Josh’s Tips & Tricks: My Practice Round
Intro
Hello golfers, welcome to this weeks tips & tricks. I hope you have been out onto the golf course recently because I have! For the first time since new years day I have been onto a golf course and played. I have decided to play a bit more this year and even enter a few events. I would like to show you around my practice round and hopefully you can pick up a few things. Practicing on the course can be frowned upon but it’s one of the best ways to improve your game.
Practice Rounds
I have documented some of my day out at Mendip Spring Golf Club on Tuesday and would like to share it with you. So firstly take a quick look at the following video.
The reason that I went to Mendip was for a practice round for a regional qualifier in May. The event is the PGA Professionals Championship and if I qualify the National Final is in June. I had never been there before and was very impressed with the set up. A lovely clubhouse with a well organised pro shop, a driving range and good practice facilities. They also have an academy 9 hole course which looked good.
Arrival
I always try to get to the golf course at least an hour before my tee time. That gives time to find the place, get the golf bag loaded up, potentially have a drink at the bar and sign in. Whenever I get into the pro shop I ask the guys if there is anything I need to know about the course. These guys play it often and may have some sound advice.
Warm Up
A good warm up should be part of your routine for the driving range, practice rounds, and tournament rounds. Getting your body ready for a 100 mph swing is crucial from the first tee. Most people take a fair few holes to warm up, by which point they have already lost 3 golf balls. If I don’t end up having as much time as I would like I try to spend more time on the putting green. This is where the shots can be made and lost quickly so at least finding the pace always helps.
Tee Shots
On the first tee I had no idea where to go and had to ask a member that was waiting for his friends where to go. It was only a 280 yard hole but was completely blind. Therefore I hit two shots off the tee, a 4 iron in play about 200 yards and then a driver towards where I thought the green was.
On lots of holes I hit two different shots, an aggressive play and a safe play. The aggressive play may bring in danger from the tee but makes the approach easier. The safe play may guarantee a ball in play from the tee but make the approach harder. Finding the correct approach for each hole is very important for scoring well come the competition days.
Approach Shots
This is where lots of shots are made and lost. I hit lots of wedges into greens from lots of different possible drives. The greens had dried out and were quite bouncy so playing to the front of greens was the play on most holes. I hit to some tight pins but played to a lots of green centres. A practice round isn’t about scoring but trying to find the best way around the course. This can be applied to you. If you tried to play to the middle of every green next time you play and didn’t go pin seeking you would be surprised how well you do.
Short game
I hit lots of putts from lots of different angles and hit lots of different types of shots around the green. I didn’t always play to flags and tried to guess where the pins would be on the day. Some of them have water by the side so can almost guarantee the pin will be that side. I tried to play from the front of the green to the back and vice versa. Most greens slope from back to front so this is a great way to find the subtle slopes and the pace.
My bunker practice has been lacking so played some short, medium and long bunker shots. I raked the bunkers and actually left them in better condition than how I found them (I was stuck behind a society). I threw balls onto greens as targets to hit to and then putted to those from numerous positions surrounding it. Holing out isn’t overly important to me in a practice round as I’m not keeping score. I practiced on a few holes but that is more for the putting green. Finding the pace and identifying slopes is my main aim for a practice round.
Stay fuelled
I love playing golf because I pack myself a full three course meal. I get really hungry and thirsty playing golf so need to take plenty of food and drink. It was warm on Tuesday so needed plenty of fluids. I drank about 2-3 litres of water, had 2 sandwiches, a flapjack, apple, cereal bar, pack of cookies, pack of crisps and I was still hungry when I finished! If you’re not eating and drinking on the golf course you are not giving yourself the best chance.
I was however absolutely shattered by the time I got home. I went to the gym in the morning, drove an hour to the course, played a 4 hour round, then drove home another hour. Working on my match fitness is next so need to get a few more rounds in over the next few weeks. The more you play the more your body gets used to walking and swinging a club.
Summary
I absolutely loved my day out on Tuesday and I’m looking forward to doing more of it. When you go and play golf you don’t always have to score. Using the course to practice is the best way to learn. As long as you’re not taking loads of divots from the same place and leave the course how you found it there is no problem with practicing on the course. Obviously you can’t be slow and hold up the people behind you because that’s just rude. If the course is quiet and you have things to work on get out and try it on your own.
Golf is lots about how you swing the club. Being able to make good contact and control the distance is obviously very important but there is more to developing your overall game. I have no idea what score I would have shot earlier in the week but I learned lots about the course and where my game is currently at. What I need to work on and how to apply it on the course.
If you would like me to help you break down your game and show you how to improve the overall concept you know where I am.
To book a lesson CLICK HERE NOW
See you soon,
Josh