Golf Tips: Golf Practice

What needs the most work in your golf game? I’ve always had this theory that I like to practice on one thing at a time. This year, I’ve been to my local course every available weekend to work on my putting. I often go with my friend and we have putting contests. And I can say unequivocally that my putting game has improved two-fold, because of it. Last year, I practiced my chipping whenever possible. And it, too, healed in that interim. Point is, it’s easier to focus on one aspect of your game at a time, rather than trying to fix everything in one range session. But if I’m just hitting balls before a round, I stick to a particular task order. First of all, I don’t try and mend any swing hiccups. I just want to get repetition going, honing my timing and tempo. Secondly, and I’ve learned it from talking with a lot of Tour pros, I personally start with my shortest clubs first and then go longer. With the wedges, I take chip shots first and then lengthen the distance. Ian Poulter has a different approach. “In terms of warming up, many amateurs get on the range and hit their driver first,” he’s told me. “They don’t warm up their bodies, loosen up, or stretch in any way, shape or form. They go directly for the driver, hit a few, then go to the irons and off they go to the first tee. If there’s a way to shorten the practice routine down – even if it’s just to a 15-minute window – they should still go through the bag, even if it were one or two shots with every club -- just to get the feeling that they’ve hit with every club in the bag.” Try that next time and see if you feel more prepared on the course.