedges from the same spot and only sort-of replaces the divots, or chips 20 balls from the same patch of fringe, that means he's an idiot. It doesn't mean that practicing on the course is fundamentally wrong.

How could a few guys practicing have anything but a negligible impact on a course which has 100 guys in a medal on Saturday, 50 ladies on a Tuesday and a society every other week?

Sure there's the "if we all did that..." argument. But hundreds of years of golfing precedent shows that we all don't go out and practice. And over those hundreds of years, loads of good golfers have come out of courses with little or no practice facilities. They certainly didn't hone their short games on the carpet at home, nor did they churn up their course doing so.

PhilipMarlowe

Plus it would depend on the facilities available at the club... I know for example at Kilkenny which is just over the road from me, they have an excellent short game area within the course and a range adjacent to it so there wouldn't be a 'need' to practice on the course particularly...
At my club (Gowran Park), there is no short game area but there is a range so I'd certainly use the course to develop my short game during quiet times.
I'd love a short game area like Mount Juliet has... nice undulating green surrounded by rough, a bunker and a maybe 40 yards of fairway... I could benefit from spending a few hours there regularly (and if I did I would take a couple of shots off my handicap).

Par72

I would go out and practice on my home course fairly regularly. This would usually involve playing two balls on each hole off the tee and maybe hitting a couple more on approach shots or around the green. I would always be very careful to repair divots/pitch marks etc. I would use a similar approach when playing a practice round prior to a tournament or inter-club match on a strange course, as would pretty much any other golfer I have ever played a practice round with. It really is quite common and shouldn't cause anyone any offence.

arg

JCDUB wrote: »

No, not acceptable, all golf clubs frown on this.

Asked in my club what the story was in relation practicing around the course; as JCDUB said, it is 'frowned' upon by certain committee members. The guy I asked added that nearly everyone does it though (he's been playing there 65 years!), but not on the eighteenth .
It sounds like a daft policy; surly the club should be encouraging practice and the growth in quality golfers in the club. I liken it to the old rule that didn't give any standing to a single player on the course; extremely odd!

Mister Sifter

The way the weather is at the moment i try not to practice too much as it's very easy to tear up the course, particularly practicing shots from 100 yards and in. Therefore, i don't really do it in winter. In the summer it's a different story though...

Myksyk

I know in our course about 4-5 low handicap guys meet regularly to practice their wedge game from 100 yds in often aiming into bunkers so as not to pepper the green with pitch marks and being careful to mind the fairways.

JCDUB

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

According to who?

Golfers who do not know how, or knowingly refuse to take care of the course do the damge - and that's whether they're playing or practicing.

Good golfers respect the course, and the fact that while they might wish to raise their game through practice, it doesn't mean they have a right to tarnish the course for members who simply want to enjoy a game every Sunday. There are ample ways of practicing on the course without causing any harm.

If a guy hits three full sand wedges from the same spot and only sort-of replaces the divots, or chips 20 balls from the same patch of fringe, that means he's an idiot. It doesn't mean that practicing on the course is fundamentally wrong.

How could a few guys practicing have anything but a negligible impact on a course which has 100 guys in a medal on Saturday, 50 ladies on a Tuesday and a society every other week?

Sure there's the "if we all did that..." argument. But hundreds of years of golfing precedent shows that we all don't go out and practice. And over those hundreds of years, loads of good golfers have come out of courses with little or no practice facilities. They certainly didn't hone their short games on the carpet at home, nor did they churn up their course doing so.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, and I'm also not saying it does any particular harm to the course as long as the person doing the practising knows what they're at.

I know my club has quite good practice facilities, therefore I wouldn't like to see some clown out hacking up a fairway for the sake of a few practise shots when they can bang wedges into our practise green all day.

In fairness, the guys who hit the odd extra shots here and there on a quiet afternoon are usually good enough not to destroy the course, so by definition there's no problem with that.

However you do get eejits who don't use common sense, and they're the ones the clubs have issues with.