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Why practicing more can actually make you worse

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Congratulations, you’ve finally done it. You’ve committed to getting better at golf, and made the promise to work harder than ever on your game. Or maybe you’re recently retired and have more time on your hands. So off to the course you go, everyday, to bang a tour-size bucket of balls. The problem is, you’re getting worse, not better.

How? The answer is simple. When most golfers hit range balls, they’re often doing little more than ingraining or accentuating swing faults. In order to get better at golf, you must make correct repetitions. “Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect,” Vince Lombardi said.

Think about it: If you have the classic, overly inside takeaway, a slight over-the-top transition, and play a pull-fade, you can still score and play the game with enjoyment if you are a weekend golfer who hardly practices. If you hit 500 balls per day, however, your takeaway will most likely get more inside, and your transition will move more and more over the top. A playable pull-fade becomes a push-slice, or possible a duck-hook. You’ll lose any semblance of ball control, and your score will rise.

So what’s the secret?

Having the time to practice is great, but golfers need a roadmap or plan of action in order to get to the next level. This is where a teaching professional comes into play. Take the time to see an instructor in your area who can audit your entire game. They should look at your long game, short game, putting, and also ask questions about your mental game, course strategy and fitness level. They should also discuss your long-term and short-term goals. Defining your definition of “better” will help you stay focused on improvement, and help your instructor make better decisions about the direction your game needs to go.

From there, you BOTH can lay out a plan of action that allows you to have consistent lessons on every part of the game. They can be as infrequent as once per month, or as frequently as once per week. I also recommend that part of the plan be supervised practice sessions, where the professional keeps a watchful eye on your habits and tendencies. He or she may even be able to get on the course with you to see how you handle its challenges. By watching you play or practice, an instructor can point out when you begin to aim too far right, hunch over, or get too quick in real time — before it becomes a major issue.

Remember, the key to improvement is a plan of action, checkpoints to audit, and working smarter, not harder. Does this describe you? Leave your instruction questions below in the comments section, and I’ll do my best to answer as many as I can.

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Tom F. Stickney II, is a specialist in Biomechanics for Golf, Physiology, and 3d Motion Analysis. He has a degree in Exercise and Fitness and has been a Director of Instruction for almost 30 years at resorts and clubs such as- The Four Seasons Punta Mita, BIGHORN Golf Club, The Club at Cordillera, The Promontory Club, and the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. His past and present instructional awards include the following: Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, Golf Digest Top 50 International Instructor, Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor, Best in State (Florida, Colorado, and California,) Top 20 Teachers Under 40, Best Young Teachers and many more. Tom is a Trackman University Master/Partner, a distinction held by less than 25 people in the world. Tom is TPI Certified- Level 1, Golf Level 2, Level 2- Power, and Level 2- Fitness and believes that you cannot reach your maximum potential as a player with out some focus on your physiology. You can reach him at [email protected] and he welcomes any questions you may have.

41 Comments

41 Comments

  1. cgasucks

    May 21, 2016 at 10:50 pm

    It is not how long you practice, it is how. You might be proud of yourself being a range rat for for hours practicing your swing…but all that time is wasted if your swing is always over the top. It doesn’t hurt to experiment when you practice, after all, you might have a revelation if you do.

  2. Barry stevens

    May 19, 2016 at 11:19 pm

    I really think that the normal club coaches charge far too much therefore making having lessons for the majority of average players out of the question.

  3. Steven

    May 17, 2016 at 1:44 pm

    I like the idea, but I both agree and disagree. It is true that more practice can ingrain bad habits. I have no doubt about that. A golfer with certain tendencies will have a limited ceiling of improvement. However, it won’t necessarily exaggerate those habits. Hitting 500 balls may actually cause the bad habits to be more consistent. If they are consistent, then the misses will be consistent. A golfer who knows where the miss will be is in a great position. That golfer may not break par, but their scores will be around the same. I agree a more correct swing is advisable, but consistency can make up for a ton of problems with most amateurs.

  4. Bob

    May 13, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    Gir

  5. Bob

    May 13, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    Gir is king of all! Keep practicing it will come to you.

  6. RG

    May 12, 2016 at 11:23 pm

    Didn’t know you were capable of having a humble opinion…

  7. RG

    May 12, 2016 at 11:18 pm

    If you want to change your swing you need to practice the swing without hitting a ball. The golf ball can lie to you. When swinging without the ball there is no pressure. There is no short cut to breaking 80. Rhythm and tempo are prime. Perfect mechanics without them is dead. Bad mechanics with them and your still playin good.

  8. Pete

    May 12, 2016 at 11:03 pm

    “In order to get better at golf, you must make correct repetitions”, is not actually as a fact true. Also faulty repetitions will make you better in ways, one does not usually aknowledge. They add your library of what not to, and give your subconscious triggers to change things as they happen and react to familiar positions, where you have missed a shot and run a sort of autocorrect in your head.

