Golf Tips from the Pro

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Let's Talk About Practice

Since our driving range has opened up here at Deerfield, I have had the opportunity to watch many practice sessions on our range.  Unfortunately, I haven’t seen many people making the most of the time.  I see far too many of you playing the rapid fire game, hitting ball after ball with no rehearsal swing.  The question I would have to ask is “What exactly are you practicing?”

I am going to assume that each golfer can practice for one hour per week.  To become a better player you need to work on all aspects of the game in that short amount of time.  This means breaking up the hour into 3 mini-sessions. 

During your first 15 minutes of your practice session, work on putting.  Try to master the short putts and hit a handful of 20 footers.  The average first putt that the average player has on the golf course is 20 feet, so make sure you are proficient from that distance. 

Your next 15 minutes should be spent on your short game.  Practice your chips, pitches, and bunker shots of all different lies and situations.  On the PGA Tour, John Senden currently has the highest greens in regulation percentage at 71.87%.  This means the best player on the PGA Tour in this category is only hitting 13 greens per round.  The percentage for the average player is well below 50%, so concentrate on the short game to save yourself some shots.

Your last 30 minutes is at the driving range.  Hopefully your instructor has laid out a practice plan for you, but if not here is a couple musts when practicing.

• The first thing you need to do is put a club down at your feet parallel to your target line to ensure you are aligned properly. 
• The second thing you need to do is take rehearsal swings in between golf balls.  A wise man once told me that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing wrong over and over again.  If you hit a bad shot and just rake another golf ball over you are just proving the definition to be true.  You must be trying to do something different when you practice and you must redefine success when you are on the range.  Success is not hitting every shot perfect.  (Tiger says he only hits one golf shot per round that he considers perfect!)  Make “success” leaving the range feeling like you improved your golf swing. 
• Finish your practice session acting as if you were on the golf course.  Pick out different clubs and different targets and go through the process as if you were playing your next round.  This is the part of your practice where you are preparing for the golf course.  At this point you need to forget about “golf swing” and focus on “target.”

I hope you improve your practice sessions, and in turn improve your game.  As always, we are always available for any help you may need.  You may reach us by calling the golf shop at 302-368-6640 ext 3.

Archived Golf Tips:

06/08 – Distance Control When Putting
05/08 – If The Shoe Fits
02/08 – Sand Dollars
01/08 – Getting More Power Out Of Your Swing
12/07 – Winter Club Maintenance
11/07 – Hillside Lies
08/07 – Lift
07/07 – Hybrids
05/07 – Practice
04/07 – Golf Club Fitting
03/07 – The Iron Triangle