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Practice Drills/Games
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15-04-2013 9:25pm#1Creating this thread for people to share the drills/games that they work on when out practicing. If it becomes popular we can add it to the sticky list.
On the back of a comment my pro made yesterday about the first 20-30M being the most important for being online I tried something on the range tonight.
Paced out 15M and stuck an old flag pole in the ground.
Then went back and aimed at it with a 4i for about 30 balls.
At the start I was pretty bad, missing by a couple of yards but by the end it was amazing how accurate I was getting, missing by a couple of inches either side and actually hitting it 3 times. (thinly veiled, "look at me!"
)
I found that I was purely focusing on the target and very little on alignment or swing thoughts (bar the thing I was actually working on).
I was getting quality strikes and even the misses weren't that bad.
It was also a pleasure to go pick up the balls as they were all within maybe 20m of each other...which doesnt usually happen...not with a 4i anyway!
Also it was pretty dark at that stage (9pm, yes I have a problem) so it was interesting how I was staying down on the shot and listening for the hit
rather than peaking up like I have a habit of doing.
I have some other short games ones that I will post if the thread takes off.7
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The 9 shoter.
So there are only 9 shots in golf. High, medium and low.
Straight, draw and fade.
The game is you basically try to play all of them and you soon get to see which you can and can't play. Of course you can work on the ones you can't play or just accept it and move.
To be fair this is a pro drill so average Joes like me can play maybe 4 or 5 (if I'm lucky and not all of them intentionally
) but maybe for the better players on here it might be interesting.
If practicing with a partner you take turns calling the shot to the other to see if they can produce.0 -
The 9 shoter.
So there are only 9 shots in golf. High, medium and low.
Straight, draw and fade.
The game is you basically try to play all of them and you soon get to see which you can and can't play. Of course you can work on the ones you can't play or just accept it and move.
To be fair this is a pro drill so average Joes like me can play maybe 4 or 5 (if I'm lucky and not all of them intentionally ) but maybe for the better players on here it might be interesting.
If practicing with a partner you take turns calling the shot to the other to see if they can produce.
I often try these shots (well, high/low and fade/draw) but never really the opposite combinations. I guess naturally the fade is higher and the draw is lower, but I can hit it straight high and straight low...the opposites sometimes come off..but often its a doublecross!
One tip I would add when doing this is to have some "rules" around the shot.
e.g. it has to start left of X and finish inline with Y.
Otherwise I think you can just end up hitting bananas that arent actually any use to you on the course. On the course you need to move it around something and end up somewhere specific...
Good one though!0 -
Played two 6 hole challenges with the Senior Cup team last night and this morning. Both good practice ideas I reckon.
1st is where you try to score points:
2 for a par
3 birdie
4 eagle
-3 double bogey or worse
you also play 1 shot from a greenside bunker and try to get up and down, +2 if you do.
I managed 7 points (including 1 double that was par 4 straight into the wind) so was pretty happy, I also had a birdie which helped
The winner had 16 :eek:
2nd one was where you play 6 holes dropping a ball between 50m and 70m from the pin and keep track of your score, I managed 21 shots, with a poxy 5 because of a 4 putt. It really is amazing the shots we drop from these distances.0 -
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Played two 6 hole challenges with the Senior Cup team last night and this morning. Both good practice ideas I reckon.
1st is where you try to score points:
2 for a par
3 birdie
4 eagle
-3 double bogey or worse
you also play 1 shot from a greenside bunker and try to get up and down, +2 if you do.
I managed 7 points (including 1 double that was par 4 straight into the wind) so was pretty happy, I also had a birdie which helped
The winner had 16 :eek:
2nd one was where you play 6 holes dropping a ball between 50m and 70m from the pin and keep track of your score, I managed 21 shots, with a poxy 5 because of a 4 putt. It really is amazing the shots we drop from these distances.
I read something similar somewhere recently.
Play a hole and drop two balls around PW distance and in.
Par of the hole is 5 so up and down with one and up and two downs (:D) with the other = Par.
