Feeling lost on practice routine - What does yours look like / need recommendations

[thaar]

My goal this year is to get below a 5 handicap. I'm currently a 7.7 (I started the season at a 7.1). With that in mind, I've been practicing quite a bit lately on an indoor Trackman, which my membership runs through the end of May. I've used the last month or so to dial in my distances with every club (carry and total), including half swings with my wedges (essentially ~55yds and up). 

 

Now, I'm a bit of a loss at what to do with indoor practice. I will still work on my distances <100 yards, but am not sure what else to focus on. Late last week, I started focusing on partial swings with my 8i and 9i to help improve my swing sequencing and ball striking (I feel like this really needs improvement), but aside from those things, I'm at a loss on what else to do on the Trackman indoors.

 

Once our weather improves (it's been rough lately), I plan on adding 2-3 days a week to work on short game (chipping, pitching and putting) at my local course. 

 

While I feel like I've become waaaay more knowledgeable about the swing and game, establishing a solid game improvement plan is something I am really struggling with. I really wish I was younger and had a coach lol.

 

With that, what does your practice routine look like to meet your goals? Do you have any recommendations of things I might consider implementing using the Trackman while I have access to it over the next 6 weeks?

 

 

[sprcoop]

GLK mentioned these guys in another thread.  I thought they may be something for you to check out.  A lot of stuff on methods to make wanted changes stick and taking them from indoors to the course.  Seemed appropriate for your situation.

 

Game Like Training

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPvGlDhU2r1KbJUP2H__MVQ

 

 

[hoselpalooza]

On 4/19/2021 at 8:38 AM, thaar said:

Do you have any recommendations of things I might consider implementing using the Trackman while I have access to it over the next 6 weeks?

 

trackman combine is good.

 

also, have you created any tests in the test center? there are lots of cool things you can work on with the test center. e.g. just wedges between 40y-90y at 10y increments. or take one of your scoring clubs (e.g. 8-iron or 9-iron) and focus on getting your distances dialed in for just that club -- e.g. full, max, and 3/4 carry.

 

for partial wedges you can focus on trajectory control and distance control, though keep in mind hitting off mats can inflate  launch angle by a couple of degrees. between 25º-35º seems to be a good target for launch angle with wedges. 

 

another thing i like to do with partial wedges is try to carry different wedges the same distance and note the differences in spin and roll out. i'm very much a feel player with these shots on the course but i think it's been helpful for me to get some quantifiable data about how different partial wedge shots may run or check a little more, and how i might want to apply that knowledge on the course.

 

you can also challenge yourself to control swing speed or ball speed with ladder drills. e.g. take a wedge and make a 50mph swing. then make a 60mph swing, followed by a 55mph swing. i think this is a good drill for working on feel even though i don't think in terms of swing speed for distance control.

 

sometimes it's fun to do the target practice or bullseye games. 

 

lastly, i know where you workout 😱 😂 so i know there's a putting green and a metal yardstick you can use to groove your putting stroke between ball-striking sessions.

 

good luck, and please let me know if you have questions or if i can clarify anything!

 

p.s. i remember bookmarking some practice plans sometime this past year. if i can find them i'll go ahead and either attach/link them here. i'm also really interested in other people's idea of solid practice plans and am keen to get some feedback!

Edited April 20, 2021 by hoselpalooza
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[thaar]

3 hours ago, sprcoop said:

GLK mentioned these guys in another thread.  I thought they may be something for you to check out.  A lot of stuff on methods to make wanted changes stick and taking them from indoors to the course.  Seemed appropriate for your situation.

 

Game Like Training

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPvGlDhU2r1KbJUP2H__MVQ

 

 

This is great, thanks! I'll definitely check out a bunch of those vids.

 

2 hours ago, hoselpalooza said:

 

trackman combine is good.

 

also, have you created any tests in the test center? there are lots of cool things you can work on with the test center. e.g. just wedges between 40y-90y at 10y increments. or take one of your scoring clubs (e.g. 8-iron or 9-iron) and focus on getting your distances dialed in for just that club -- e.g. full, max, and 3/4 carry.

 

for partial wedges you can focus on trajectory control and distance control, though keep in mind hitting off mats can inflate  launch angle by a couple of degrees. between 25º-35º seems to be a good target for launch angle with wedges. 

 

another thing i like to do with partial wedges is try to carry different wedges the same distance and note the differences in spin and roll out. i'm very much a feel player with these shots on the course but i think it's been helpful for me to get some quantifiable data about how different partial wedge shots may run or check a little more, and how i might want to apply that knowledge on the course.