    There are certain rules of what a good, close to perfect swing is and looks like, yet no-one ever repeats a swing perfectly. Every single swing is different from one, another. Block-practice will get you somewhere in short terms, but variable training is what improves your skills faster and more consistently on long run.

    I think, instead of perfect practice making you better it should be written: “Playfull practice will make you better”, because in variable training your brain will have to work on every single shot as if you were playing on the course. It’s a proven fact, that learning after a block practice is at the level reached in the practice, but will fall in time, but in variable training the process in your brain will continue after the practice session is stopped and you’ll improve even afterwords.

    The wisdom of Chuck Hogan is a key to improve, he said: “I’m learning perfectly, yet everything I learn is not perfect.”

    • Steven

      May 17, 2016 at 1:47 pm

      This is a great comment, and I 100% agree. The new research on interleaving practice (variable practice) shows long term improvement happens by playing simulation games with different clubs, etc. Switch clubs on the range or even in the house without a ball. Switch between full, half, pitch, chip, etc shots each time. Focus goes up and improvement lasts.

  9. Troy

    May 12, 2016 at 2:58 pm

    Yep, I’d agree with this Tom.

    I see at guy at the range nearly every week practicing the same poor swing each time. It doesn’t change and he doesn’t seem to be working on any drills to improve.

    Cheers

  10. Larry

    May 12, 2016 at 2:52 pm

    shank!!!!

    Keep pounding range balls until the desired shot shape is achieved. You will get worse then uptick to you max potential.
    Golf requires nothing but will and desire to be better. It reveals you to yourself. Man up and get better or let (INSERT FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH INSTRUCTOR) tell you this that and the other is wrong with your game.
    There is no quick fix or tip your own game is inside you.
    Instructors see $$ not your game.

    • James

      May 12, 2016 at 4:16 pm

      You have had some poor instructors if that’s your attitude to us

      • Larry

        May 13, 2016 at 9:02 am

        Exactly!! people need to realize only YOU can fix your slice. I am a firm believer in that the hack golfer has ZERO clue as to what task he is about to preform. When you address the ball and have no idea what it is you have to accomplish, the rest is already written.
        Read as much sound scientific theory about the golf swing as you can. Inundated your mind with the right pictures and diagrams of what takes place during that presious 1 sec.
        Once you have a good grasp of what is required to get the ball down the track that is when you can honestly try and dig your inner golfer out of you.

  11. Deryck

    May 12, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    I’m in the camp that believes ball striking is god. Let me put it this way, PGA Tour pros would have bad up and down numbers if they were put in the same positions as your everyday golf hack who blades / slices an iron approach shot off of the fairway that flies 40 yards off of the green. Ball striking helps short game. If on that same approach shot you are a good ball striker and you miss the green, you more than likely will miss the green (as a good ball striker) much closer to the green than the aforementioned hack WHICH equates to an easier shot game shot and a higer percentage to get up on down. Watch any PGA Tour event and the pros when they miss greens don’t miss the greens by that much so their up and downs are far easier than you weekend hack. Of course, you have to have some sort of competence with your short game but to say things like 90% short game / 10% long game practice is ridiculous. You NEED to be fully competent at ball striking.

  12. Rob

    May 12, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    WOW SMH around here….

    Its been said time and time again. Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

    The point of the article was don’t practice all willy-nilly. Practice with a purpose, practice with a goal dont just show-up hit some range balls hit some putts and call it good. Actually work on something and if that means having a coach look at your game and help you move forward so be it.

    • mikee

      May 13, 2016 at 8:49 am

      100% correct…..find an instructor you can relate to who can help….playing lessons IMHO are the best once your handicap is single digit. Course mgmt. strategy, playing from unusual lies etc works best once you have a decent swing.

  13. Erik

    May 12, 2016 at 1:59 pm

    I agree. My time on the range is spent just getting warmed up and getting a feel for what I anticipate the ball will do when I get out on the course. I want to know what the driver will do on the first tee and then I spend most of my time 100 yards and in practicing wedges.

  14. Jnak97

    May 12, 2016 at 1:59 pm

    That being said, I do agree that having a pro help you practice is invaluable.

  15. Jnak97

    May 12, 2016 at 1:54 pm

    All of you people saying that short game practice should be where you spend the majority of your time need to consider the fact that an OB from the tee means you already need to hole out your second shot to make par! If you cannot get the ball on the fairway first whats the point of having a good short game.Practice the things that are making your score go up. For me that is getting it on the fairway an hitting more greens. I can get it up and down a lot because I never neglect the other parts of my game and always spend at least a little time working on them every time i play

    • Tom

      May 12, 2016 at 3:59 pm

      “All of you people saying that short game practice should be where you spend the majority of your time need to consider the fact that an OB from the tee means you already need to hole out your second shot to make par!” Huh….I’m perplexed?

