Birdies with Brian (#12)

Practice with a Purpose

When it comes to practice the first thing you’ll see most amateur’s do is head straight to the driving range and take the driver out. Not only is this a bad way to practice, but also bad for your health as well. When you’re not loose the last thing you want to do is make a big swing. You can easily pull a muscle or worse. Instead, you should try easing into your practice.

The first thing you should do is take 5 minutes and just stretch. Loosen up your shoulders, hips, and legs. Next, you want to start off with smaller swings. Hit around 10-15 chips shots, then progress to 10-15 pitch shots. I like to alternate clubs during practice. One day I’ll hit the pitching wedge, 8 iron, 6 iron, 4 iron, and 3 wood. Then the next day I’ll hit the 9 iron, 7 iron, 5 iron, 3 hybrid, driver. This ensures I’m hitting every club in my bag.

Putting should be the top priority in anyone’s practice. When it comes down to it putting takes up 50% of your shots on the course, and it’s amazing to me how few people practice it. Not only that but it’s FREE to practice putting! When you practice putting your focus should be on the 3-5 foot range. A lot of people go from one hole to another and see very few putts going in this way which can lower confidence. Start by making those short putts and then work on the longer ones.

Lastly, if you’re the type of person that consistently goes to the range but never actually plays golf, stop! Playing golf is one of the best forms of practice, even if it’s just 9 holes.

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