 

you can also challenge yourself to control swing speed or ball speed with ladder drills. e.g. take a wedge and make a 50mph swing. then make a 60mph swing, followed by a 55mph swing. i think this is a good drill for working on feel even though i don't think in terms of swing speed for distance control.

 

sometimes it's fun to do the target practice or bullseye games. 

 

lastly, i know where you workout 😱 😂 so i know there's a putting green and a metal yardstick you can use to groove your putting stroke between ball-striking sessions.

 

good luck, and please let me know if you have questions or if i can clarify anything!

 

p.s. i remember bookmarking some practice plans sometime this past year. if i can find them i'll go ahead and either attach/link them here. i'm also really interested in other people's idea of solid practice plans and am keen to get some feedback!

 

Great tips, thanks!

 

I've done the combine a couple times - finished right behind Matt Hasselbeck last month so I'll now claim that I'm just as good as a professional athlete 😂. It's a great assessment tool. I've also created a created a random 40-140yd test that I do regularly. It's really helped me improve my partial wedge shots, though it's far from perfect. I work on my wedges every time. You do bring up a good point though with your full, max and 3/4 statement...I tend to be a 3/4 or max guy and have yardages for those 9i through my wedges. I guess I don't know another speed lol. 

 

I'm a feel player too, but I gauge that feel a lot on determining my distance and target through sight (even though I'll gun the distance), so practice on a sim is tough for me. I do like the idea of a ladder drill though. The first thing that pops up when I do my short game test is the club and ball speed, and I roughly know the distance at that point, so it would be good to get that dialed in further.

 

LOL at I know where you work out...So you're saying putting might help my game too, eh? 🙂 I do putt if I get there early, or my swing is crap, but I certainly don't practice it enough.

 

If you come across any of those practice plans, I'd love to see them! 

[hoselpalooza]

On 4/20/2021 at 2:40 PM, thaar said:

This is great, thanks! I'll definitely check out a bunch of those vids.

 

 

Great tips, thanks!

 

I've done the combine a couple times - finished right behind Matt Hasselbeck last month so I'll now claim that I'm just as good as a professional athlete 😂. It's a great assessment tool. I've also created a created a random 40-140yd test that I do regularly. It's really helped me improve my partial wedge shots, though it's far from perfect. I work on my wedges every time. You do bring up a good point though with your full, max and 3/4 statement...I tend to be a 3/4 or max guy and have yardages for those 9i through my wedges. I guess I don't know another speed lol. 

 

I'm a feel player too, but I gauge that feel a lot on determining my distance and target through sight (even though I'll gun the distance), so practice on a sim is tough for me. I do like the idea of a ladder drill though. The first thing that pops up when I do my short game test is the club and ball speed, and I roughly know the distance at that point, so it would be good to get that dialed in further.

 

LOL at I know where you work out...So you're saying putting might help my game too, eh? 🙂 I do putt if I get there early, or my swing is crap, but I certainly don't practice it enough.

 

If you come across any of those practice plans, I'd love to see them! 

 

full disclosure: i haven't implemented any of the structured practice routines at the top here. i found them whilst researching how elite golfers structure their time. now i'm actively looking for help to structure routines and would love feedback.

 

these are some generic but structured routines. probably not all are appropriate for indoors on trackman.

 

https://golfpracticeguides.com/college-golf-practice-schedule-routine/

 

https://nickfoygolf.com/golf-practice-schedule-template/

 

https://golfinsideruk.com/golf-practice-routine-3-practice-routines/

 

https://golf.com/news/daniel-berger-follow-my-practice-routine-to-improve-every-aspect-of-your-game/

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/comments/247u9p/practice_plan_or_schedule/

^ iirc, only the wake forest link and top comment were interesting. been a while since i reviewed this one.

 

the next few articles are less applicable to your current situation, but they may be nice to keep in mind when you can hit off of grass ranges or during on-course practice (this snow is absolutely ridiculous right now!):

 

https://golf.com/news/daniel-berger-follow-my-practice-routine-to-improve-every-aspect-of-your-game/

 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/practice-like-world-no-1-dustin-johnson

^ i think the big takeaway from this is how DJ practiced/practices wedges. and you could probably do this on trackman... e.g.:

 

Quote

Getting back to my practice routine, I have four wedges now and spend about 80 percent of my time hitting each of them four distances—a half shot, a three-quarter shot, a full shot and a max distance. I'm trying to control distance as best I can, and this type of practice builds confidence. If you want to score, these are the shots that are going to help the most.

 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/5-approach-shots-every-golfer-needs-to-master

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20180825124640/http://www.golf.com/instruction/furyk-how-hit-20-most-difficult-shots

^ the original link died after i bookmarked it 2 years ago 😂

Edited April 21, 2021 by hoselpalooza
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