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What to practice when you have little time to practice

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At age 47, I cautiously suspect I finally have time to practice. Our children are mostly self-dependent, edging toward independence. I even struck a deal with a club 10 minutes away to let me play and practice, in exchange for some marketing/promotional advice.

Now that I have all the time I never had to hone my game, I look back at those child-rearing years and miss them tremendously. If I could go back and change one thing, given the wisdom I have today, it would be to practice important elements of the game with just a wee bit of time available.

Sagacious wag that I am, I am also generous and have decided to share this wisdom gleaned from years of futile ball-striking, wretched putting and spastic chipping. I put my money where my mouth is, mind you. When I have the following amounts of time at my disposal, this is what I practice.

1. 10 Minutes: Ultra-long putts

Have you ever putted to those mini-holes that some courses have on practice greens? After, the regular hole appears much larger, right? This is the opposite, yet the same.

After banging some 80-, 90- and 100-foot putts, the 30- and 40-footers don’t seem quite as three-puttable anymore. Hit about 15 ultra-long putts and you will come to know your stroke. After all, it will never be any lengthier.

An alternative to this is to hit putts from 10 different distances, dropping 10 feet each time. Start with 100 feet, and then go to 90, 80 and so on until you finish with a 10-foot putt, which will feel like a tap-in.

2. Five minutes: Hands-ahead chip shots

If you haven’t played much golf recently, there’s a good chance that you’re going to struggle with your chipping. One of the most common reasons for bad chipping that I see is that golfers let their forward wrist break down before impact, which can cause the the chili-dip, the chunk and the skull — all nightmares for your score.

That’s why I’ll sometimes start a short warm-up session by swinging a wedge with my forward arm (for me, it’s the left one). After a few air swings, I’ll advance to actually striking the grass and ground with the club to feel the resistance. Finally, I’ll put the back hand on the club and start hitting chip shots.

My focus is on keeping my hands in front of the club through impact. I’ll carry that thought out onto the course for half and full shots, too. It’s a great swing thought to use when you only have space for one.

3. 10 Minutes: Sand shots

It is imperative that golfers reconnect from time to time with the shot where club and ball never meet. At a golf camp in high school, I stood out only because I won a greenside bunker contest. I’m no Gary Player, but I’ve saved a few birdies in scrambles by blasting orbs to within a few feet on short par 4s and 5s. I simply have a feel for it.

However, not practicing something you have a feel for leads to something you used to have a feel for. Hit four to five shots in a bunker to see how the club and sand interact. Then, bounce over to a space where you can nip a few fairway bunker shots. These are the ones where club meets ball in a most conspicuous way. Nothing like hitting a good drive, finding the sand, and making double or triple because you weren’t confident from the beach.

4. Five Minutes: Driver

The point here is not to hone your tee ball, nor to find that extra 50 yards to finally reach 300. The goal is to simply determine which way your ball is curving, unless it is going straight. If you’re fading the ball, forget the draw today. Vice-versa holds true. If you’re the Tom Kite of the group and have the straight ball mastered, I’m told it plays as well.

Remember that you are impoverished with practice time as your currency, so don’t force a draw or a fade or a straight during warm-up. Go with what you find.

5. 10 Minutes: Punch Shots

You might be amazed at how many people can’t pitch back to the fairway. They hit it too high, too low, too hard or too soft, turning a one-shot surrender into an X on the scorecard.

It would be comical if their tears were fake, but they aren’t. These golfers know that it’s time to play safe, but they don’t know how to do it. Take some time to learn what clubs allow you to to pitch or punch the ball back to the fairway with the most ease.

The punch shot is also an awesome option when directly into the wind, or when battling a side wind. The higher the ball gets in the air, the more the wind has a day with it.

Also, if you’ve lost your swing (remember that you have no time to practice), the half-swing or punch shot can be easier to control than a full swing. Normal 7-iron distance with zero confidence? Punch a six- or five-iron shot to the green apron and count on your chipping (see No. 2).

6. Five Minutes: Clean Your Clubs

longridge-2-way-golf-cleaning-brush-with-keyring

Nothing against the change-up or the knuckle ball, but I need spin. If my grooves are filled with muck, my ball isn’t spinning. That’s why it’s imperative to keep extraneous materials off your clubs, out of your grooves and away from your grips — gunk is not your friend if you want to play a clean game of golf.

Warm and soapy water does wonders, and remember to clean your golf balls while you have a tub of the suds. And if the grips are slick because they are worn, clean them too — or have a friend/golf professional change them for you. If you can change your own grips, well … why did you let them get slick in the first place?

