Practice like a professional (Part 1)
No matter the skill level of the students that work with our Certified instructors, all of them appear to have the same overall goal: to improve their golf game. Many factors go into the betterment of ones game from swing mechanics, to course strategy, to improving short game techniques, etc. These are factors that I would categorize as the content of ones practice, and it is quite obvious that we need to have a clear picture of what it is that we are working on in any particular facet of the game.
However, a much overlooked aspect to reaching your goal is the form of a proper practice session. For example, I have on several occasions witnessed students' excited reactions to an eye opening initial video analysis: they have seen the answer to all of their ball flight issues in one or two simple keys. Sadly, all the good positive momentum can be halted back on the tee box when it becomes clear that the student lacks a good sense of how to work towards their new goal.
I believe it is just as important to have a good form for your practice as it is to have good content when you look to make a positive change in your game, and that is what I would like to investigate in the following series."
What many students may not realize is that we teach all of our students, from complete beginners to professionals, in the same fashion. Our goal is not to pass along a small swing tip that will allow you to hit it well today, only to fall to pieces in future practice and play. Our goal is to educate our students on their body, swing tendencies, common misses, etc.
David teaches tour players this way because he knows they will head out on tour after working with him, and he cannot be with them every day. It produces a far better and more consistent performer when the student knows their game so well, that they can fix their own game when things aren't feeling quite right.
Which leads me to the first feature that you will see in every professional workstation on the practice tee: the employment of an alignment aid.
This seems very simple and rudimentary, but quite often overlooked in it's significance. In fact, a common question that I hear during the initial stages of a lesson is: "Did that ball go over there because I aimed there, or did I miss-hit it over there?" When you break it down, an alignment aid will consistently answer that question for you, and take one of those two options off of your plate.
Let's take a look at what makes a good alignment aid: simple, straight lines, lightweight so it is easy to carry around. The most popular form of late is a fiberglass rod sold at Home Depot and actually designed to be a driveway marker for snow banks (my longstanding relationship with these objects began in the Wisconsin winters growing up).
These fit the bill perfectly, and having 2 will allow you to set one up just next to the ball, pointed directly down the target line. Set up the second one closer to your toes (but in between your toes and the ball) and parallel to the first one. It is nice to have two, because if one of them gets bumped accidentally you will see it has changed relative to the other one. You don't want to spend a whole practice session with an alignment aid that unbeknownst to you has shifted 30 yards left of the target.
So with that, we have kicked off our series on good form in a practice session, I hope I have passed along the proper use of, and more importantly the significance of adding an alignment aid in your practice sessions. It truly is the first and most important step to getting you to practice like a professional.
