What You Must Do Prior To Address the Ball

by Phil Rodgers with Al Barkow

This involves the rehearsal swings you should take before getting up to play your shots during a round of golf.  It is a very simple business and follows my basic precept for every golf swing…Make it even paced.  With the rehearsal swing you imitate the feels you’re after when it’s “show time.”  Try to simulate mechanics as much as you do the tempo and synchronization of the Swing

Practice Practice

Work on swing technique is more productive when done in short, concentrated sessions.  Long periods of ball hitting are fine to relieve the frustrations and tensions of life in general, and if you stand there just hammering at balls long enough you may eventually find some timing and rhythm that will produce decent shots.  But such sessions are invariably worthless in terms of developing a swing you can use on the golf course.

For one thing, on the golf course you are hitting a shot about ever five minutes.  But on the practice range the tendency is to hit a ball every 30 seconds.  That’s on reason why I think no practice session should be over an hour long, that you shouldn’t hit a great number of balls and that there should be a reasonable pause between each shot.  I don’t expect you to hit a practice shot every five minutes, but you want to come as close as you can to simulating on-course conditions.  Then, too, each practice shot tends to be hit with thought and purpose–you’re more likely sto concentrate well on each swing, and the work becomes productive.

With the exception of tour pros who through constant practice build up golf strength and stamina, golfers cannot usually sustain themselves physically for more than an hour of practice.  Every individual has his own level of physical endurance, and some people may be able to practice a little longer than others, but a person should quit when he finds himself or herself not thinking about each shot he hits and/or feels he is no longer able to put out a maximum physical effort.  Thoughtless and tired golf swings on th practice range make the session counter productive.  The muscles are left with a poor “memory,” and there is no psychological benefit, either, from leaving the range frustrated.

It pretty much follows that if each practice session is going to be relatively Short and concentrated, then at each one you can work on only on element of your swing–at most two.  Go into each practice session with a single thought.  When you’re satisfied that you have reached a goal with the work, leave.  If you’ve reached that goal after hitting only 40 balls, still leave.  Don’t get into another idea.  Go chip and putt.  or better yet, go play.

Practice, but practice for a reason and not just to hit golf balls.

Have A Plan, Draw A Picture

by Phil Rodgers with Al Barkow 

A lot of golfers don’t think about the next shot!  But that’s at the heart of the game.  Look at the good pool or chess player.  He is always thinking ahead.  That’s the way good golf is played, too.

You are always going to be more successful in the long run if you have a plan for every shot, even if it fails occasionally.  I think many golfers get upset with poor shots and simply blame bad swing mechanics.  They should realize that bad swing mechanics often are the result of not thinking about where and how they want the ball to go, and why.  Somehow, when the purpose of a swing is more than merely getting the ball properly airborne, the shot is always better.

Having a plan involves strategy, which is the intellectual part of the game.  Creating a visual image is the artistic side of it.  The intellectual part is involved in calculating distance, weather conditions, the contour of the terrain.  the artistic side makes a picture with it all, adding instinct to the mix.  You can play golf with only one or the other, but the best golf is played when the two are a team.

Positive Practice

Golf practice come in three different packages.  There is the warm-up before starting a round, the pre shot routine during the round, and the session when you work on various parts of your swing seeking to learn and improve your long-term performance.

The Pre Round Warm-up

I’m not going to dwell on the fact that everyone should hit a few balls on the practice range before starting a round of golf.  Everyone can appreciate that loosening up the muscles and joints is necessary.  However, I will make a point many golfers don’t seem to be aware of; that is, the warm-up should be only that, it is not the time when you work on swing mechanics.  You should hit balls only to develop a good rhythm and swing pace.

To establish rhythm and pace, hit more shorter irons so that you won’t be temped to press for distance.  Hit a few drivers at the end of the warm-up to stretch y;ourself to the maximum, but after you do, wind down the session with some Short pitches and chips.  The thing all great player have is the ability to carry the rhythm and pace they develop on the practice tee to the course.  Pay attention to your tempo, and you have a better Chance of taking it into your round.

Your concern with aiming and hitting for certain distances is not as great, but you should always be aware of what your ball is doing in the air.  If you’re drawing the ball during your warm-up, that is probably going to be your shot for the day, so be prepared to play it during the round.

It is also a good idea in the warm-up to mimic your pre swing routine–the way you get into address when playing on the course.  Don’t just beat out some balls.  Get behind the ball for each practice shot, pick out a target area, walk into address and take the positions exactly as you do when playing on the course.  This also helps you establish you rhythm.  The idea is to prepare yourself so that when you get on the course it is not a foreign experience.  Make your warm-up a rehearsal, not just practice.

It also helps allay tension when you’re in a pressure situation on the course to have a simple routine to go through.  when you go through a familiar pattern of activity you are comfortable, and it gives you a sense of self-confidence.  Get into the pattern on the practice tee.

People will say they don’t see the pros warming up that way on the practice tee.  In many cases that’s true, which is why I maintain that 70 percent of the warm-up practice the pros do is not as productive as it should be.

After the ball-hitting warm-up, always stroke a few putts on the practice green.  Here again, work primarily on the rhythmic, even-paced stroke and the system you use for getting up to a putt.  You’ll probably putt for a hole, but a mark on the green would do just as well.  You can concentrate better on tempo.  In any case, make most of your practice putts no longer than 12 feet.  As I mentioned earlier, that’s the length from which you can reasonably expect to make putts.  A 12 footer is long enough to give you a feel for the speed of the greens with a stroke of sufficient length.  And if a few go in, you start the round with a positive psychological felling.

Remember, always warm-up the way you play, and play the way you warmed-up.  Plan to hit them, then hit them strait.