Golf can be a very time-consuming game, so for the average golfer who is also working, it can be hard to find the time to practise as well as play golf. It is vitally important for any golfer of any ability to find the time to practise as not only will it help their technique but also their confidence.
Every practise session done by any golfer should be as efficient as possible and this is especially true for those golfers who don’t have much time on their hands. By practising smarter and having a goal for every practise session, a player will be able to use their time in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Below are some easy ways to use your time most effectively when practising:
On the range
How to start a practise session:
Warm up: raise your heart rate + some dynamic stretches
Start with a wedge, hitting some small chip shots
Then move up to pitch shot
Once you feel loose you can then start hitting some full shots
During the warm up is an ideal time to be thinking about your goal for the session and what you want to achieve. This could be working on your driving or pitching or iron shots. Once you have figured that out, you can then focus your practise more on that area. When you are practising the main thing, you want to achieve is quality and not quantity.
Once the warm up is complete, you can now start on your dedicated practise. Below are some drills and games that you can play that will help to focus your mind and stop you from just aimlessly hitting balls on the range.
Games to play:
Practise as if it was the course – visualise a hole at your golf course and play it on the range. So, play your tee shot, which could be a driver, to a specific target, then an iron shot to a target and then a chip. Every time you play a shot, you must go through your pre-shot routine and pick out a target. If you miss the target then you have to hit the shot again until you do
Target practise - line up 5 balls on your mat and then pick a specific target on the range. Once you have done this hit the balls to the target and see how many out of 5 lands in the target area. If you write it down in a book and keep it in your golf bag, you can then try and beat your score from last time
Pitching practise – pick out a target on the range at 50 yards and 60 yards and practise half and three quarter shots with your wedges and learn the distances you hit each shot
After you have finished your practise on the range, make sure you leave enough time to practise your chipping and putting. The short game is the most valuable skill to learn in golf so if you are spending an hour practising, make sure about 40 minutes of that is on the short game.
On the putting green
The main aim of putting practice is to help get a feel for the green and give you more confidence on the short putts. Below are some drills that you can do for your short game.
Games to play:
Short putting – place 4 balls around the hole in a circle about 3 feet away. The aim is to hole all 4 putts consecutively. Once you have done it from 3 feet you can then move back to 4 feet, 5 feet and 6 feet
Long putting – have 4 balls lined up next to each other and roll the first one about 4 feet away and then the next 3 balls have to finish further away than the last
When you are practicing your putting, it is vitally important that you treat every putt like you would on the course. So, making sure that you always line your putts up and go through your pre-shot routine.
On the chipping green
The main aim of chipping is to get the ball as close to the hole as possible to make your next putt as easy as possible. So, when you are practising chipping, you want to try and replicate that. Here are some drills that you can do to put yourself under a bit of pressure when you are practising and help with your chipping.
Games to play:
Place some tees around the hole 3 feet and 4 feet away. Then place 4 balls just off the green and chip them towards the hole. The aim of this game is to see how many balls you can get within the targets. Once you have successfully chipped 4 balls within 3 feet you can then move further back from the hole and do it again
Using tees, make a circle about 4 foot in width on the green, then place 4 balls off the green. The aim of this game is to work on your landing area and roll outs. Start with a SW and chip balls into the target area and see how far they roll. Then use a PW, 9 iron and 8 iron and repeat the drill
All of these games can be recorded in a book and then when you come back to practise again you will be able to see what you did last time and try and beat it. I hope that you find all these drills helpful and hopefully it will make practise a little bit more enjoyable, rather than just standing on a range and mindlessly whacking golf balls for hours. Enjoy practicing!