The Practice Range — Perfect Practice makes Permanent
| Here's a list of what you can find in this section. | |
|---|---|
| Check back often for some great ideas on improving your game.
We are researching practice tips full swings, touch shots, and putting.
|
Have a Goal — Pretend you are playing when you practice
Isn't it a bit strange that with all the improvement to golf clubs and balls, golfers shoot the same scores as those shot in the past 30 or so years. What could cause that? Could it be that when we practice we are more concerned with seeing how fast we can bang out a bucket of balls? Are we just trying to see how far we can boom our driver? Very few golfers actually take the time to practice in a manner that is similar to the way we play on the course. We need to have specific goals when we practice. Have a clear understanding of what we want to accomplish. Most of our stokes occur within 100 yards of the green. Here is a drill that will help get the ball closer to the hole.PITCH DRILL
- Start about 5 yards off the green
- Locate three targets, 20, 15, and 10 yards from the green's edge
- Use any club you wish, hit 5 shots to each target, alternating the target on each shot
- Measure the distance of the 3rd closest of the 5 shots
- That's your average leaving you the remaining putt for par
- By working on this and reducing your distance you can get closer to the hole for more makeable putts for par
- Practice this drill about once a week and record your improvement.
What Time do You Have?
If you are not a pro, then you probably hit the ball OK from tee to green, but once you get within a range where you don't need a full swing your games seems to fall apart. No one seems to have the time to pratice these partial shots. The pros of course spend many hours practicing and developing a feel for their short game.If you can imagine your swing along the lines of the hands on a clock you are on your way to developing a way to create shots that travel specific distances. Start by using your pitching wedge and taking a swing only moving you arms back until they are horizontal to the ground or at the 9 o'clock postion on the clock. You will have some wrist cock, this is needed to strike the ball downward and through the ball. Practice this swing over and over until you can identify a consistent distance. You now have your 9 o'clock swing and distance.
Do the same process for other times, 8 o'clock, 7 o'clock, and so on. Once done you will created a series of shots that will allow you to hit to several specific distances. Do this for your other short irons and you will now have a known distance and club for any distance you need.
Three Major Rules to Good Pitching
- Keep your weight on your front foot
- Maintain a constant pace during the swing
- Remember to follow through
Keep your weight on your front foot
This is very important to keep your body steady during the swing and helps to put spin on the ball with a solid downward striking of the ball. Do not shift your weight to your back foot at any time during this type of swing. On a full swing however, you need the weight change or shift.Maintain a constant pace during the swing
Imagine your arms and club are a pendulum that is swing back and forth. You will see that the spend is constant, back and though, back and through. This is what you must recreate for your pitch shots. If you don't you will be inconsistent with your distances.Remember to follow through
Make sure you finish your swing, I prefer a full finish. If you stop your swing you will not hit the ball as far as you should.Go back to Previous Page