Reinforcing the routine

So I had a lesson today and spent the best part of two and a half hours working on my long game with fairway and long irons. A few tweaks in the set up were critical but most importantly it was using my pre shot routine to build my muscle memory of the positions I need to be in.

I've certainly improved my position at the top of my back swing but having issues on the downswing that I still need to work on. The most important development however was how well I struck the 3 iron by adopting the same pre shot routine as I was doing on the fairway wood. It's by no means perfect but it is back in the bag.

What is funny is that I actually need to spend more time engraining my pre shot routine than I do hitting balls. When I get it right I can hit any club in my bag beautifully. I hope that spending more time on each shot and getting relaxed will translate to better ball striking and fewer wasted shots. Watching the pro's at Augusta is certainly helping to reinforce the message. Looks like Monday's round is going to be interesting.

Comments:

Homer
When I have a lesson I spend hours just making practice swings. My pro has taught some good golfers and he gets me to make a swing and try and do it as slowly as I can so that I can reaaly feel the club move back, my weigh begin to move and my body turning properly. He then gets me to continue the transition and downswing and feel the club drop down into the correct position and plane and through impact.

Its actually a really hard drill to do properly as the temptation is to speed up on the downswing. We then hit shots and try and swing as slowly as we can and aim to hit a 6 iron for example with a full swing but no further than 100 yards. Again really hard but it reinforces the correct turn.

With all the rehersals etc it can take me an hour to hit 20 or so balls but I can really feel it. I tend to leave it after that. When I come back I start off with slow motion swings and then build it up to a full paced swing, working on feeling the movements and making sure the club stays in the correct position.

I guess the secret is to keep working on the drills and trusting what you’ve been shown. You’ll still hit bad ones but resist the temptation to change anything and work through it. It will come.

Tiger
Sounds like a good routine and one I should try to emulate. At the moment I’m in too much of a hurry to hit the next ball and definitely need to be more circumspect and meticulous in my preparation and practice. Having had a chance to reflect my speed on the course is a direct consequence of my speed when I practice. By slowing everything down I’ll hopefully play much better. I tend to start off with good intentions but let them slip, perhaps that’s why my game falls apart over the last 7 holes. Next time I’m practicing I’ll give slow motion a go.

Homer
I try and conscioulsy step of the mat at the range after every shot or at the very least go through my grip and address set up for each and every shot. How often do you see guys machine gunning balls and getting no benefit from the session

Tiger
I’ve really got to take this approach for my whole range session as I do get sucked into machine gunning about halfway through. I hope that slowing down my play in practice will mean a better, more patient approach on the course. I’m going to start playing at a driving range in bishopsgate and at £4.80 for 40 balls I think that will slow me down significantly.

Simon Hutton
£4.80 for 40 balls… just been down the range here, £5 for 100, and after 5pm it drops to £3.50 for 100. No auto-tees though.

Tiger
That’s London pricing for you, you get three times as many for the same price on my local range but if I’m going to get the practice I need a pricey weekly visit to Bishopsgate seems to be on the cards :(