Nicole's Golf Notes: Play Practice

Golf is a unique sport in that it’s one of the only games in which, in current times, we don’t train where we actually play.  Back in the day there were no driving ranges — golfers just played golf. Maniacs. From Lee Pace, ‘The concept of practice in the early part of the 20th century was slow to evolve,’ and as Richard Tufts, grandson of the resort founder, once observed: “I always thought it very strange that Walter Travis persisted in practicing chip shots, putting and even full shots when a vacant fairway was available. Why should he, of all golfers, need to waste time practicing?” Indeed, most golf instruction in the early days followed the Scottish custom of the professional taking his pupil out onto the course and giving a lesson as they played along.

Based on how many golfers in today’s times might think Top Golf-style ranges, driving ranges and practice greens train golfers how to play the game, what we see are people learning how to create certain shots (drives, fairway shots, chips, putts) but not necessarily learning how to use them within a play setting.

Enter the discussion of Block Training and Transfer/Random Training with Play Practice.  A basketball player can work on free throws for a long time in the sterile, safe, one-after-the-other style shot making from the free throw line – it’s one way to shoot a basketball.  But asking that same player to shoot a ball within the context of a game with having to pivot, face a charging opponent or make a shot with 2 seconds left on the clock…that’s quite a different use of the shot making skill. If one doesn’t practice in that situation, the chances of the skill transferring are much slimmer. In Golf, being able to hit a bunch of 7 irons of a perfectly level range tee or mat while never leaving the footprints of the prior shot or re-gripping a club teach one skill. But this isn’t playing golf.  A golfer needs both block and random practice through Play Practice.

So what is Play Practice? Play practice is allowing your to test and explore the skill in more of a real play situation that can be done either at the training facility or the course.  Oftentimes with tee times busting at the seams at courses or the expense for some to just go play a few holes to test the skills within play, one can even create more situational games at the practice facility.  At one past PGA Teaching & Coaching Summit I had the pleasure of attending at Port St. Lucie back in the day, Dr. Rick Jense explained how he worked with Beth Daniels while she was hitting balls at the range.  He’d introduce variables once her blocked/repetitive shots were done and now seeing if she could allow the shots to hold up with perceived pressure (bets to heighten the emotion, training tools that blocked her miss shot, etc.)  Beth also noted that if things were working well, she’d stop hitting and go to the course and hit the shots out there while moving along, using her pre-shot routine, introduce different terrain.  If it wasn’t holding, she’d head back the to range but if it held, she’d play.

At both the Pinehurst Golf Academy and the Pine Needles Golfari Schools, our afternoons with the students are out on the course following lunch… we do more situation training like teeing off, picking up the balls, heading to a shot around or on the green with 3-4 balls all at once and then on the next hole work on 3-4 shots in the fairway all at once allowing the idea to be tested on the course always moving along with pace of play and testing 1-2 different types of shots on the course.  We’re not looking for score, we’re looking to allow the skill to have time to settle and transfer.

My Master’s degree background in Sport Psychology has an emphasis on motor skill learning, how one learns to execute a skill like tie a shoelace, throw a beanbag, feed oneself, zip a zipper or hit a golf ball. The first step is Understanding what’s needed and that needs to resonate with the student’s vocabulary and images.  The second stage is the longest, the skills Acquisition stage, in which the skill needs to become more engrained.  While living in a world of immediate result expectations, this is difficult, as it can take 21 rehearsal days to even start seeing change on a larger scale than just a few shots here and there (2-3 months for most).  When a Tour player makes a swing change with his or her coach, it’s done during off-time when possible and isn’t learned over a weekend, although they spend hours together. Hours. And just because something can be performed after a few tries doesn’t mean it’s been Learned. Conversely, even when something is Learned doesn’t mean it’s always going to be Performed perfectly. How many times do we still see Tour players hit the shots into the water, trees or bunkers despite having hit thousands of golf balls?

Dr. Robert Bjork, who has done extensive research at the UCLA Psychology Department and was a speaker I brought in for our members at a prior Club, has many great articles and research on this, if you’re interested in checking them out.  The last stage of Learning is Automatic/Maintenance. It takes many Tour players a year to get to this seamless stage at their level of competition to where it’s a part of them now. We see Tour players have their coaches with them even at tournaments…aren’t they capable of working it out themselves? No human will ever be able to maintain. We’re variable, which is why when we fluctuate, and we always will, at the maintenance stage it’s a check-in and smaller reboot than the Understanding Stage.

Play Practice at the Practice Facility Range Drill: Use the Game of Threes at the range for some play practice after 10-20 minutes of flushing out an idea or skill drill.

1. Hit three shots

2. Hit three good shots.

3. Hit three good shots in a row.

4. Hit three good shots in a row to three different targets.

5. Hit three good shots in a row to three different targets with three different clubs.

6. Hit three good shots in a row to three different targets with three different targets from three different lies.

Now there’s variability to see if your skill can start holding up!  If not, be patient, rinse and repeat, as they say, until it starts sticking.  Be patient.  Be patient.

Play Practice at the Short Game Green Drill: Create 5 stations with objects (headcovers cones, towels, gloves, etc.) all within 5-30 yards from the green. You need one ball and a few short game clubs (some high lofted like wedges and some run like 9/8/7 irons or hybrid). Play a ball from station 1 onto the green. Putt it out. If you make a three or less, advance to the next station. If you make a 4 or higher, repeat Station 1. At station 2, chip/pitch your shot onto the green and putt.  If you make a 3 or lower, move to the next station. If you make a 4 or higher, start all over again at station 1. Repeat until you can get around all 5 stations.  Eventually up to 9 holes. If a lower handicap golfer, benchmark each hole with a 2 instead of a 3!

Have fun practicing like you play!

Nicole Weller is an award-winning LPGA / PGA Golf Teaching Professional teaching out of Compass Pointe Golf Club in Leland, NC.  Visit www.nicoleweller.com for further information, tips and articles.