Play 18 like this and you are playing all your golf in the scoring zone and see what your score is like to Par by the end.
Useful I reckon when practicing alone as there is no temptation to hit 5 drives off each tee to try and find that perfect swing 1 -
I read something similar somewhere recently.
Play a hole and drop two balls around PW distance and in.
Par of the hole is 5 so up and down with one and up and two downs (:D) with the other = Par.
Play 18 like this and you are playing all your golf in the scoring zone and see what your score is like to Par by the end.
Useful I reckon when practicing alone as there is no temptation to hit 5 drives off each tee to try and find that perfect swing
That could get very interesting...if you get to the stage where you are able to shoot to par it means that, more often than not, if you are out of position off the tee or hitting a long iron/wood approach to the green, you will be better off just laying up...hard for a lot of people to accept I'd bet.
Also, 5 is a pretty tough target with 2 balls...our Pro gave us full handicaps (well 1/3rd as it was 6 holes) and we were never more than 70M away.
He had a +3 fella doing it after us, I'll be very interested to see what he shot.
In the one last night (in the gale) the guy with 16 was a scratch player and all the points are worked out without handicaps. Made it very tough but was great to play with the good guys, the up and downs were particularly impressive.0 -
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Played two 6 hole challenges with the Senior Cup team last night and this morning. Both good practice ideas I reckon.
1st is where you try to score points:
2 for a par
3 birdie
4 eagle
-3 double bogey or worse
you also play 1 shot from a greenside bunker and try to get up and down, +2 if you do.
I managed 7 points (including 1 double that was par 4 straight into the wind) so was pretty happy, I also had a birdie which helped
The winner had 16 :eek:
It seems like a very unGreeboesque drill???
In that it seems to me to favour aggression over course management?0 -
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ajcurry123 wrote: »It seems like a very unGreeboesque drill???
In that it seems to me to favour aggression over course management?
Not really...its far more important to not have a double or worse.
To make up for a double you need to have 2 pars...the drill is actually designed to get you to limit the disasters and to improve your ability to get up and down.
The reward for getting an eagle is only marginally better than the penalty for having a double, yet its far easier to have a double than an eagle...especially if you go for an eagle and put yourself in the sh!te.0 -
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I read something similar somewhere recently.
Play a hole and drop two balls around PW distance and in.
Par of the hole is 5 so up and down with one and up and two downs (:D) with the other = Par.
Play 18 like this and you are playing all your golf in the scoring zone and see what your score is like to Par by the end.
Useful I reckon when practicing alone as there is no temptation to hit 5 drives off each tee to try and find that perfect swing
That's actually a really good one because we're always tempted to hit 3, 4 or even 5 drives when one strays a few yards (or fairways;)) off line, when in reality semi rough or fairway often doesn't make all that much of a difference. Must give it a try.
Another habit (not really a drill) I'm trying to get into of late is picking the shot I'm trying to hit - I often fall into the bad habit of just aiming down the middle with no real idea of what I'm trying to do. Plus its good fun in a strong crosswind trying to hold one up against the wind, let the next one ride the wind etc etc. The idea is to stop you playing "practice ground golf" on the course or to get you to play golf as opposed to "golf swing".
On the greens, the old faithful, hole 20 two footers in a row is always good. If you miss you start again - the first 19 aren't hard, its that last one gets the nerves going.0 -
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Its all very doable hole by hole...its just putting 6 (and ultimately 18) of them together, without throwing in the doubles...thats the key to scoring in this (and in golf in general)
I would say that 150M is too far out, you will have more approach shots from <100m than you will from 150M I reckon.
You dont need to be hitting the green the majority of the time form 150...you do from 70 though.
How true that is, its amazing how much easier it is to, say, play the course in 3 hole segments, doesn't seem as daunting. And often no matter how bad you're playing, if you have the discipline to do that, you can usually have fairly decent segments. Very hard to discipline yourself to do it though when the red mist descends !
