There are tons of golf instruction articles out there that tell you how to practice. The problem with them is that every golfer isn’t created equal (sorry, spoiler alert). The way Jason Day practices is not how Joe 20-Handicap should practice.

There’s a trend right now in golf instruction articles; so many of them are saying how bad it is to just go out and hit 7 iron after 7 iron or hit three buckets of balls. They sing the praise of visualization and practicing shots you see out on the course. They want you to play competitive games on the range that simulate pressure.

For most players who have been playing golf for a while, I couldn’t agree more. These ways of practicing are great… once you have found your swing or have lowered your handicap enough.

Beginners

The truth is that a beginning golfer would benefit a lot more from smacking 7 irons for two hours then they would hitting one 7 iron and then moving to a driver, then a sand wedge, and so on. That beginner may not have the movement pattern ingrained just yet, or he or she may struggle with different-length clubs.

I also encourage all my beginners to tee the ball up: all of them, all the time. This includes shots on the course. Learning the golf swing is hard enough without adding in the complexities of deep rough, tight lies, and slope. Introducing those variables all at once is a recipe for disaster for a beginning golfer. The last thing I want any beginner to do is quit, and if teeing the ball up helps them get the ball in the air more often and progress the ball a little further, then I’m all for it. The more fun they have, the more likely they are to come back.. and that also makes it more likely they will get better at the golf.

Joe 20-Handicap

Then there is Joe 20-handicap. He has been playing for 15 years and is a member at the local club. He gets to play on weekends and tries his best to get in a practice session or two on the range. Oh, he also has a 50-hour work week, a wife, and two kids.

Joe barely has time to play golf on Saturday morning, let alone go to the range for marathon practice sessions. I would recommend that he take a lesson at the beginning, middle and end of the season. Each lesson will give him a small piece of something to work on, so if Joe can find 5 minutes to sneak to the garage to swing a club, he should take that time as a golden ticket. Those 5 minutes should be spent being very mechanical and focusing on one or two positions in his swing he knows he has to get to. All he is trying to do is develop the feel he needs to hit the shot he wants. The beauty of the short sessions is Joe can put them in almost every day, and that is huge to keep him motivated.

The “Players”

Lastly, there are the “players.” Players are golfers who we all envy; they somehow have the greatest jobs in the world, the most understanding significant others, a single-digit handicap, and the swing of a tour pro. These golfers are always at the club; they get to play two-to-three times per week and you can always find them on the range grinding away. The best part about these golfers is that they have the time to get better, which is the best training aid anyone can ever buy. They should spend as much time as they can out on the course: not just playing the course, but creating shots, playing games, mixing up tee boxes, and playing for some spare change. When they do get to the range, they should be working on routine and visualizations. They should play games and challenge themselves on every shot. Every shot has to have a purpose.

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All golfers are different, and that they need to look at their practice different. Next time, before you hit the range or the course, think about what will benefit your game the most and don’t be afraid to change your normal routine.