It seems logical on the surface; if you want to practice golf and get better you should watch and emulate the professionals. Certainly you've heard that it is good to emulate success. And if you're not trying to be like Jack Nicklaus, you're still receiving more points than you can handle from pros on TV and in magazines.
Now let's return to this planet for a second. Becoming the next Jack Nicklaus may be your dream, but for the vast majority of us, that isn't going to occur. There is a very small chance you or anyone else will attain that level. Improving your scores should be your very realistic goal. Yea it would be fantastic to play like Tiger, but to emulate his game, or that of any other master, is clearly a mistake.
Keep in mind these guys don't simply hit the course after they get off work. Golf is their 9 to 5 business. They get up and hit the links. putting in a great amount of hours working to get better at their craft. But since normal people don't play golf for a living, they don't have the amount of time available that the professionals do. So what you have to do is work within the time constraints that life has given you.
We've all witnessed our favorite pros hit a beautifully lofted shot that stops dead on the green a few feet from the cup, or possibly one that backs up towards the pin. We all wish we could do this consistently, but if we want to get better it's counterproductive to spend months trying to accomplish this ourselves. We need to focus on the fundamentals and work within our individual style.
Consider for a second about how you spend your practice time. Chances are virtually all of that time was spent on the driving range, driver in hand, trying to hit it far and straight. A good driver may take a couple of strokes off your score, but consider how many drives you hit during a round. What you really should be practicing the majority of the time is your short game.
It's not glamorous and not exactly that much fun either, but the benefits of this practice are tremendous. Ask any touring professional how much time they spend on this aspect of their game and they'll probably say about 80% of their practice time is dedicated to this. They practice different angles. They practice different lies and in different wind conditions. And while we don't want you to imitate their swing, it's probably a solid idea to focus your practice in the same areas as they do.
You may be able to thump the ball 275 to 300 yards off the tee, but why are you still scoring in the 90's? It should be pretty obvious that the trouble is with your short game and that's what you should work on most. Your scores will drop rapidly if you improve this area of your game.
The next time you decide to practice golf, leave the driver in the bag. Practice any shot you can think of that you'll hit on or around the green. Putts, chips and bunker shots should be your focal point.
Here's something to think about that should make this very clear. More than half of your strokes on the golf course are from under 75 yards. This includes putts, chips, etc. If these shots are 50% of your score, then you should be spending at least half of your practice time working on them. If you're still shooting in the 90's, less than 20% of your shots are with a driver off the tee. Your practice time should be primarily spent on the strokes you hit most.
Sure hitting drives on the range is fun, but it's not nearly as much fun as watching your scores fall by as many as 10 shots per round.
The optimum way to practice at home is by purchasing a golf practice net. You can get additional golf tips similar to this, as well as read course and golf equipment reviews and information by going to AllThingsGolfBlog.com.