150m is maybe a little far, that could be a very long iron or rescue in certain hurricane conditions, where you're really looking for a good miss. A par of 6 for two balls would be a challenge.0 -
How true that is, its amazing how much easier it is to, say, play the course in 3 hole segments, doesn't seem as daunting. And often no matter how bad you're playing, if you have the discipline to do that, you can usually have fairly decent segments. Very hard to discipline yourself to do it though when the red mist descends !
150m is maybe a little far, that could be a very long iron or rescue in certain hurricane conditions, where you're really looking for a good miss. A par of 6 for two balls would be a challenge.
Yeah, I think 150m is missing the "short game" point of the drill.
If you are getting down in 3 from 150m then you are probably playing scratch golf to begin with.0 -
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I had the recent honour of attending a clinic with Michael Bannon (McIlroy's Coach). When asked about the chipping drills he uses, he said he will throw three balls to a location around the green and will get Rory to chip them. When he has done those three, he will throw another three to a different location and get him to chip those.
The catch - he needs to hole 10 of them before they finish. This gives a huge range of different shots and lies from all around the green, with a massive focus on holing out in order to avoid being there too long.
Anyone care to try this one and tell us how long it takes you
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I had the recent honour of attending a clinic with Michael Bannon (McIlroy's Coach). When asked about the chipping drills he uses, he said he will throw three balls to a location around the green and will get Rory to chip them. When he has done those three, he will throw another three to a different location and get him to chip those.
The catch - he needs to hole 10 of them before they finish. This gives a huge range of different shots and lies from all around the green, with a massive focus on holing out in order to avoid being there too long.
Anyone care to try this one and tell us how long it takes you
I usually practice chipping, bunkers and pitching until I hole 1 ball!
Sometimes it can be a loooong night...
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Ilik Urgee wrote: »Tried that par 27 there today,could only manage a measly 30...
Great tip and will be using it again.
Its tough enough when you get down to actually do it, you always seem to make a balls of a 3 footer out of nowhere and then the 35 footers can really be 3 putt territory.
I did it the other night and also had a 30...popular score
In other news I've played a few rounds now where I try to get up and down from a bunker on each hole...its amazing how much better you get at bunkers when you are in them a lot!0 -
Its tough enough when you get down to actually do it, you always seem to make a balls of a 3 footer out of nowhere and then the 35 footers can really be 3 putt territory.
I did it the other night and also had a 30...popular score
In other news I've played a few rounds now where I try to get up and down from a bunker on each hole...its amazing how much better you get at bunkers when you are in them a lot!
My trouble was holing 3 of the 8 footers. Scoring no 1-putts on the first three I proceeded to try and ram home the last 3 in search of a successful putt only to leave 3 footers from the far side:pac:
Had no bother lagging the 35 footers which I was surprised at, I would've fancied they'd be my poorest putt beforehand.
On the bunkers,definitely pays to test the SW and get to feel the bounce of the club at work.
I spent an hour in a bunker last Tuesday. It eventually came out;)0 -
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Ilik Urgee wrote: »Booo!!!:D
Did it wrong so. That's where the proverbial hits the fan I'd imagine!
Yeah, its a lot more realistic to do it the "proper" way as putting the same distance over the same line more than a couple of times gets "easy".0 -
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ajcurry123 wrote: »I'd say the 35 footer on the 6th hole could be a shorter one than on the 1st...
Tees in the ground before the routine:cool:
One I use if I make the practice green before a round is drop 3 balls in the middle and try get them as near to the fringe as possible. No direction,just speed.0 -
Not really a drill but what I do anywhere I had trouble on the course over the weekend I practice from the spot, it could be chipping or uneven lies mid irons or tricky putts. All part of getting good memories of good shots should you end up in and around the same area again.
Another not really a drill or game but before ever practice round I play 100 chips and 100 putts only takes about 30 mins0 -
Tried a new putting drill last night:
Par 27:
You take a putt from 3 feet, one from 8 feet and then 1 from 35 feet.
And then repeat 6 times, using a different hole/line each time.
Par for the drill is 27 (cool name huh?)
so you are expected to hit all the 3 footers in 1, half the 8 footers in 1 and all the footers in 2.
