I love Ray Floyd’s quote: “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
I really enjoy practicing and I generally practice as many times a week as I play. There are a couple of reasons: 1) a practice session can be as short or as long as you want; 2) you don’t have to make a “practice time” nor arrange a schedule with anyone else; 3) practice creates confidence; and 4) see the Ray Floyd quote above.
There are lots of practice methods and tricks to make your practice session interesting and fruitful. The following are a few of the things that I do when I practice.
I begin on the range working with different clubs – generally switching from an iron to a wood and back again. (After all, that’s what we do on the course, right?) I aim for a specific target with each shot and note the trajectory, shape and length of the shot, trying to gain more consistency. I tee a few balls up not only with my driver but with other clubs that I might use on par threes. I also give myself less than perfect lies – divots, uphill, downhill. (That’s what we get on the course, right?) Don’t forget to practice some things that only come up once in awhile. For instance, since my home course is pretty tight, I’ve been practicing my punch-out shots, and it’s helped!
After working on the range, I spend more than half of my time on short game. If you’re one of those who would love to shave a few strokes off your game, there’s no better way than to sharpen up your short game. Work with your wedge from a variety of distances and lies. Get into the bunker and hit short and long shots. Place a number of balls around the edge of the practice green and practice your pitch-and-run shots. And finally, practice putting. The last thing I do is to sink at least six 4-6 foot putts in a row. It’s amazing how many strokes can be saved by sinking the short ones.
Make practicing more fun by thinking up challenge games for yourself.
Happy Practicing!!