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 Age: 44 Current Handicap: 12 Lowest Handicap: 10 Has played golf for: 25 years Plays: About twice a month Practices: Never The symptoms: I want to play golf better, but I hate practicing. I die of boredom being on the range and beating balls. Practice ends up becoming a contest to see how fast I can hit the bucket. Is there any way to make practice fun? Can you help me come up with a practice routine that will be easy to follow and improve all aspects of my game? Dr. Golf’s prescription: You stated that you hit the ball pretty straight but have a few blow-up holes per round. It sounds like your short game causes the bad holes. Since you rarely practice I think you should emphasize short-game work. It’s easier to create game-like conditions by having contests with yourself. This should help hold your interest. For example, say you’re practicing 30-yard pitch shots. Take 10 balls and set a goal to hit a certain number inside the length of the flagstick. When you accomplish that goal, move to another distance or another shot. It would be a great idea for you to take a lesson from a PGA professional and have him set up some putting, chipping and pitching games. This will make your practice more fun and productive. Patient: Male Age: 32 Current Handicap: 14 Lowest Handicap: 9 Has played golf for: 10 years Plays: About once a month Practices: Warms up before playing The symptoms: I have a lot of long putts during my round. The last time I played I had six putts from over 40 feet and I three-putted four of them. I just can’t seem to get that first putt very close and I leave myself a lot of 5- to 10-footers. When this happens, I try to hit the ball closer and my whole game starts to unravel. What can I do to improve my feel on long putts? Dr. Golf’s prescription: Getting long putts closer to the hole is an acquired skill. Even the best players only convert about 50 percent of the time from the 5- to 10-foot range. The goal should be leaving a putt of 3 feet or less; from there the percentage climbs to over 90 percent. Go to the practice green and place an object 3 feet short of the hole and another object 3 feet past the hole. This will be referred to as your safe zone. Now take three to five balls and start 20 feet from the hole. When you can lag all the balls into the safe zone, move back 5 feet and repeat. Work your way back to 40 feet. Finish up by trying the same drill with only one ball to add a little pressure. Let’s say you’re successful from 20 feet and 25 feet but miss from 30. Go back and start over until you can go from 20 feet to 40 feet without missing. This drill should narrow your focus and keep you relaxed on those long putts. Tom Wischmeyer is the PGA professional at Stadium Golf Center. He can be reached at (858) 277-6667. Patients in need of help from Dr. Golf should send their ailments to scpgamedia@aol.com. |
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