I had a 29 first time out, so will be interesting to track it over the year.
Great drill, good variety and simulates likely putting conditions on the course while adding an element of pressure. Gave it a go this evening and got a fluky 27 having sunk two of the 35 footers but also 3 putted another. Doesn't take a long as I was expecting so might try and build it into a pre game routine rather than hitting puts all of similar length.levitronix wrote: »Not really a drill but what I do anywhere I had trouble on the course over the weekend I practice from the spot, it could be chipping or uneven lies mid irons or tricky putts. All part of getting good memories of good shots should you end up in and around the same area again.
That reminds me of some interview with Vijay Singh years ago after he knocked himself out of contention duffing a difficult lie into a hazard. When questioned how he felt about the shot days later he responded very positively saying he had since hit something like 100 balls from the same spot so it was no longer playing on his conscience.0 -
Played 6 holes the other evening and playing these two challenges in the round.Played two 6 hole challenges with the Senior Cup team last night and this morning. Both good practice ideas I reckon.
1st is where you try to score points:
2 for a par
3 birdie
4 eagle
-3 double bogey or worse
you also play 1 shot from a greenside bunker and try to get up and down, +2 if you do.
I managed 7 points (including 1 double that was par 4 straight into the wind) so was pretty happy, I also had a birdie which helped
The winner had 16 :eek:
2nd one was where you play 6 holes dropping a ball between 50m and 70m from the pin and keep track of your score, I managed 21 shots, with a poxy 5 because of a 4 putt. It really is amazing the shots we drop from these distances.I read something similar somewhere recently.
Play a hole and drop two balls around PW distance and in.
Par of the hole is 5 so up and down with one and up and two downs (:D) with the other = Par.
Play 18 like this and you are playing all your golf in the scoring zone and see what your score is like to Par by the end.
Useful I reckon when practicing alone as there is no temptation to hit 5 drives off each tee to try and find that perfect swing
For Greebo's Challenge it went really really well, 5 pars out of the 6 holes and an up and down out of the bunker. finished with 12 points. Really makes you think, 'hit it in the middle of the fairway. okay, now try and hit the middle of the green. Get down in 2.' Simples
For AlxMorgan's Challenge, I brought it to about 50-70 yards from the green because thats where I have difficulty getting it in close enough to always make the up and down, as opposed to PW distance where for some reason I do quite well at getting close to where I want to be.
For 6 holes it was par 30 and i finished with a 33. Too many times I'd be getting it onto the green, but I'd be 20-30 feet away and holing the putt just wasn't too much of an option. Only 1 of the holes ( the 2nd ) did i hit both shots into 4 and 6 feet and got both putts. Most of the the time after that, it was on and 2 putts.
Will be doing both again another time for sure 0 -
Rickylovesuall wrote: »For Greebo's Challenge it went really really well, 5 pars out of the 6 holes and an up and down out of the bunker. finished with 12 points. Really makes you think, 'hit it in the middle of the fairway. okay, now try and hit the middle of the green. Get down in 2.' Simples
An interesting varient is to play a match using these scoring rules...I've done it a few times and its amazing how quickly it can turn, even over 6/9 holes.
I was 11 points down and got a half on the last the other day...I got a birdie when my partner got a double, huge momentum swing!
The match helps to keep it interesting but the scoring system also allows you to track your singles score over time.0 -
Just spotted this on the dan plan comments to a blog entry:More related to the short game is also playing on the course avoiding on purpose to hit to the greens. Again also a strategic exercise because it forces you to think a lot on the best area to miss the green and how to get the easisest up&down chance.then you can count how many up&down you can make.
Btw it is an excellent way to play conservative and to play a bogey or par round that can end with surprisingly low results because it tends to remove all the high numbers from the scorecard!
Interesting idea. Play to miss greens but miss them in the best place. Really gets you thinking. And I bet a lot of people when they start to think about where best to miss various greens around their own course will be surprised at how it changes their opinion on what shot to hit playing a normal round
To be fair I look like I play this game most of the time if you see my GIR 0 -
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