The Practice Manual - Adam Young

[Daniel Eason]

I started reading this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1507723172?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

So far so good...it's got a bit of simple detail on Ball flight laws for the first chapter and cause effect etc but he dosen't preach, but 3 or 4 chapters in now and its really getting into different approaches on how to improve practice and mindset to build a solid, repeatable swing.

 

He talks about hitting swing patterns that may fail to improve the learning experience, hitting around trees to improve the sub concious, things like using different thoughts in a pre shot routine, so don't think inside thoughts (thinking swing basically) think outside influences while under pressure.

 

Worthy of a read and quite a big book too! going to take me a while.

[Huddy76]

Very good book with interesting ways to practice

[rteach1]

I've been reading his blog for the last year or so and am very impressed. Have the book also and am about 2/3 done with it. For those unfamiliar with Adam Young, his focus is on [i]how[/i] we learn and [i]retain [/i]motor skills. Highly recommended. Good chapters on measuring your progress, random practice, etc. As I've stated in other threads, the experts in biomechanics who also delve into how the brain actually works when learning motor skills will be recognized as the best instructors. IMO, it is impossible to consciously copy what tour pros do unconsciously or "naturally." This book goes a long way towards filling a void in golf instruction.

rteach1

P.S.- I just read an article by Cameron McCormick that goes into principles similar to those favored by Adam Young. Thinking that I'd like to find more of these articles, I googled Cameron McCormick and found out that he is Jordan Spieth's coach! Had no idea.

[ParHunter]

I am currently on the last few pages of that book and I really wish I would have had that book years ago! I haven't really improved much the last few years although I think my swing has become better.
I think my practice was very inefficient and I was stuck in a constant 'Technical' practice mode with lots of internal focus. He lists different practice modes, their pro and cons, examples and when to use them.
The technical practice mode I am stuck in is good for swing changes but has the least amount of consistency (which I can see on the course).
I also have the problem that I often can't transfer changes I have made in a practice swing to a real swing with a ball in front of me. He addresses these problems (he calls them 'perception-action' coupling) and gives examples on how to overcome them.
E.g. you could practice on the range with an internal focus (e.g. on what your arm is doing) but on the course you might have a external target focus. It could well be that your new move which you only have practiced with an internal focus won't come out when you use an external focus on the course.

There is lots of good stuff in that book. If you have the feeling that you don't get enough out of your practice session than I would recommend that book to you.

[Jim Waldron]

[quote name='rteach1' timestamp='1431012398' post='11516751']
I've been reading his blog for the last year or so and am very impressed. Have the book also and am about 2/3 done with it. For those unfamiliar with Adam Young, his focus is on [i]how[/i] we learn and [i]retain [/i]motor skills. Highly recommended. Good chapters on measuring your progress, random practice, etc. As I've stated in other threads, the experts in biomechanics who also delve into how the brain actually works when learning motor skills will be recognized as the best instructors. IMO, it is impossible to consciously copy what tour pros do unconsciously or "naturally." This book goes a long way towards filling a void in golf instruction.

rteach1

P.S.- I just read an article by Cameron McCormick that goes into principles similar to those favored by Adam Young. Thinking that I'd like to find more of these articles, I googled Cameron McCormick and found out that he is Jordan Spieth's coach! Had no idea.
[/quote]

Rteach - very well said! No question that the biggest missing piece of the puzzle in modern golf instruction is knowledge about how human beings actually learn new motor skills. Strategies for how to use your mind to learn better and faster, and how to train to form dominant habits better and faster, are really, really important!

There is widespread lack of appreciation for how important in golf today.

The very first thing I teach a new student is some basic information about how to learn and how to practice effectively. If those two things are missing, any purely mechanical theory I present will be wasted on the student.

[Daniel Eason]

It's good stuff, and sounds like I'm not the only one enjoying it.

Tried hitting around a tree today to feel a draw.....it worked lol, would love to keep seeing how far I can draw it round the tree till it's a hook just for s*** and giggles.

[jbw749]

Ok I'm through the first 3 chapters. It gets a little confusing when in the ball flight laws chapter he says "don't change form if it doesn't improve fuction" but then in the chapter 2 when talking about the mind he says "you must allow yourself to hit a bad shot when learning. Without this freedom, you will be imprisoned in your old golf swing forever". He uses an example of a tour player being ok with duffing several in a row if they know the change is being implemented.

From the reviews I know it gets better, just kind of slow going.

[dornstar]

I just got the book in the mail. Wasn't expecting it to be so in depth. Fairly thick for a golf book.

[fore_life]

Any thoughts on this 2 years later? Effective?

[birly-shirly]

I've had it for a couple of months, not years, but I've been very impressed.

 

My driving is usually all over the map, but the last few times I've played it's been tight. Repeatable ball-flight and far, far fewer foul balls. Key for me has been finding some more mental consistency. I've repeatedly been told in lessons that my swing is technically fairly sound - at the same time as I felt it wasn't really delivering on the course. That may be starting to change.

 

It can be quite dense reading - but if you can make it through to the practice plans and drills section, I think it all comes together well.

 

I'm a longtime fan of Timothy Gallwey, Fred Shoemaker and Mike Hebron - but I like a little bit more rigour backing up the more new agey disciplines. A lot of AY's content has common ground with these, but IMO he provides more of a learning theory framework to back it up, which I think is worth it in terms of having confidence in what he's teaching. Actually, that's probably an unfair judgement in relation to Hebron who I'm sure is all over the research, but I took away more from AY's book that I felt I could really work on and know what I was doing and why.

