When it comes to practicing to most people the more balls you hit the better the practice session has been. How many pyramids or buckets of golf balls can I hit, or how long can I stay at the range for. In reality this couldn’t be further from the truth, and this type or practice session can actually become counterproductive. The following are 5 tips to help you improve your practice:
Fundamentals are key
When you are starting your practice session, make sure that your fundamentals are sound to begin. Is your alignment correct, ball position, grip and take away. Start small and work your way up until you feel the basics are right and the body is loose and warmed up.
Practice with purpose
Have a goal in mind before you start your practice session. Are you looking to create a feel, work on something specific in the swing that you may have learned during a lesson or are you preparing for a tournament in the near future. Depending on what your goal is you may want to alter what you do during your practice session.
If your goal is to work on your technique or create a feeling in the swing then make sure you are doing movements and drills to let you create the correct movements.
If you are in preparation mode for a tournament or a big game then our practice should be far more random. Change clubs regularly, change targets on every shot and go through your pre shot routine throughout the session.
Know your distances
Use targets on the driving range to check your distances constantly. Use the conditions as you would on the golf course, take into account the wind, temperature and even the lie if you have the ability to change it. This will help you to prepare for playing the game and allow you to figure out how far each club travels and also discover if there is any gaps between the clubs in your golf bag.
Don’t forget the short game
When most players think of practice they immediately jump to the idea of practicing long game, however the short game is just as important and must not be forgotten.
While working on short game try your various different wedges, practice landing them in different directions and controlling the trajectory off the ball flight. The better you become at controlling the distance and trajectory the better you will become with your wedges.
