Who takes no practice swings

[capking]

I've found success with no practice swings, curious if others take this approach?

[ofortuna]

Practice swings don't do anything for me so I stopped. I spend a few seconds on lining up and getting a good setup then pull the trigger.

[High gentle draw]

I never take full practice swings. Set up to the ball, 2 or 3 waggles and then go.

[TMax]

Only on chip shots, never on full swings

[TheInfidel]

Only where I'm building in some time to get comfortable with the shot. Like on the first hole if I'm hitting driver. If that goes well I'll likely not practice swing the rest of the round.

[naval2006]

My dad. The old man's a heck of a ball hitter. I played with Roberto De Vicenzo a few times when he was in his 70s and I noticed the man would never take a single practice swing during the round.

[doublehans]

yeah, no practice swings. i tend to think of the swing like throwing a ball (which doesnt involve a "practice throw"). if i lose my swing during a round, i might take one focusing on rythm but only because that keeps me away from getting too mechanical.

 

one exception is if i have a wonky lie where i need a practice swing to help visualize the shot, happens around the green mostly or sometimes on big sloping fairways. but for most shots, not needed.

[Blakester]

None for me. I get my intermediate target and try to line up straight, waggle once or twice and then go. No practice swings on putts either. Like Doublehans said above, if the lie is questionable I may take one or two to get the feel and I'll take one on a chip shot every now and then but that's it.

[TheCityGame]

None on full swings. None on putts.

 

I do them on chips.

 

On irons, I make a couple "half swings" to feel the bottom.

[DevilDog]

I never take a practice swing. Comes down to this, if you haven't got it when you step on the course, a practice swing isn't going to magically give it to you.

[bman58]

I've found success with no practice swings, curious if others take this approach?

 

I stopped years ago when I realized that the only thing they did for me was cause me to swing twice as many times in a round.

[BMC]

I take one just to loosen the shoulders and back after getting out of the cart. Carts are ergonomically bad.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

I only take practice swings if I'm getting ready to hit either a big slice, or a big hook out of trouble, and that's really just to remember how to do it.

[wayupnorth]

personally, it depends on what club i'm using. with driver, i like to take two or three real good practice cuts at the ball so that i'm good and wiped for the actual shot at hand. with the irons, i like to make sure i get in five or six mini practice swings where i take a nice full divot just to make sure i'm compressing the ball properly. with the wedges, i usually don't take any practice swings because my game inside of 80 yards is basically bulletproof as i have perfect inbox feel for every wedge shot. with the putter, i actually like to go through my entire routine, including hitting the putt without the ball first so that i can properly visualize a perfect result and then i put the ball down and just repeat the process.

 

hope this helps.

[kingotheworldma]

Nope. Leads to disappointment for me. If I am waiting around for a group ahead I may swing out of boredom. I do make practice swing if I need to on a delicate pitch sometimes

[Boricua Golf]

I take one when a specific shot (fade/draw) is needed, otherwise, no practice swing, I do, however, waggle once or twice before I swing and no practice strokes with putting at all...

[exgolfpro]

I never take a practice swing on full swings or on putts. As a kid, I actually noticed that I hit the ball better without a practice swing, so I haven't taken one in probably 35 years. Now on chip shots around the green, i will take one to get a feel for the turf and how much resistance the grass/turf will provide.

[jut111]

personally, it depends on what club i'm using. with driver, i like to take two or three real good practice cuts at the ball so that i'm good and wiped for the actual shot at hand. with the irons, i like to make sure i get in five or six mini practice swings where i take a nice full divot just to make sure i'm compressing the ball properly. with the wedges, i usually don't take any practice swings because my game inside of 80 yards is basically bulletproof as i have perfect inbox feel for every wedge shot. with the putter, i actually like to go through my entire routine, including hitting the putt without the ball first so that i can properly visualize a perfect result and then i put the ball down and just repeat the process.

 

hope this helps.

 

so you take 7 divots on every iron shot. Superintendent must love you, not to mention the guys behind you.

[Fade to Black]

I take a quarter swing or two just to make sure my backswing path is where I want it to be.

 

But full swings, no.

[WayRight]

personally, it depends on what club i'm using. with driver, i like to take two or three real good practice cuts at the ball so that i'm good and wiped for the actual shot at hand. with the irons, i like to make sure i get in five or six mini practice swings where i take a nice full divot just to make sure i'm compressing the ball properly. with the wedges, i usually don't take any practice swings because my game inside of 80 yards is basically bulletproof as i have perfect inbox feel for every wedge shot. with the putter, i actually like to go through my entire routine, including hitting the putt without the ball first so that i can properly visualize a perfect result and then i put the ball down and just repeat the process.

 

hope this helps.

If it works for you, that is awesome, and keep at it, but reading that you take 5 or 6 full divots just on your practice shots, plus likely another on your actual shot...that made me laugh out loud.

You're moving some serious turf!

 

Let's say you take 45 full swing shots during a round. That's maybe 250 to 300 divots just from you out there.

 

I'm way too lazy to swing a club that much in one day. I'm tired just from thinking about taking that many swings. I'm also really stressed out for the greenskeeper, but you're probably really good for his job security.

[Yrrdead]

Sarcasm meters need to be calibrated......I hope

[brianmontgomery2000]

Only on chips to find the bottom of the arc and calibrate distance and putts to program distance.

 

Gave up full swing practice swings a long, long time ago -- they didn't seem to do me any good and haven't missed them since.

[Pingfitz]

Practice swings don't do anything for me so I stopped. I spend a few seconds on lining up and getting a good setup then pull the trigger.

I do the same, only time I take practice strokes is on finesse/touch shots around the green.

[BenHoganSlam1953]

I do, except when I don't.

[gsea33]

personally, it depends on what club i'm using. with driver, i like to take two or three real good practice cuts at the ball so that i'm good and wiped for the actual shot at hand. with the irons, i like to make sure i get in five or six mini practice swings where i take a nice full divot just to make sure i'm compressing the ball properly. with the wedges, i usually don't take any practice swings because my game inside of 80 yards is basically bulletproof as i have perfect inbox feel for every wedge shot. with the putter, i actually like to go through my entire routine, including hitting the putt without the ball first so that i can properly visualize a perfect result and then i put the ball down and just repeat the process.

 

hope this helps.

 

if your'e serious you really need to reevaluate your game or take up ping pong. man you are course, playing partner, golfers nightmare.

[Ri_Redneck]

On stock shots I take no practice swing. I only take them when attempting a "Feel" shot because I have to feel the distance before I can get confident at hitting it. Many think that "Feel" shots are just around the green, but they can be the punch from trouble or any shot where you are doing anything that is not the norm, such as draws or fades.

 

BT

[ofortuna]

I just realized that I do take some practice swings for short pitches around the green (<10 yards) to rehearse the length and speed of motion. Never for stock full swings.

[GolfSINC]

I take practice swings outside of the fairway. I do this to understand the lie under the ball. Sometimes it looks like it's sitting up nice, but in reality its sitting on a marsh or hard pack.

[raholland71]

I don't 99% of the time. I will if I'm hitting a crucial shot from a strange lie, stance, etc. putts excluded

[deathbymuffin]

I've found success with no practice swings, curious if others take this approach?

 

I stopped years ago when I realized that the only thing they did for me was cause me to swing twice as many times in a round.

 

Lol. ^^this^^