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Going to the practice range doesn't have to be like "going to the rock pile." You can make the experience useful and fun by experimenting with different ways to practice. Use some of the following tricks to make practice more like play.
Standing up for balance
Good balance aids your golf game because it helps you swing smoothly and evenly — you have a better chance of taking the club back along the target line and through the ball with good tempo and rhythm. Rather than a choppy or forced feeling, you want an even, fluid swing — and good balance helps you do just that. Hitting shots or taking swings with your feet placed together improves your balance and gives you a good sense of the physics involved in the golf swing.
It may feel a bit awkward at first, but you can discover a lot about the turn of your body and the release of your hands by swinging with your feet together. Hitting shots with a condensed base gives you a good sense for the weight and power of the clubhead and how it shoots the ball virtually on its own without the aid of your body.
When you have time on the practice range, hit 10 or 15 balls with your feet squarely together. Try using a pitching wedge and position the ball back in your stance, off your back foot. Swing along the target line, keeping your hands ahead of the ball at all times. Stand closer to your line than on most other shots. You're not looking for distance here; you just want to make good contact without falling over.
Becoming a one-armed bandit
A brilliant way to develop your sense for the swing and for ball striking is to hit golf shots with one hand. Here's how:
1. Stand over the ball at the practice range and take your normal stance with a wedge or a 9-iron.
2. Remove your dominant hand from the club and leave it to dangle at your side.
You don't need it for this drill.
3. Start by hitting some one-handed chip shots.
Hitting these little chips helps you develop a feel for getting the club on the ball and lets you see how the ball comes off the clubface.
4. Work your way up to three-quarter-swing pitch shots, using only your non-dominant hand.
Your confidence with one arm begins to improve, and your shots become stronger and fly farther.
If you find that your dangling arm gets in the way of your swing, try stuffing your hand into your pocket before you make the swing.
It may seem difficult to hit one-handed shots, but hitting them without your dominant hand guiding the swing helps your short game in a number of ways:
- It provesto you that, in the short game and in the full golf swing, the non-dominant hand truly is the leader, and the dominant hand serves only as a guide. You discover after a few swings that you can hit the ball a long way and in an effective fashion with your non-dominant hand. This psychologically frees up your mind and your sense of the swing, helping you rely on the non-dominant hand and arm.
- You're forced to practice pulling your non-dominant hand and arm through the shot and letting that arm truly "captain" the swing, because it has no "first mate" to help.
- You develop a greater awareness of the face of the club. Using only one hand heightens the sensation of feel with that one hand.
Tuning your swing with music
More often these days, players, especially the young ones, show up on the practice range wearing stereo headphones. They hit practice balls while they listen to music. And the youngsters aren't the only ones. PGA Tour player Vijay Singh has admitted that he has a little ditty he thinks of and sings in his head when he swings a golf club. A former Canadian professional, Richard Zokol, wore headphones when he played sometimes. No rule prohibits it. But is it a good idea? Sure it is.
Playing in the subconscious
If you listen to music while you hit golf shots, you play in the subconscious. The activity trains you to play the game from a mentally suspended state. Think about it. When you're driving a car down the road and listening to music on the radio, do you consciously think about every move you make while you drive? Keep my foot on the gas pedal . . . check the rear view mirror . . . turn on my right turn signal . . . check the right lane . . . turn the steering wheel to the right . . . merge to the right to change lanes . . . move my foot to the brake to decrease my speed.
No. You don't drive that way. Although driving demands concentration and attention to ensure safety, more often than not, it just kind of happens without much thought. You use your instincts and force of habit to drive mile after mile.
 | The biggest advantage to practicing or playing while listening to music is that it trains you to hit golf shots in the subconscious. If you listen to the music, you don't think about the literal components of your swing: Is my face square . . . take the club back slowly . . . gotta keep my elbow tucked . . . okay, pause at the top and shift my weight to the left side . . . and don't decelerate. These types of thoughts can paralyze you. |
It may seem like a mystical phrase, but playing in the subconscious improves your short game. You want to get to the point where you can grab the club and just swing it naturally, instead of stepping over the ball with a series of running thoughts.
Talking about tempo
Music can also help one of the most important characteristics of the golf swing: your tempo. Your ideal tempo as you swing is really a matter of preference. Tempo isn't a fundamental set in stone. Some may think of tempo as smooth and rhythmic, conjuring up images of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Good tempo to others may be more like the Jitterbug.
| You can have a fast swing as long as you make it consistent. Some might not recommend it, but you can have it. Lanny Wadkins was pretty fast. Nick Price has a quicker speed than most. The bottom line is that you can have as fast a swing as you like, but the fundamentals — including where the clubhead is at impact and maintaining balance — must be there. Nick Price looks much faster than Tom Watson, but when Price finishes the shot, he's completely in balance. |
Tempo is a "what's right for you" part of the golf game. Hard rock is terrible for a slow, rhythmic swing. Another guy would benefit from hard rock, because it makes him feel like his fast swing has rhythm and balance. Probably the best choice for music, if you have no preference, is a waltz.
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