Conclusion

I could go on, ad infinitum, but I sense that you have the spirit of the points I’m trying to make. The old adage of “practice smarter, not harder” is the basis for my decrees.

Too many golfers bang away on the course or on the range and have no direction nor goal in mind. By the end of the session, they are tired, frustrated, at times injured and unaware of any impactful discovery about their game. Don’t be that guy.

Address every ball as if it truly were the last you would ever hit and every ball will count toward your improvement, even if you only have five minutes.

Thanks to Simond Selin, whose How Much Time Do You Really Have To Practice Golf? served as the impetus for this piece, and to River Oaks Golf Club (Grand Island, NY) for location.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Ronald Montesano

    Aug 16, 2013 at 1:25 pm

    Beautiful words, Joey! It’s great to have the perspective of the middle ages…here’s hoping you preserve your health and can play well long into your years. Keep reading and keep commenting!!

  2. Joey Koontz

    Aug 15, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    Good stuff here. I’m just getting to a point in my life where I have more time to devote to the game, my only child is now a senior in HS.

    I even got a part time job at the city course so I could play and practice for free. It’s a bunch of fun for sure.

    The advice in your article is simple, “not simplistic” which is a great thing for me. Loving the game, hoping to get down to scratch one day. Will enjoy the journey no matter the destination. Peace!

  3. Ronald Montesano

    Aug 14, 2013 at 10:48 pm

    Nick…good point. It’s the things we take for granted, be it long putts or scoring clubs. I chose the punch or recovery because I see so many kids and adults destroy good rounds with a woeful recovery shot. Thanks for reading, EVERYONE and for commenting!!

    • Nick

      Aug 15, 2013 at 3:54 pm

      No doubt that a failed effort to “take your medicine” is a double bogey or worse, without fail.

  4. Nick

    Aug 14, 2013 at 3:11 pm

    Ronald, I very much agree with your article, especialy the long putting. I neglected it for years, mostly because the embarassment of rolling long putts woefully short or long on the practice green was more than my fragile ego could bear, but come to find out, its better to be embarrased on the practice green than the first or eighteenth green…

    The one thing I would add, perhaps in substitute of the punch shot which I think is fairly easy to master (perhaps because I’ve spent a lifetime employing it with great regularity…) is that the average joe should spare ten minutes on his precious time on 80-125 yard approaches. Few of us with little time to practice will throw darts with our long irons or fairway metals, and even the mid irons can be a challenge without time to hone a stroke, but we should be able to be confident enough with our “scoring clubs” to at least routinely find the green.

  5. Timothy Young

    Aug 14, 2013 at 3:04 pm

    Love it. I actually cleaned the wifes clubs and my clubs the other night when the weather didn’t let us get out to the range.

  6. Tyler

    Aug 14, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    Good article. I have an 8 month old so making time to practice can be tricky when I’m working.

    I’ll go to the range a few times in the evenings after the crowds have left(and hopefully left me some grass). I’ll hit about 60 balls in 45 min. Wedges(focusing on rhythm and contact)then I fly some short irons out into the range(no targets yet). After some solid shots I’ll starts firing at some pins.

    Then I’ll do the same with mid irons and hybrids. Then I move to metal woods and Driver.

    Quality over quantity works for me. I like hitting less balls more often versus practicing for hours at a time a couple times a week. It helps of course that I live right across from a golf course.

    P.S I usually alternate hitting odd and even numbers each session.

  7. Ronald Montesano

    Aug 14, 2013 at 6:18 am

    Thanks, jabrch. I would fill up the sink with hot, soapy water and my clubs always said “gracias.” None of us backs up the ball like the pros, so we’re not looking to take spin off the ball. Appreciate the read, friend!

  8. jabrch

    Aug 13, 2013 at 11:48 pm

    Brilliant article. I have two 6 year olds. I totally get your point. The clean clubs point is tremendously underrated with Jo Average who doesn’t have caddies and rack room boys to clean their clubs or aren’t analysis retentive about their sticks. I try and clean mine after every round.

  9. Ronald Montesano

    Aug 13, 2013 at 9:36 pm

    Damian…if I knew then (when our 4 kids were ankle-biters!) what I know now…Thanks for reading.

    Curt…I hope you meant “simple” and not “simplistic.” Thanks for reading.

  10. Curt

    Aug 13, 2013 at 9:03 pm

    A very simplistic, well organized, article!

  11. Damian

    Aug 13, 2013 at 8:35 pm

    Great article Ronald! From someone who has 2 kids under 2 years old, its great to hear how to make the most out of little time. Thanks for that little gem.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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