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Practice is overrated, and here’s why

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Let me be the first to say I loved to practice in my younger years. I couldn’t wait for the sun to rise so I could chip and putt, then hit balls all day at the range until there was an opening on the course to play. Now, however, I feel that practice is significantly overrated. In fact, I have come full circle from my past and believe that, at certain levels, it is more harmful than good in many circumstances. Therefore, in this article I would like to explain my thoughts so you too can practice less and score better.

In the old days, before we had technological feedback and data gathering resources, we had to practice all day just to figure out what worked and what didn’t. In fact, it was like a dartboard of fundamentals; you threw a dart, and that was your starting point to fix your ball flight. As time progressed, we had the advent of video and everyone became obsessed with the “look” of their swing and the “proper” positions. We all found a full-length mirror to rehearse over-and-over until we looked better, but did this ever really help our score?

Today, we have the advantages of video, 3D motion analysis, force plates, and Trackman; thus, we have all the tools necessary to instantly figure out the problem and where it is coming from.

Let me give you and example.

Let’s say you are fighting a slice and cannot figure out why; you do feel that the club is getting a touch “behind” you on the way back, but you cannot determine exactly what’s going wrong. If you were to get a lesson now, you would be hooked up on 3D motion analysis, shown on video, and proven by Trackman that you have a slight over rotation of your lead forearm on the backswing, and you’re putting the club in a laid-off position into the backswing causing you to swing from out-to-in a few degrees on the way down. This MRI of events gives you all the answers you need to know in order to improve, with NO inefficiency! Could you imagine if Hogan had access to all this data? He’d have cured his hook years earlier, and he may have won 100 tournaments in the end.

Now, let me put this into perspective in regard to my stance on practice being overrated. I once taught Pete Sampras how to play golf when I lived in California, and I asked him if tennis players worked on mechanics as much as golfers. His reply was that by the time you get to a certain age your mechanics are set and you have to work on the things that matter, such as footwork and timing. And the same thing is true with golfers. Once you get to a certain point as a player, more harm than good comes from standing on the practice range simply “banging” balls.

In fact, now that you can have a technology-driven lesson as in the example above, you can instantly know what piece of the puzzle to work on and, with the help of an instructor, how to accomplish the fix. After you’ve put in some work with a mirror in order to feel the correct positions and movements, your range time should be minimal. Once you have accomplished the new feeling, it’s time to take it to the course and see if it sticks. If not, then you need to do more rehearsals and hit a few more balls, and repeat. The point is to work smarter, reduce inefficiencies and stop mindlessly tinkering or beating balls without purpose.

After you’ve made the necessary golf-swing improvements, your goal should be to continue to learn how to score better and manage your game. Remember, the pencil and the scorecard is all that matters, NOT how your swing looks or how much time you spend on the range.

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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.

30 Comments

30 Comments

  1. Dan

    Sep 29, 2017 at 7:07 pm

    I guess I’m the only person on here who actually agrees with this.

    I took up golf 18 months ago. Played off 21, usually shooting mid-low 90’s on good days, troubling 3 digits on bad days. Used to go to the range once or twice a week, play full 18 once a week. Watch countless videos from Me and My Golf / Crossfield / Shiels / Finchy and showed no improvement.

    “Paralysis by analysis” is a phrase me and my usual four ball use. 1million swing thoughts. Hands forward, spine straight, ball position, hit down, hit up, in to out, out to in.

    I got a new job, and suddenly had no time to practice. Within about 3 months I’d dropped an average of 9 shots a round. Better ball striking. More GIR, more fairways, more up and downs.

    I’m now playing off 12, and playing to it constantly. Still yet to break 80, but I’m confident within the year i’ll be down to single figures.

    All that, in my opinion, is down to a massive reduction in practice. Beyond warming up I never go to the driving range. I share a bucket with my partners, hit a few chips, a few putts, and I’m done.

    Thoughtless, unstructured, unfocused ball bashing, and I’ve dropped my handicap by 9 shots.

    Granted, every WRX reader besides me hits it 300+ avg carry with a 5 wood off the deck with a slight draw into wind, putts 19 times a round and plays off +3, so I’m sure the game is a lot more complicated at that level.

    I’m just a simple mid handicapper who wants to hit it straight, and get around a course with more pars than bogeys.

  2. MAC

    Sep 26, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    THIS GUY CLEARLY DIDN’T REALIZE THAT I HAD ALL THE ANSWERS 30 YEARS AGO.

  3. Straylight

    Sep 26, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    There is a point here, if not artfully made. Assuming you have access to information, the “fix” is no longer a guessing game and you have a MUCH shorter path to better golf, without the guesswork and the inevitable rat holes. Moreover, there is a lot less bad information out there, particularly as Trackman analysis eliminates myth after myth. I do think repetition is still the best way to train the muscles and nerves to execute properly, however. Once you have the swing you want to groove, banging a few buckets engrains the learnings and vastly improves good contact. Thanks t also improves your ability to apply those nanoscopic changes to the swing that make a good shot great. Good, thought-provoking concept for the article.

  4. Kenny Buckland

    Sep 25, 2017 at 10:37 am

    I think the writer has access to some amazing golf analysis equipment that the masses don’t

  5. larrybud

    Sep 25, 2017 at 9:07 am

    “After you’ve made the necessary golf-swing improvements”

    Yeah, and there’s the rub… Even the pros haven’t done that.

    Everybody will max out their scoring ability eventually, and golf swing improvements will HAVE to be done to get better. In addition, a person’s body is not static. As we get older we’re less flexible, less strong, perhaps injuries have limited certain mobility, therefore a golf swing MUST change.

