Practice makes perfect, right?

Golf Columns - Get Golfing with Robert Heck Printer Friendly Practice Makes Perfect, Right? Robert Heck The Creek at Qualchan 7/23/2008 1:27:51 PM I had some time one day between lessons so I found a shady spot under a tree, sat down, and just watched people practice. This was an eye-opening experience for me. Eight of them were “practicing” during this time. Seven of them were banging balls down range and one was chipping (two had apparently come to drink ice cold adult beverages and hitting balls got in the way, so I won’t count them). Now, I’m sure that these people’s intentions were to improve their swings in order to make themselves better players but from what I saw, only one was making himself a better player. Here’s what was taking place: 1. There was a dad giving pointers to his son while dad hit drivers (the son watched). 2. Two guys were trying to teach each other to hook the ball because they were tired of slicing it. 3. A husband trying to teach his wife how to hit the ball (again with a driver). 4. One guy who hit about five shots with what appeared to be a mid-iron and then hit the remainder of his bucket (about 70 balls) with…you guessed it…his driver. 5. One man hitting wedge shots like a machine gun (I think he was training for a marathon or something). 6. One person chipping. I have to applaud these people. At least they were practicing! It takes time (and a little money) to improve your game so, how do we make the best of it? I can tell you that rifling a hundred white nuggets to “somewhere down there” in less than 30 minutes with your 1-wood is not the answer. Take your time. Give yourself enough time to make the practice meaningful and valuable. Hitting balls should be a relaxing endeavor, not a fitness training workout. Have a specific target in mind for every club. Golf is a game of targets. When you are out on the course, you’re not saying to yourself “just hit it somewhere down there.” You have a specific target in mind as well as a preferred shot path. Do the same thing on the range. Prior to every shot, focus on the pre-swing fundamentals… posture, grip and alignment. These are the building blocks to the golf swing and you are 100 percent in conscious control of them so make sure they are right for every shot. Work on a swing drill! If you’ve taken any lessons, your instructor has undoubtedly given you a swing drill. Work on it! If you haven’t had any lessons, use your golf magazine subscription for something other than bathroom decorations. These are always full of practice drills. Here is one of many practice drills I have my students use. Have someone hand you any random iron out of your bag. Don’t look at what club it is. Go through your pre-shot routine and set-up to a specific target based on what you see and feel from the club in your hands. Hit two or three shots, and then randomly change to another iron. This drill helps improve the “feel” and consistency of your set-up from club to club. Earlier I mentioned that I saw only one person that was truly improving their game. Yeah that’s right…the person chipping. The real game of golf starts from 50 yards and in. So why do people spend 95 percent of their time on the full swing? That’s a good question, and the makings of another article. The point is, make your practice valuable and don’t forget the short game!