Practice, Practice

by: B. J. Hathaway

Joe decides he needs to add some muscle to his skinny frame and joins the gym. He reads all the latest fitness mags, hired a personal trainer and even bought the 10 pound tub of weight gain powder.  Joe however only goes to the gym one time a week for 30 minutes and does a whole body workout. After 30 days Joe sees no changes in his physique.  Why? Because Joe doesn’t understand the art of practice when it comes to body building.

Jim the golf guy takes one lesson a month and play 4-5 times per month on the course. Jim reads all the latest golf mags and even read a book on the golf mind. Jim goes to the range 45 minutes one time a week.  Jim sees no changes in his handicap over the last 30 days. Why?  Because Jim doesn’t understand the art of golf practice.

Time is a precious commodity but if Jim can invest in clubs, shoes, hats, gloves, balls, tees, rangefinders, training aids, lessons, and greens fees then he can probably find the time to practice appropriately, and he needs to understand it’s not just the volume of practice time but how it’s used.

For the average golfer just to maintain at the current level requires 30-60 minutes per week of practice (not including short game) just to tread water. To begin to acquire a new swing change requires around 2-5 hours per week, and to really show significant improvement demands at least 6 hours per week.
This doesn’t mean 2-6 hours at once, just like Joe would not rationally think it best to workout once a week for 6 hours. Consistency of proper practice is the key and here are some tips for Jim:

1. Keep written records of practice
2. Use the idea of sets and reps (just like Joe should do in the gym)
3. Only work on the things your teacher advices
4. Stop trying to practice the garbage in magazines (whoever cut 20 strokes from a magazine?)
5. If you’re not sure what to practice get a lesson and ask “what is the best way to practice to acquire these changes?”

You’ll never swing like Hogan by practicing like Jim Hackitall.