Post by Richie3Jack on Feb 2, 2010 22:38:38 GMT -5
I believe that *most* golfers really have to do plenty of both, practicing and playing, in order to get good. However, there's many golfers who do better when they practice more than they play and others who are better off playing a lot and just practicing a little.
I think for the most part, I need to be playing about as much as I practice for optimal success. If I play too much, my technique starts to get faulty as there is less repitition and your swing varies from a driver to an iron to a wedge and then you have putting, sand play, chipping and pitching involved as well. I'm always impressed by a guy like Lietzke who could practice very little, go out and play and shoot 67 and hit 16 greens like it's nothing.
One of the great things for me with TGM and how I treat practice and understanding alignments and mechanics better and how to generate feel from mechanics...and a biggy, having a camcorder now...is that I can practice and play more and get better. When I was at the end of my college career I had gotten to the point where the more I practiced the worse I got. But, if I didn't practice I could only manage scores around par. Very frustating then but now it's a much different story.
However, playing is extremely important. Lee Trevino said that the practice range is like a laboratory and the problem is our labs are often too sterile. There's a big difference between hitting off a mat into a wide open range than having a sidehill lie and trying to hit a 5-iron into an elevated green with the flag cut behind a bunker on the right side of the green.
Plus, in the winter you're pretty much stuck hitting off mats and it sometimes takes awhile to get used to hitting on grass.
Also, I think it's hard to re-create a lot of short shots and dealing with things like slow play and playing partners.
Strangely, I think if I'm struggling a bit I think I need to go to the range a lot but play even more. That seems to work best for me to get out of a funk.
So...are you a practice golfer or a playing golfer or a little bit of both?
3JACK
I think for the most part, I need to be playing about as much as I practice for optimal success. If I play too much, my technique starts to get faulty as there is less repitition and your swing varies from a driver to an iron to a wedge and then you have putting, sand play, chipping and pitching involved as well. I'm always impressed by a guy like Lietzke who could practice very little, go out and play and shoot 67 and hit 16 greens like it's nothing.
One of the great things for me with TGM and how I treat practice and understanding alignments and mechanics better and how to generate feel from mechanics...and a biggy, having a camcorder now...is that I can practice and play more and get better. When I was at the end of my college career I had gotten to the point where the more I practiced the worse I got. But, if I didn't practice I could only manage scores around par. Very frustating then but now it's a much different story.
However, playing is extremely important. Lee Trevino said that the practice range is like a laboratory and the problem is our labs are often too sterile. There's a big difference between hitting off a mat into a wide open range than having a sidehill lie and trying to hit a 5-iron into an elevated green with the flag cut behind a bunker on the right side of the green.
Plus, in the winter you're pretty much stuck hitting off mats and it sometimes takes awhile to get used to hitting on grass.
Also, I think it's hard to re-create a lot of short shots and dealing with things like slow play and playing partners.
Strangely, I think if I'm struggling a bit I think I need to go to the range a lot but play even more. That seems to work best for me to get out of a funk.
So...are you a practice golfer or a playing golfer or a little bit of both?
3JACK
