When I go to the range I don’t seem to have much of a purpose (other than trying to figure out how to hit the damn ball). I’ll warm up with some wedges, go up to a 7 or 6-iron, 4-iron, driver, 3W etc. I usually swing a club until I make 4-5 good shots in a row then I’ll move on. I’ll just hit whatever I feel like until I run out of balls. I don’t have anything in particular I’m working on. I’m not thinking about my take away, ball position, swing plane, stance, grip, ball flight or anything.
As a musician when I practice I have something I’m working on. I have exercises I go through (like scales or rudiments). When I go to the gym (which obviously isn’t enough), I have a specific workout. I do cardio and upper body on one day. Next workout I do cardio and lower body etc. My gym has a nice little sheet which shows you all the exercises you should be working on for your specific goals and schedule. Why is there not anything I’ve seen like this for golf?
Let’s develop a workout plan for golf practice here. I’d like some opinions. I’m going to assume working out on the range about 3-4 times per week (that’s the most popular poll selection when I asked readers how often they go to the range).
The plan would look something like this:
Day 1 – full swing with short irons or wedges – 1 hour 15 minutes:
1. Warm up, stretch, loosen up
2. PW for 15 minutes
3. SW/LOB 15 minutes
4. 9-iron 10 minutes
5. 8-iron 10 minutes
6. Chip/Pitch 10 minutes
7. Putt 15 minutes
Day 2 – short game – 1 hour 15 minutes:
1. Warm up, stretch, loosen up
2. Bump & runs for 15 minutes from X feet
3. Chip 15 minutes from X feet
4. Flops 15 minutes from X feet
5. Green side bunker 15 minutes
6. Putt 15 minutes
Day 3 – long game – 1 hour 15 minutes:
1. Warm up, stretch, loosen up
2. Standard driver shots 15 minutes
3. Fade driver 10 minutes
4. Draw driver 10 minutes
5. 3W 15 minutes
6. 5W/Hybrid 10 minutes
7. Putt for 15 minutes
Day 4 – irons – 1 hour 15 minutes:
1. Warm up, stretch, loosen up
2. 7-iron 10 minutes
3. 3-iron/hybrid 10 minutes
4. 6-iron 10 minutes
6. 4-iron/hybrid 10 minutes
7. 5-iron 10 minutes
8. 10 minutes of fun shots with any club (fade, punch, draw)
9. Putt for 15 minutes
Your opinions? Changes?
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En Hooked on Golf Blog, se hacen la siguiente reflexión: “Cuando vas al gimansio tienes un programa de ejercicios. Un dÃa haces cardio y ejercitas la parte superior del cuerpo, el siguiente dÃa cardio y la parte inferior, etc. Los gimnasios suelen tener unas tablas que te muestran los ejercicios que tienes que realizar para tus objetivos y el calendario. ¿Por qué no hay nada de esto para el golf?â€
Además describen cómo es habitualmente una de sus sesiones en la cancha de prácticas que, sincerametne, se parece mucho a la mÃa: “Cuando voy a la cancha no tengo ningún propósito (aparte de averiguar como conseguir pegarle a la maldita bola). Hago un poco de calentamiento con algún wedge y subo a un hierro 7, 6, 4 madera 3, driver, etc. Simplemente le pego hasta que hago cuatro o cinco buenos golpes seguidos y entonces cambio. No trabajo nada especÃfico. No estoy pensando en el back-swing, posición de la bola, plano del swing, grip o cualquier cosa.â€
Y finalmente nos da una tabla (sobre la que dice que le encantarÃa recibir opiniones) asumiendo que se practica en la cancha unos tres o cuatro dÃas por semana:
DÃa 1 – Hierros cortos y wedges – 1 hora y 15 minutos:
1. Calentar, estirar y soltarse.
2. PW, 15 minutos.
3. SW/Lob, 15 minutos.
4. Hierro 9, 10 minutos.
5. Hierro 8, 10 minutos.
6. Chip/pitch, 10 minutos.
7. Putt, 15 minutos.
DÃa 2 – juego corto – 1 hora y 15 minutos:
1. Calentar, estirar y soltarse.
2. Bump & run, 15 minutos.
3. Chip, 15 minutos.
4. Globos, 15 minutos.
5. Bunker, 15 minutos.
6. Putt, 15 minutos.
DÃa 3 – juego largo – 1 hota y 15 minutos:
1. Calentar, estirar y soltarse.
2. Driver normal, 15 minutos.
3. Driver al fade, 10 minutos.
4. Driver al draw, 10 minutos.
5. Madera 3, 15 minutos.
6. Hierro 5 / hÃbrido, 10 minutos.
7. Putt, 15 minutos.
DÃa 4 – hierros – 1 hora 15 minutos:
1. Calentar, estirar y soltarse.
2. Hierro 7, 10 minutos.
3. Hierro 3 / hÃbrido, 10 minutos.
4. Hierro 6, 10 minutos.
5. Hierro 4 / hÃbrido, 10 minutos.
6. Hierro 5, 10 minutos.
7. 10 minutos de tiros variados con cualquier palo (fade, puch, draw)
8. Putt, 15 minutos
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
Hmmmmm. That seems a little bit too strict, but I’m like you, I typically just go to hit balls and try to hit them straight. I usually don’t have a purpose either, and I usually come away with nothing (although last time I made a somewhat of a breakthrough). I like that you brought this up, and I hope that there’s some good input, because I think I could and SHOULD make some kind of routine.
