“Positive Practice” is an excellent concept that has helped me experience greater success in my golf improvement. Positive Practice is practice that is organized and focused on specific golf improvement goals rather than just “hitting balls” for an hour or two. What sets it apart is that it has action and direction, like drills and techniques, specifically related to certain goals. Whereas unfocused practice doesn’t always lead to change and can actually reinforce incorrect technique, Positive Pracice is more productive and conducive to improvement in the specific areas it is focused upon. You may have heard the term “smart practice” or “practice with a purpose” from prominent teachers like Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott and others. In fact, in their book, “Every Shot Must Have a Purpose,” Nilsson and Marriott emphasize that great play begins with thoughtful practice. What I have done is put a positive twist on the “smart practice” idea and incorporated Positive Golf ideas into the practice time to make it mentally focused as well as physically focused. So, along with mechanical drills, I am also tuning in to and tuning up my focus, awareness, confidence, and sense of feel. These are the kinds of things that help make practice time more efficient and effective so you are really making the most of your time on the range and not getting the frustrated feeling later on of “all that practice and I’m still not hitting any better.”

My suggestion to you is to ask yourself, “Am I using Positive Practice?” As described in the previous paragraph, this is much more than practicing with a positive attitude. Here are some things to consider when evaluating your practice time and determining if you are indeed using Positive Practice, or “practice with a purpose”:

1. When you go to the practice range, do you focus primarily on hitting buckets of balls and strive to slam them as far as you can, OR do you practice different kinds of shots with different clubs, aiming for specific targets?

2. Do you go to the range with the plan of hitting balls for an hour or to keep hitting until you make three perfect shots in a row, OR do you go with the plan to focus on one or two areas of improvement with specific drills for these areas?

3. At the range, do you keep hitting away with the same kind of shots, OR do you challenge yourself to mimic different scenarios out on the course and utilize different shots for each?

The first half of each question indicates a more unfocused approach to practice and the second half indicates a Positive Practice approach. As we begin a new year and in colder climates approach a time of renewed practice activity, I encourage you to take a look at your practice habits and develop a Positive Practice approach. You will gain a lot more from your time at the range, which will help lead to more Positive Golf experiences on the course. For more tips on Positive Practice, you can subscribe to our Positive Golf newsletter – in the last issue we provided a Positive Practice tip for improving balance and solid ball contact. To view archives of our back issues and sign up to receive future issues, just CLICK HERE.

Here’s to great golf!

Rick Semple
Positive Golfer
http://www.TheHeartofGolf.com

Credits: Positive Golf

• Improves grip and swing path, Measures approx 27 inches from tip to tip
• Strengthens muscles needed for a solid swing.
• Great for warm-up before practice or a round.
• where you can practice your swing indoors without doing any damage to the room
• Makes a nice travel aid- can be easily fit into luggage

Product Description

right hand

Feature:

The whole theory is to have the weight closer to the hands where. This trainer helps elongate your backswing , plus grooves.

Your muscles benefit from more. This trainer is short enough. The end weight is solid steel and weighs approx. 2 lb.

If you take short back and forth swings, no more than waist high– it helps your chipping game too!

Warm up Swing Trainer A99 Golf Stick Practice Club Aid New

Teaching professionals have retrofitted wedges for years, making them longer in order to teach their students the proper form for chipping and pitching. Chip N Pitch attaches easily to your favorite wedge to duplicate this widely used teaching technique.

Stanford University Athletics has teamed with Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects to create what is arguably the most innovative practice facility in all of golf. The 30-acre practice center is designed to provide Stanford’s men’s and women’s intercollegiate teams a unique training experience at a facility that is unmatched in collegiate golf. The Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex is crafted on 30 acres of previously undeveloped land adjacent to the Stanford Golf Course. The …

Many golfers I see practice the same shots over and over again.  If it is an area that needs concentrated attention this is okay.  A shot will get better the more you practice it.

Practicing a shot enough will allow you to virtually do it on autopilot when you are on the course.  It is also important to remember that variety will help make you a better all around golfer.

Mastering as many techniques as possible will make you better on competition day.  Try new techniques when your practice will help you do this.

Use different clubs or try different techniques along the way.  Take the time to observe the results.

You should try adding some spin to the ball. Take note of how this affects it’s flight.

Get different type of golf balls.  Pay attention to whether your level of expertise has changed.  Do different ball compressions to see if your skills allow you to get more benefits from them.

You should also consider testing out new golf clubs.  You will need to change your equipment as your game progresses.  Over time, you want to change the clubs you use.  You don’t want to continue playing with the clubs and golf balls you started with.

Getting better equipment will allow you to make shots that weren’t possible before.  You will be able to progress to the next level with presence.  At that time you can take advantage of this equipment.

Add more backspin to your shots.  Observe to see if this helps position the ball better for the next shot.  This many offer more control on faster course.

Practice time is an opportunity to experiment and try to broaden your game. This is a great time to experiment with shots.  Begin able to add spin to the ball is very important.  It might be the difference between hitting a tree and landing on the green.

When it comes to the game of golf you can never learn too much.