By: Piers W.
March 10, 2014
MAKE PRACTICE HARDER THAN PLAY
How often do you hear people say, “I can’t believe how badly I played when I practiced so well the other day” or “Yesterday I played 9 holes under my handicap, but today in the comp I didn’t get within 10 of it”
It’s obviously more difficult when you’re in a competitive situation but people are not often well prepared.
The biggest problem is that when you are on the practice tee or your having some practice on the course there is no consequence. So if you hit a bad shot it doesn’t matter, therefore you don’t have the same mindset. If you had the mindset that every shot counts when you are practicing you will start to condition the mental strength of a tour professional.
Imagine this, if you had to train to fight someone in a boxing match would you rather train with Mike Tyson or a friend of yours? Well I know I would rather train with a friend, as it would be a lot easier! Imagine how hard your training would be with Iron Mike Tyson, but from that imagine what the demanding daily training would do for you when it came to fight night? You would be much more prepared to fight; all because you’re training was harder than your actual fight.
With this imagine if you where to practice hitting drives to a 7 yard gap on the practice tee! Chip shots out of the worst possible lies! Kicking your ball into the trees on a practice round and dealing with the result. Suddenly you are starting to train like tour pro and you are conditioning mental toughness that is going stand you in good stead.
So next time you go to practice be imaginative, hit ten shots between targets only 7 yards wide! When you are on the course if your ball misses the fairway only allow yourself to chip it back on the fairway! Play 2 balls off the tee and then play your worst shot!
By using your imagination and making your practice harder than your play, your competitive rounds will start to feel a lot easier.
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I recently read “Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect” by Bob Rotella and I already changed my way of training based on the book. I pick targets for every shot on the range (crazy that I didnt before…) and…
I recently read “Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect” by Bob Rotella and I already changed my way of training based on the book. I pick targets for every shot on the range (crazy that I didnt before…) and go through my pre-shot routine for almost every shot instead of firing away a hundred balls per hour. I stay a lot more relaxed during training, which makes it more effectiv I think.
Off-Topic question: I struggle with a bit of a slice and I randomly tried the drill where you put your left foot back in the stance (not the right-foot-behind-drill which encourages to swing from the inside!) and it made my slice a lot less appearing.
Any suggestions how that can make sense? Only thing I’m feeling is that I stay a lot more connected to keep my balance.
All of Bob Rotellas work is very good Alex.
By pulling the left foot back in your stance and opening it your right it doesn’t suggest that it should eliminate the slice. Similar to the make prac…
All of Bob Rotellas work is very good Alex.
By pulling the left foot back in your stance and opening it your right it doesn’t suggest that it should eliminate the slice. Similar to the make practice harder theory by opening your stance it will indeed make it harder to get your plane more inside out, so if someone does have a tendency to be “on plane” on the range but over on the course we’ll get them to use the open stance on the range and get it on plane with the theory that its harder so that when they are on the course it will be easier to be on plane. As you have said there may well be a lot less effort in your shots which is allowing you to square the face better. Once you can control the club face you will be able to control the slice. Try drills on squaring the face and then work on your swing plane. Thanks for your comment, keep up the good work.
This is good info. I have recently begun to give myself terrible lies at my local short game areas in and around San Clemente, CA. This has improved my shots immensely. I also give each shot a grad…
This is good info. I have recently begun to give myself terrible lies at my local short game areas in and around San Clemente, CA. This has improved my shots immensely. I also give each shot a grade and I’m constantly trying to improve my percentages.
Brilliant ideas Russ. Keeping a record of your scores when practicing and this will give you even greater feedback and will also boost your confidence if scores keep getting better. #TakeCharge
Great post guys & certainly all good points.
Any tips for playing out 18 holes consistently though? Always on the back 9 I have 1 or 2 bad holes.
Im a fit young guy, so its not as though I ‘run’…
Great post guys & certainly all good points.
Any tips for playing out 18 holes consistently though? Always on the back 9 I have 1 or 2 bad holes.
Im a fit young guy, so its not as though I ‘run’ out of legs…
Im guessing the above post will help with 18 holes of consistency as well.
Brendan
Hi Brendan thanks for your comment. If your struggling on the back 9 have a go at these 3 things.
1. Try this practice session – hit 14 tee shots to your 7 yard fairway but if you miss your target…
Hi Brendan thanks for your comment. If your struggling on the back 9 have a go at these 3 things.
1. Try this practice session – hit 14 tee shots to your 7 yard fairway but if you miss your target on one of your last 5 shots then take a point off your total. With your iron shots do exactly the same for the last 7 shots of your 18 shots you’ll hit to your 7 yard target. This will help simulate more pressure for the later part of your rounds.
2. Develop a Pre Shot Routine that allows you to switch off in-between shots but then allows you to re-focus when it is time to hit the shot. When we play golf we only hit shots for 15% of the time! It’s virtually impossible to concentrate for the whole round, so by giving yourself a routine which allows you to switch on and off you will be able to retain focus until the 18th green. Imagine your concentration as an egg timer, if you turn it permanently on you will run out!
3. No matter how fit you are you need to make sure you take on plenty of food and fluids! The best being water and almonds.
Let me know how you get on. #TakeCharge
This is so true. And a great article. I recently purchased a set of clubs after getting back from overseas. Heading out to the range for the first time in 4 years is like starting all over again. I ha…
This is so true. And a great article. I recently purchased a set of clubs after getting back from overseas. Heading out to the range for the first time in 4 years is like starting all over again. I have a bad, bad slice. I was looking through videos and came across the subject of “swinging left.” How true is this concept and would it help me to practice this? I don’t see any videos from you guys on the subject. Also, maybe you guys could do a video on trajectory? For example, what is a target trajectory to hit your driver consistently? Should it be low/mid/or even a little high? Hope you guys can help me get my golf game back! Enjoy the channel a lot! Keep it up! I’m spreading the word about MeAndMyGolf!
Hi Corey thank you for your comment. Firstly great to hear you are getting back into the game.
If you are a right handed golfer and the golf ball is slicing to the right, swinging to the left will m…
Hi Corey thank you for your comment. Firstly great to hear you are getting back into the game.
If you are a right handed golfer and the golf ball is slicing to the right, swinging to the left will more than likely make the slice worse. It does depend what sort of slice it is but the best bet for you is to go to our Game Analyzer in the membership section of this website and answer the Accuracy question and this will help you identify exactly what faults it could be. Your club face will definitely be open to your path and your path is more than likely to the left so you just need to clarify that.
As far as your driver trajectory is concerned hitting the ball too high or too low will loose you distance, imagine if you had a hose pipe squirting water! There is an optimum trajectory between too high and too low. If you can get that flight perfect you will get optimal carry and roll.
Your best solution is to get your slice (swing plane and club face) sorted and then you will be in a better position to find the perfect driver flight for you.
I hope this helps. #TakeCharge