By BOB MADSEN, PGA
I am going to talk about practice and how to make it more productive.
Practice sessions must be organized. Here are the basics:
1. arrive with a plan
2. do the plan
3. leave feeling good
Note: learning what your practice sessions should contain is a reason for taking lessons.
These strategies for organized practice are simple to understand. Unfortunately, only well-trained players of all ages are good at staying organized for an entire practice session.
Staying organized requires three main elements:
1. adequate stamina (including being well fed and rested)
2. adequate attention span (this is built up over time)
3. the ability to fend off distractions.
In this article, I am most concerned with distractions. You must be able to fend off distractions in order to run an organized practice session.
Distractions come in many forms. Buddies appear and want to show you their new driver. They come along and want you to go out and play. They want to chit chat. You have to get back to work. Your smart phone is after you. The amateur next to you wants to “help” and starts sharing some key or pointer that has nothing to do with the lesson content you are there to work on.
Threats to your practice session’s organization are everywhere. To the degree that you allow your plan to get derailed, you will not get better.
Bob Madsen, PGA
Singing Hills Golf Resort at Sycuan