      • Philip

        May 12, 2016 at 4:22 pm

        I think he meant one’s 3rd shot for a 4 with a penalty. Which would have been your second shot if you did not hit OB.

  16. Forsbrand

    May 12, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    Absolutely agree too many people out there “hitting it like a god on the range” and can’t score when they hit the course spend way too much time on the range. I’ve been guilty of this myself

  17. TCJ

    May 12, 2016 at 10:58 am

    So the secret to golf, coming from a golf instructor, is to seek out a golf instructor… genius!

  18. Marty Moose

    May 12, 2016 at 9:14 am

    I’ll usually hit half the bucket like I’m playing a “real” round. Think of a course I know really well, pick targets and hit driver, iron, wedge, etc. The second half of the bucket I use to practice short game, 100 yards and in. Finally, I spend the rest of my practice time putting.

    Never fails to see that person at the range hitting driver after driver. That’s never going to make you a great driver of the ball. I typically hit mine around 5 – 7 times while practicing.

  19. Jordan G

    May 12, 2016 at 9:00 am

    I believe you could spend 10% of your practice time hitting range balls, and the other 90% of your time focusing on short-game and putting, and you will see a drastic improvement in strokes cut off each around. If you can’t get up and down after missing a green, then what’s the point to practicing?

    • Clemson Sucks

      May 12, 2016 at 9:29 am

      Agree with this 100%.

      • Christen_the_sloop

        May 12, 2016 at 9:41 am

        When I have time to practice, I spend the majority of my time working on short game. I watch others (actually very few others practice short game, and most do with a big bucket of balls) hitting the same shot over and over and over. I use no more than three balls and move from place to place. Keeps my focus on sharp. The rest of the people hit ball after ball after ball at the range. Short game is everything. If you can get it in the hole you can be a lot more aggressive off the tee.

      • chad

        May 12, 2016 at 10:38 am

        Unless your short game is one of your strengths. If you really want to improve you have to improve your weaknesses. Just saying always practice short game isn’t going to get you far if you can’t hit a fairway

    • TheCityGame

      May 12, 2016 at 9:40 am

      The point of practicing is to miss fewer greens. That’s the point. You’re never going to score if you can’t hit a lot greens. End of story. No matter how good your short game is. No one gets up & down enough to score well if they’re only hitting 5 greens.

      • Jack

        May 12, 2016 at 9:48 am

        It’s easier to improve ur short game than to improve you mid iron game. That’s why people suggest that. You need some talent to be a good enough ball striker to get on the green in one stroke from 150 plus out consistently.

        • TheCityGame

          May 12, 2016 at 10:01 am

          Fine, then just resign yourself to being a guy who can’t get below 85 because it’s tough to improve ball striking, or you need natural talent, or whatever other excuse people come up with.

          “I have the short game of a single digit player”.

          How many hacks have I heard that from?

          • mikee

            May 13, 2016 at 8:53 am

            Absolutely! Greens in reg is what it’s all about. The most important shot in golf is the approach shot. Need to have the mid irons working well to hit them greens

          • Scott

            May 13, 2016 at 11:58 am

            +1 on the hacks that “supposedly” have a great short game. I think that the golf gods don’t want them, or me, to suffer any longer. Funny, I seldom (or not with any consistency) see those hacks with great short games get up and down to save par when given the chance

      • Scott

        May 13, 2016 at 11:53 am

        @TheCityGame +1
        No one practices their short game correctly and most do not have the skill to have a great short game. If players would track their stats, they would see that their best rounds correlate a the higher number of GIR.
        However, having confidence in your ability “on the course” vs. “at the range” is the only way most people will experience better shots.

    • TCJ

      May 12, 2016 at 10:55 am

      +1

    • Bob Jones

      May 13, 2016 at 11:28 am

      Getting better at the short game will take you from 95 to 90. If you want to break 80, you need a better swing.

    • realist

      May 28, 2016 at 7:03 pm

      Probably usually how it works out for me, but it seems really hard to find good places to practice 40-80yd shots without going to the range and wasting money hitting to nothing or using a hole at course(usually a no go)… I wish ranges would put better targets(a line with marks would do) at least every 10 yds after the 50yd mark, these shot need to be pretty precise.

  20. Desmond

    May 12, 2016 at 8:34 am

    Practice without feedback leads to zero change, or near zero change — I’ve experienced it. Avoid it.

  21. Alex

    May 12, 2016 at 7:32 am

    Short focused practice is great. And you need to have your swing checked. Yesterday I was at the putting green trying to unsuccessfully fix my putting stroke. My buddy who is a great putter showed up and simply told me “your eyes are not on the ball” and voila! I started making putts again.

    • Tom

      May 12, 2016 at 11:22 am

      Agree. I practice religiously and make a point to have an instructor or single digit friend offer their observation.

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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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Instruction

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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