I typically start with the easy to control clubs (wedges) and work my way up to the big guns. I’ll usually hit PW, SW, maybe LW, and then I’ll skip to my 7I, then 5I, maybe 3I, then 5W, and driver. This is not good though, because those become my favorite clubs, and I overuse them on the course (I’ll use my 5I instead of a 4 or 6… every time).
So, perfect world, if I could say I’d go 3 times a week, every week, I’d think of it like a workout routine. When I work out, I rotate between cardio, upper body, and lower body. If I could somehow translate that into golf workouts, it would probably come out looking something like this:
1. Long game
Focus on Driver, and woods/long irons
2. MidRange game
Focus on mid irons (6-9)
3. Short game
Focus on wedges and putter
However, I usually don’t know that I’m going to be at the range 3 times a week, so I never “schedule” anything, and I usually just say “I’m going to work on my slice today”, and I hit every club 5-10 times, and get absolutely nothing accomplished.
We need Skywalker, errrr, Swilor to chime in.
You bring up a good point at the end of your comment. You don’t KNOW you are going to be at the range. But if you go to the gym you usually schedule that every week, say before work. That’s part of the problem We should just know that come hell or high water we’ll be on the range at 8am MWF.
Guru
i like your routine. And like NothingMan says, we usually just go and wack away without a plan. Any kind of foucus one can add to their practice session is good.
I have 2 ideas to add. 1) since golf provides so much feedback I like to have a portion of my practice session devoted to what i did not do well in a previous round or practice session. 2) allow for time to practice specific shots that will be important aspects of an upcoming round. Such as more sand, certain types of rough or different ground conditions etc.
One last thought. If someone needs a simple practice plan and has limited opportunities try playing an imitation round of golf on the range. Start with a driver, then a 5 iron then a short wedge. Repeat this process with different clubs, working your way through an 18 hole imitated round of golf. With limited opportunities to practice, this routine has helped me be a little more prepared for an upcomimg round.
Great subject!
Tom Gov
Guru
i like your routine. And like NothingMan says, we usually just go and wack away without a plan. Any kind of foucus one can add to their practice session is good.
I have 2 ideas to add. 1) since golf provides so much feedback I like to have a portion of my practice session devoted to what i did not do well in a previous round or practice session. 2) allow for time to practice specific shots that will be important aspects of an upcoming round. Such as more sand, certain types of rough or different ground conditions etc.
One last thought. If someone needs a simple practice plan and has limited opportunities try playing an imitation round of golf on the range. Start with a driver, then a 5 iron then a short wedge. Repeat this process with different clubs, working your way through an 18 hole imitated round of golf. With limited opportunities to practice, this routine has helped me be a little more prepared for an upcomimg round.
Great subject!
Tom Gov
The main thing I can say is to just make sure you are working on something when you go to the range. It can be some sort of swing change, alignment, just your tempo, feel, ANYTHING. Just don’t go to the range and mindlessly machine gun balls into nowhere (hey, alliteration, I like it…you saw it, mindles…nevermind).
If you aren’t working on anything, there is no reason to even hit range balls. It will make you sloppy and quick. You might as well just go play 9.
I’ve been going to the range with a plan in mind for 2 years now.
First I loosen up with short irons – PW and 8i. Then I do mid irons – 5i and 6i, finally driver for a few shots.
After that I have half a bucket left and work on something specific, mainly what was troubling me from the previous game. I can’t afford (time wise) to go more than once or twice a month, so want to maximise what I do get from the time there.
I like what Luke said. I never go to a range to just hit….primarily for time constraints, but basically just to be more efficient. The only time I’m at the range is right before teeing off. My main focus there is balance and feel. I don’t even care where the ball goes, as long as I can feel my balance through the shot. My thinking: the courses I play rarely have a flat lie, so why would I care how I hit off the range?
I start with wedge or 8-iron SLOW ( to warm up), then go with 5 or 4, then 3 metal, then maybe 1 or 2 drives. But I try to save 4 balls to finish with 8 iron (at full speed). The place I want to spend all my time is the putting green.
JFB
JFB