Instruction
Practice like you play! No, really!
It’s a Sunday night at our golf course in Wisconsin. It’s August, hot and over 90 degrees at 6:00 pm, however, that doesn’t stop folks from coming out to practice. There is actually a surprising amount of people. At the end of the range are some college students hitting only driver stubbornly trying to fly the fence sitting over 300 yards away. In the middle of the range are a few seniors trying to hit the perfect shot—occasionally I see a club slam as they are unable to replicate the same swing again and again. Finally, there is a high school team closest to me constantly trying to best each other and hitting shot after shot rapid-fire with no purpose or goal.
What I’ve described above is all too common in golf practice today. We continually beat ball after ball mindlessly in search of this elusive “perfect swing,” but it is time that the story stops. I’ve found, and the research proves, that hitting ball after ball trying to find that next “thing” to hit good shots doesn’t work. Through this article I am going to explain to you how to practice effectively. I’m sorry to say that hitting off of a perfect lie and perfecting a swing isn’t the answer. I am going to share with you how to take those boring range sessions and make them into something fun, efficient, and productive that is proven to work.
It takes courage to break the status quo but, in golf and in life, it is what separates the good from the great. The status quo in golf practice is to hit balls and perfect your technique, but honestly, that is taking the easy way out. Think about it, how many times have you left the range feeling like you had a great session, only to come out the next day and play terribly? To change these results we have to practice like we play. In fact, we need to practice even harder so when we go out to play we can be easier on ourselves. Let me explain.
Please don’t mistake the word harder for agony. I probably should say practice smarter. Last season one of my college golfers came to me feeling extremely proud because he hit balls on the range for four hours “working on his swing.” Thinking he was a young Ben Hogan, he went on to say how much time and effort he put into the session. My answer to him certainly caught him by surprise as I said, “is that meant to impress me?” My point was that he was getting caught up too much in the time he spent rather than what he was accomplishing. The session had no focus as he was simply tinkering with his swing and scraping over another ball when he didn’t hit the previous one well, and that is not golf.
In golf, you have one shot that you have to execute at a specific time under pressure. There is a scorecard and inevitably expectations that we set upon ourselves. Why in golf do we hit balls on the range with no real consequence, yet expect to be able to stripe a ball down a tight fairway when we know if we hit it OB that a double bogey is surely the consequence? The reality is our practice is lacking focus and not game-like at all. Our practice needs to simulate pressure and game-like situations in order to be most effective. This will make our on-course experience feel much easier if done correctly.
An example of this practice smarter mentality would be going out and making 10 putts in a row from four feet. Those ten putts are going to be made by making your way around a hole on a slope, creating different putts that are uphill, downhill, right to left, and left to right. The important piece here is we are going to track this with a scorecard. If we miss a putt, we still have to go to ten and see how many we make; I/E 8 out of 10, but since we missed two, we’d need to do it again until we make all ten in a row. So what have we changed?
- We’ve put high expectations on ourselves, training under pressure.
- We now have one golf ball and different types of putts we are going to hit.
- We now have a scorecard to track results like we do on the course.
This is simulating play. This is practicing like you would play on a golf course with one golf ball, a scorecard, and added pressure. When I would do this with my students, that tenth putt would be filled with immense pressure because if they missed they knew they’d have to be there for another 30 minutes potentially. Many students and college athletes even claimed to be more nervous over those putts in practice than over any putt on the golf course and that is key to lower scores and playing your best golf! When you don’t practice under pressure, you’re not getting good under pressure.
Let’s revisit my college athlete’s story. Why was I not impressed by this time he spent working on his game? Well, he was falling into the trap like most folks visiting the driving range. It simply lacked focus and was not simulating what would inevitably be upcoming on the golf course. Again, it’s not about the time you log, but the results you get.
With me as his coach, his practices started to look like this after we changed his approach
- Make 10/10 from 4 feet
- 9 Holes Chipping: 7/9 up and down in 2
- On Range: 9/10 to a green 150 yards away.
- On Range: Hit 7/10 drivers in between a 30-yard target fairway.
In total, practice like the one mentioned above would take around 60 minutes or so to complete, and proved to be much more effective. That was an example session, as we tailored these sessions to work on areas he was struggling on during tournaments. Additionally, we changed up some scenarios to match tee shots at upcoming events, for example, making sure to keep the ball right or left of simulated trouble. So what makes this more valuable than simply “perfecting a golf swing and working on technique?”
- We are always training toward a target like on the golf course
- We are always simulating the pressures of the golf course
- We prove to ourselves that the results are inside of us, taking the pressure off of the actual on-course round, similar to a boxer boxing 15 rounds for a 12 round fight.
So I want you to ask yourself, how am I practicing? Cut down on the amount of time you practice and start to make it effective and efficient. Commit to using one golf ball. Set a specific target that you will accomplish at every practice, and simulate as best you can what you will be doing on the golf course. If you start to do this in your practice whether it is on the course, on the range, or on the practice green, I guarantee you will shoot lower scores.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Ben Black
Sep 6, 2019 at 5:33 pm
I do the 3′ 4′ 5′ 4 point putting test before I play to get my putting focus on scoring.
I throw three balls and then pitch/chip/lob to three different pins. Amazing how much better you get and faster, rather than robo-chipping 10 balls to the same pin 15 feet away from the same lie.
iutodd
Aug 31, 2019 at 4:13 pm
This is really it everyone. There really isn’t much else you need to know about how to practice. The following sentence is perfect and is something that a lot of golfers don’t seem to understand:
“In golf, you have one shot that you have to execute at a specific time under pressure.”
A twist on the authors approach to practicing is to pretend like you’re playing a round of golf. Think about 9 holes of golf: two par 5s, five par 4s, two par 3s. Nine tee shots, five par four approaches, two opportunities to either go for it or lay up. That’s 16-18 shots. If you play enough you can probably fairly accurately remember what 9 holes of golf looks like and what you “normally” play and what the target looks like. So take 18 balls and try to then execute every one of those shots and see how you do. It’s how I practice and it absolutely helps.
I used to be secretly terrified of being in the middle of the fairway with 100 yards to the pin – because I knew this was my chance to score and the pressure was suddenly immense. Grinding away on wedges for hours isn’t really possible for me (or for most people) and it doesn’t really help with the pressure – but I CAN practice what it feels like to have that pressure. I can stand on the range and tell myself: “OK, approach to number one at Hawthorn, 105 to the pin, which is back right so the miss has to be left and a little short if anything. Short right is dead with basically no green to work with” Then I can try to hit that shot at a target I pick out on the range.
I’m no longer afraid of basically any shot.
Wonderful article.
Tired guy
Aug 31, 2019 at 2:26 pm
“Practice like you play”
So once a month?
Just a dad with 2 young kinds that used to be a scratch golfer… sadly missing any golf time… I know these days will pass yet am envious those of you that can work on their games…. hole some extra putts for the rest of us!