It's golf season
Here is the upper Midwest it is now officially golf season. Now when I played my best golf I used to hit the practice range four times a week. I used to leave a bit earlier in the morning and do to a range on my way to work. I would not just go and hit balls. I had a plan and a bit of a routine.
Now even though I would go to the range four times a week I was not always buying a bucket of balls. I would only hit balls every other day week and then putt and chip on the other days. At most practice facilities chipping and putting is free so there is no good reason for avoiding this aspect of the game. I have a plan or routine for how I hit balls and for how I practice the short game.
On days that I hit balls I always start with eight or nine shots with a wedge. It's always best to start with one of your shortest clubs just to get warmed up since they are the easiest ones to hit. From there it all depends on what I want to work on. If I'm more interested on getting my swing grooved or want to work on some issue with my swing I move on to the seven iron then close out with the five iron.
The seven iron is probably the best club for people to hit to work on their swing. It isn't hard to hit but will travel far enough to let you know how you are hitting the ball. The five iron is the middle club in your bag and harder to hit accurately than a seven iron. This will show you if your changes are actually working.
If I''m working to get comfortable with a particular club I may spend the rest of the bucket just on that club. Often I set targets to hit with that club then try different shots with that club. Once you've played awhile you should know how to draw or fade any of your clubs. A good test is to hit five draws then five fades. Once you can do that you are ready for any situation you'll face on the course.
Now when I hit balls I almost never buy a large bucket. I try to limit my time on the range to about a half hour. If you are just hitting full shot after full shot you are going to get tired. When you get tired you get sloppy. Last thing you want to do is practice a sloppy swing. If I do buy a full bucket I use the last 15 or so balls to practice 1/2 and 3/4 wedge shots. These are good shots to work on late in your practice session because they are soft easy swings.
When I practice putting and chipping I tend to break the time 50-50 unless there is a sand trap and I want to work on bunker shots. I may spend a whole session on bunker shots since it's my nemesis. I will always start putting and then move to chips. I first start with practicing short putts around five feet then more to around fifteen and then move to long lag putts. I prefer to start on short puts because you should make a high percentage of those. On 15+ foot putts I don't hope to make these but I do hope to get them within a three foot circle of the whole. I am really just working to get my read correct and judge the speed correctly. I'll then clean up those puts to get the feel for holing out short puts.
How I practice chips and pitch shots it all determines on the facilities. Normally I just practice shorter chips to get a feel for hitting a soft short from the rough. If they have a pitching green I'll practice longer shots from several different angles into greens. If they have a sand trap I'll mostly work on consistently getting the ball out of the trap and onto the green. I'll also try different lies within the trap.
Now if I'm going to play a round I will always get a small bucket to warm up. In this case I will either go through my bad hitting either the even or the odd numbered clubs then hit some drives. I will also see which club I will tee off with and hit that club as well. I'll finish the warm up with a few soft wedges to work on my touch. I read somewhere that the pros warm up hitting either their odd or even numbered clubs and it made sense. You really don't want to hit every club because you won't have many balls to hit. I never hit a full bucket before a round. Why hit 65 or 70 balls when you are about to hit another 45 or 50 full shots? No need to wear yourself out.
Well I hope this was a beneficial read. I think most people that play golf do not take the game very seriously and just prefer to hack it up when they play. Like anything, golf takes hard work to get good at. If you put in the time on the range and the practice green you will see results.
Now even though I would go to the range four times a week I was not always buying a bucket of balls. I would only hit balls every other day week and then putt and chip on the other days. At most practice facilities chipping and putting is free so there is no good reason for avoiding this aspect of the game. I have a plan or routine for how I hit balls and for how I practice the short game.
On days that I hit balls I always start with eight or nine shots with a wedge. It's always best to start with one of your shortest clubs just to get warmed up since they are the easiest ones to hit. From there it all depends on what I want to work on. If I'm more interested on getting my swing grooved or want to work on some issue with my swing I move on to the seven iron then close out with the five iron.
The seven iron is probably the best club for people to hit to work on their swing. It isn't hard to hit but will travel far enough to let you know how you are hitting the ball. The five iron is the middle club in your bag and harder to hit accurately than a seven iron. This will show you if your changes are actually working.
If I''m working to get comfortable with a particular club I may spend the rest of the bucket just on that club. Often I set targets to hit with that club then try different shots with that club. Once you've played awhile you should know how to draw or fade any of your clubs. A good test is to hit five draws then five fades. Once you can do that you are ready for any situation you'll face on the course.
Now when I hit balls I almost never buy a large bucket. I try to limit my time on the range to about a half hour. If you are just hitting full shot after full shot you are going to get tired. When you get tired you get sloppy. Last thing you want to do is practice a sloppy swing. If I do buy a full bucket I use the last 15 or so balls to practice 1/2 and 3/4 wedge shots. These are good shots to work on late in your practice session because they are soft easy swings.
When I practice putting and chipping I tend to break the time 50-50 unless there is a sand trap and I want to work on bunker shots. I may spend a whole session on bunker shots since it's my nemesis. I will always start putting and then move to chips. I first start with practicing short putts around five feet then more to around fifteen and then move to long lag putts. I prefer to start on short puts because you should make a high percentage of those. On 15+ foot putts I don't hope to make these but I do hope to get them within a three foot circle of the whole. I am really just working to get my read correct and judge the speed correctly. I'll then clean up those puts to get the feel for holing out short puts.
How I practice chips and pitch shots it all determines on the facilities. Normally I just practice shorter chips to get a feel for hitting a soft short from the rough. If they have a pitching green I'll practice longer shots from several different angles into greens. If they have a sand trap I'll mostly work on consistently getting the ball out of the trap and onto the green. I'll also try different lies within the trap.
Now if I'm going to play a round I will always get a small bucket to warm up. In this case I will either go through my bad hitting either the even or the odd numbered clubs then hit some drives. I will also see which club I will tee off with and hit that club as well. I'll finish the warm up with a few soft wedges to work on my touch. I read somewhere that the pros warm up hitting either their odd or even numbered clubs and it made sense. You really don't want to hit every club because you won't have many balls to hit. I never hit a full bucket before a round. Why hit 65 or 70 balls when you are about to hit another 45 or 50 full shots? No need to wear yourself out.
Well I hope this was a beneficial read. I think most people that play golf do not take the game very seriously and just prefer to hack it up when they play. Like anything, golf takes hard work to get good at. If you put in the time on the range and the practice green you will see results.
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