One Hour to Lower Scores

Effective practice habits are essential when your golf goal is lowering your handicap. An analysis of the type of shots played in a round of golf and the average number of times each is used definitively illustrates what you should practice, when you should practice, and how you should practice. It is all in the numbers. Putting equates to approximately forty percent of every golfers’ overall score. Short game shots from ten yards off the green and closer accounts for another ten percent. In other words, roughly fifty percent of all shots in a round of golf occur within ten yards of the green or on the green! The scoring clubs for all golfers include the putter, eight iron through sand wedge, and for many, the gap wedge and lob wedge as well. Finally, take advantage of technology to lower your score, and learn to hit your oversized titanium driver.

Whether you are retired or working full time, your personal time is precious to you. Developing an effective and efficient practice routine can and will affect how you play. If you only have one hour to practice, how should this hour be used most efficiently? Begin your hour with putting. Twenty minutes of every hour should be devoted to the flat stick. With that in mind, fifteen minutes should focus on distance control from twenty, thirty, and forty feet. The answer to consistent two-putts is quality distance control on the first putt. Play a game where you outline a circle with a diameter of eight feet around the 4 1/4 inch hole and focus on getting five putts in a row from each of the three distances into the eight foot circle. Then use the remaining five minutes of your twenty minute putting session to concentrate on making three, four, and five foot putts.

Ten minutes of every hour should focus on chipping and pitching from around the green to complete the thirty minutes of your session that complements fifty percent of all shots in golf. Learn to love your wedges and be creative with trajectory, landing area, and amount of roll time when hitting different shots. Playing a game to keep your interest while practicing these finesse shots can truly magnify your touch. Use a hula-hoop or simply design a 4’x 4’ box using practice balls to identify your landing area as your primary target. Also, design an eight foot circle around the hole as your secondary target. Use 10 balls and reward yourself a point for each ball that lands in your primary target box and another point for each ball that ends up in the circle. An increasing number of points between practice sessions will correlate to an improved short game and lower scores.

After completing your short game work, there is still thirty minutes left in your precious one hour practice session. You should spend twenty minutes of each workout with your scoring clubs, and you should always stay target oriented when hitting these clubs. Learn to control your distances with these clubs and lay down other clubs from your bag as alignment aids when practicing. This is a good time to work on your pre-shot routine and any drills you feel necessary to improve your ball striking. The eight iron through wedges are short, heavy clubs that promote good rhythm, tempo, and balance in the golf swing. Effective use of these clubs gives you the opportunity to hit more greens and leave yourself with shorter putts.

The final ten minutes of your practice session should concentrate on the driver. Do not start your session out with the driver. Always use your driver for the final ten minutes. Select fourteen of the best balls from the range basket to reflect the fourteen opportunities you may have on the golf course to hit your driver. Again, use golf clubs to help with alignment and always practice hitting your driver into an imaginary fairway you design on the range. A common game is to hit drivers between flags that reflect the fairway and see how many fairways you can hit out of fourteen balls. The goal is to practice like you play and play like you practice. I hope that you will find this practice technique rewarding and you will have added interest to your precious time on the range.