Quick Tips on Getting the Most Out of Your Practice Session
- Bring your notes! Look at what you’ve covered in your lessons before you start hitting balls. The review will make your session more productive.
- Practice for short periods. 30 to 45 minutes is plenty. Hitting balls for 2 hours at a time is not helpful. When a player fatigues, gets bored, or gets injured after an hour of driving balls, they revert back to their old habits. By your next practice session, we will have to start over again to fix the recurring problem. That’s good for me, but bad for the player.
- Hit balls with one club for about 5 to 8 balls then change to another club. Continue changing clubs throughout your practice time. As you get better and better over the years, you shouldn’t need to use as many balls for each club. You will end up practicing like you play: with one club, one ball, and one shot.
- If you get to your practice and it’s not feeling right, go home. That “off” feeling can hit after a long day at work, when you have an ailment, are in a bad mood, or are just not that into it. It’s not possible to have good days every time you’re out, it’s something you figure out when you’ve played sports long enough. It’s best to just go home before you do more damage to your swing and your confidence. Try again another day.
- At the end of your session hit a few balls using your pre-shot routine and lining up to a target. Finish with a good hit, don’t try to finish all the golf balls!
- Gary Kent
