Practice

[moochie]

I try to do some form of drills on my full swing a few times per week and practice putting and chipping as well. Problem is that I have a short attention span (especially when putting in my basement). How long do practice sessions have to be in order to be effective?

All thoughts appreciated.

Moochie

[MusicMan]

practice until you feel you are starting to get what you are practicing... then as soon as you think your getting it do for a few more minutes then stop. and pick it up again next time. build it to where you are 80% sure of what your doing. then stop. then next time that number would have droped to 70% then build it up to 90% then it will drop to 80% then the third time u apptempt doing it it will be perfect...

thats the way i do it with everything not just golf but guitar too.. dont expect perfection the first time out cuz it wont happen...

[Ginker]

I watch tv while I putt in the basement.. That seems to help me stay commited.. Also make a game of it for yourself.. Get a small target to putt to.. Try to beat your best score.. You need to make it fun.

[MusicMan]

1...2...3...DAMN, 1...2...DAMN, 1...2...3..4..5...6...DAMN, 1...DAMN

LOL i can see where this is going

[Ginker]

I use about 20 balls.. And put to a very small target.. See how many I can make out of 20, how many in a row etc..

[MusicMan]

kinda fun.... i guess... but see the above post, i think id go slightly insane doing that in my basment

[Ginker]

The key is 42 inch LCD Tv with HD XpressVu

[Ginker]

Hey.. congrats on your 1000th post!

[MusicMan]

The key is 42 inch LCD Tv with HD XpressVu

Ah... i see now! lol


WOHOO! 1000 posts!

[BC MIST]

I try to do some form of drills on my full swing a few times per week and practice putting and chipping as well. Problem is that I have a short attention span (especially when putting in my basement). How long do practice sessions have to be in order to be effective?

Is your practice RECREATIONAL (simulator golf), HABITULATIVE (something new) or REHABITULATIVE(breaking the habit of hooking)? Regardless, if you do something correctly once, you will lose about 50% of that immediately and about 25% of that within 48 hours. If you repeat something correctly 4 consecutive times, your retention rate goes up to about 90%. So it is obvious that you need to know exactly what you need to do and how to do it correctly, to progress. In golf this is best done in slow motion and static positions. It is best to do one thing correctly 100 times than to to do 100 things correctly once. You know that golf magazines and The Golf Channel instruction, are full of drills and tips, none of which work if you work on a whole bunch of these. Determine what you need to do and work on it alone. How long does it take to make a change? "It takes as long as it takes." It could be immediately, it could be a year, but it probably averages 3 to 4 weeks of daily CORRECT practice.

What is important is NOT how many "swings" you take in practice, but the quality of those swings. A lot of slow motion swings, or moving in slow motion from one position to the next, with the top of the backswing and the initial downswing moves, the most important. Constant repetitions of the correct motion will make you better, while if you just swing or just hit balls, without trying to make changes, you will do nothing more than PERFECT YOUR FAULTS. This applies NOT just to the full swing but to your chipping, pitching and your putting stroke.

The Bertholy exercises in "Golf Swing Construction 101, The Bertholy Method," while done in front of the TV, are also provide an excellent path to improvement.