  6. Andrew Cooper

    Sep 25, 2017 at 8:12 am

    Tom, if you believe this then you’re deluding yourself. No great sportsperson (or musician or performer) hasn’t put the hours in honing their skills, usually from a very early age. The technology available today is brilliant for sure, but that super refined sense of feel and awareness for managing the clubface, swing path, dynamic loft, angle of attack, speed; putting it all together to produce the shot required in every unique situation? That can only be developed through years of repetition and trial and feedback.

  7. henry

    Sep 24, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    **Bad practice is overrated.

  8. DaveyD

    Sep 24, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    The gains I’ve made are due to working hard on my short game, from 100 yds to putting. I don’t see myself ever stopping that based on an opinion.

  9. Chris B

    Sep 24, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    It’s important to get the balance right between practicing and playing,but the best players in the world have always been the ones that work the hardest off the course. Just hitting balls or putting etc with no purpose or not working on anything is pointless. But good structured practice Woking towards a swing change or position change is essential to get better.

  10. Gary

    Sep 24, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    In response to Nack Jickaus, I too tend to play better after some time away.
    However, I do enjoy practicing.

  11. JEC

    Sep 24, 2017 at 10:31 am

    A bad golf swing can equal good scores…..

  12. JEC

    Sep 24, 2017 at 10:30 am

    Practice is overrated…..for those with great hand/eye coordination and natural ability. It still amazes me how the great players of the past ever played the game without Trackman and all the it other high tech gizmos……wait…..they practiced until they figured it out.

  13. cgasucks

    Sep 24, 2017 at 8:57 am

    Good practice makes perfect!

  14. Tim

    Sep 23, 2017 at 9:42 pm

    I will say, I have seen (and played with) guys at my old club who almost never practiced and would still play to a scratch or maybe a 2 handicap. However, these guys still played 4-5 days a week and had spent their younger years chiseling their technique in stone. I’ve also known and know some decent players (+ handicaps & a few on mini tours) and they would all laugh at this article. Sure there is something to be said for mental rehearsals and technology, but there can’t be anyone in golf that would agree with this, can there? Maybe if Bo Jackson had played golf…….

  15. chinchbugs

    Sep 23, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    You know the old adage… “footwork and timing (not practice) make perfect”

  16. Moses

    Sep 23, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    Just about every great golfer would disagree about your theory on practicing.

  17. Donald Trump Rules

    Sep 23, 2017 at 5:05 pm

    I never knew Huffington Post writers also wrote here at Golf WRX.

  18. Donald Trump Rules

    Sep 23, 2017 at 5:02 pm

    You will never get paid to play the game. Practicing is a waste of time. Just go play and have fun.

  19. Joe A

    Sep 23, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    I agree and disagree with this article.

    In terms of the long-game, I would agree that, with the modern tools available, there is a significantly less need to spend hours and hours hitting balls. Having lived through the last 20+ years as a competitive golfer practicing has become less about being on the range and more on the course. Now, I caveat this by saying that different people react differently to instruction and practice. And at different levels of skill, there is even more differentiation. But as someone who has played competitively (formerly on mini-tours and now as an amateur), I find myself in the same position as Mr Stickney says. It’s more about grooving the right feel and then taking it to the course, and less and less about spending a lot of time just hitting ball after ball. Unless I am working on a certain shot or ball-flight, I don’t spend a lot of time hitting full shots. I do my warm up and then work on putting and chipping. And this is the part I disagree with. Short-game and putting have to be practiced as much or more than when I first started playing competitively. It’s what separates good players from great players and average players from good players. And the only way you can become proficient at short-game shots and putting is a lot of practice.

    So while I agree that the current technology, in terms of things like Trackman and current methodology of instruction, is all about optimizing and making for more efficient practice, there is no substitution for getting better at the short game. You can derive a good technique, but technique is only as good as your ability to hit the ball a particular distance with a great deal of consistency. There is no way to gain the feel needed, other than “digging it out of the dirt” and spending the time it takes to gain the mastery necessary to be a better player.

  20. Sean

    Sep 23, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    I find practice to be beneficial. For example, I practice my short game incessantly and as a result have a pretty good short game. I don’t think all the technology in the world would help as much as simply practicing. I agree that once a golfer has a good, fundamental swing, he can direct his attention to other aspects of his game.

  21. Hogan

    Sep 23, 2017 at 2:04 pm

    “The more I practice the luckier I get!”

    • Mr. Replier Guy

      Sep 23, 2017 at 5:33 pm

      It’s hard to understand you, Mr. Hogan. Could you stop rolling over?
      THE…SECRET…IS…IN…THE…DIRT.

  22. gioreeko

    Sep 23, 2017 at 1:35 pm

    Dumbest article ever. Please don’t ever write another article. When I actually devoted time to practicing my short game, my weakest links, my scores dropped by a good ten strokes. Is practicing chipping, pitching and putting not considered practice? There’s more to practicing than merely smacking a bucket of balls. Practice makes perfect..

  23. Guia

    Sep 23, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    Obviously, if you don’t practice correctly and with purpose beating balls is a waste of time.

  24. alfriday

    Sep 23, 2017 at 1:28 pm

    The article equates practice with “standing on the practice range simply ‘beating’ balls” and “mindlessly tinkering or beating balls without purpose.” Interesting definition of practice.

  25. Nack Jicklaus

    Sep 23, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    I tend to have some of my best rounds after I haven’t touched a club for weeks or months. I usually just screw myself up up when I try to practice. The only practice I really do nowadays is to chip in the backyard.

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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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