 

He also provides some good advice in terms of how to measure and compare your skills and strengths across your game, relative to your score. I like the idea of being able to quantify your game without having to find a launch monitor to practice on.

[rteach1]

Best golf book I've ever read.

[fore_life]

Awesome thanks fellas

[MattyO1984]

I realise that this is an old thread but I have been trying to read this book for a few months and honestly, I've decided to tonight that I am giving up on it.

 

I have no doubt that the author is incredibly knowledgable when it comes to golf and how to go about teaching people to play golf. I also have no doubt that his writing and the editing of the book are not up to scratch. For me, there readability of the book is about about a 5 out of 100.

 

Am I the only one who has found that?

[gentles]

I realise that this is an old thread but I have been trying to read this book for a few months and honestly, I've decided to tonight that I am giving up on it.

 

I have no doubt that the author is incredibly knowledgable when it comes to golf and how to go about teaching people to play golf. I also have no doubt that his writing and the editing of the book are not up to scratch. For me, there readability of the book is about about a 5 out of 100.

 

Am I the only one who has found that?

 

What were you trying to get out of the book? The book is chock full of theory, and if what you want is a bullet point list of how to practice then you will need to do some reading between the lines.

 

For me the sections about the different types of practice (technical, variable, differential etc) were fantastic, and I used the ideas to create my own drills and exercises.

 

It is not a "how to" book, much more of a "why" book. I love it and it is one of my favourite golf books.

 

You do have a point about the editing and the way it is laid out - a "how to use this book" might be a nice addition for the next edition

[starsail85]

I realise that this is an old thread but I have been trying to read this book for a few months and honestly, I've decided to tonight that I am giving up on it.

 

I have no doubt that the author is incredibly knowledgable when it comes to golf and how to go about teaching people to play golf. I also have no doubt that his writing and the editing of the book are not up to scratch. For me, there readability of the book is about about a 5 out of 100.

 

Am I the only one who has found that?

 

I agree , possibly the most sedative thing I’ve ever read

[royourboat]

Try scanning the later chapters for what interests you and read them. It's a lot of setup and context but TBH you don't need most of the first half.

[MattyO1984]

I realise that this is an old thread but I have been trying to read this book for a few months and honestly, I've decided to tonight that I am giving up on it.

 

I have no doubt that the author is incredibly knowledgable when it comes to golf and how to go about teaching people to play golf. I also have no doubt that his writing and the editing of the book are not up to scratch. For me, there readability of the book is about about a 5 out of 100.

 

Am I the only one who has found that?

 

What were you trying to get out of the book? The book is chock full of theory, and if what you want is a bullet point list of how to practice then you will need to do some reading between the lines.

 

For me the sections about the different types of practice (technical, variable, differential etc) were fantastic, and I used the ideas to create my own drills and exercises.

 

It is not a "how to" book, much more of a "why" book. I love it and it is one of my favourite golf books.

 

You do have a point about the editing and the way it is laid out - a "how to use this book" might be a nice addition for the next edition

 

I was looking for it to be a better read for a reasonably decent amateur player. The chapters which begin the book and the main principles in those chapters drown in the author using ten big words when a couple simple words would suffice. I get the impression that he is trying to convince the reader that he knows what he is talking about. I genuinely think that if you are buying the book, you are ready to accept what he is telling you, just get on with doing that.

 

I like the suggestion from royourboat that the later chapters might be more useful. I'll maybe give that a try and see how that works out.

[Hawkeye77]

I realise that this is an old thread but I have been trying to read this book for a few months and honestly, I've decided to tonight that I am giving up on it.

 

I have no doubt that the author is incredibly knowledgable when it comes to golf and how to go about teaching people to play golf. I also have no doubt that his writing and the editing of the book are not up to scratch. For me, there readability of the book is about about a 5 out of 100.

 

Am I the only one who has found that?

 

No you are not, and I've read plenty of stuff (voluntarily and non-voluntarily) - fiction, nonfiction, work related and academic that plenty of folks wouldn't ever want to read and don't! He is not a master of communication.

 

Feel like the book should have been edited and mentored with an actual editor, and condensed, but he has a lot to say and it's more book than I've ever written.

[Rano85]

I've actually had this sitting around for months and never started it. I will pick it up tonight and see what it's like.

[TheCityGame]

I love this book in terms of it's usefulness. It changed how I think about improving.

 

I read it when it came out, so I don't remember everything specifically, but I do recall that some of the chapters were re-prints of blog posts. Like, he tried to work them into the overall framework and that didn't always work in terms of readability.

 

But, the basic ideas of being mindful of your game, working on contact and correcting ball flight based on ball flight laws are all rock solid.

[jkbroker]

Excellent book, just got through it. It is definitely not your typical golf book, no swing theory. Goes into ball flight laws and fundamental impact conditions, from there is becomes more about ways to focus, different ways to practice, and ends with some sample practice regimens.

 

A lot of the book revolves around experimenting while practicing as it improves the rate we learn. For example, instead of trying to hit the driver in the center of the clubface, try it hit in the heel 10 times, toe 10 times, and then center 10 times. His research has shown that your ability to hit it in the center improves faster by learning this way.