"The more I practice, the luckier I get" -- Ben Hogan

Peter Nomm, General Manager and Head Golf Pro at Minocqua Country Club in Wisconsin, recently posted some great advice for your practice routine at his golf instructional blog. He suggests that instead of hitting dozens of shots with one club, then dozens more with another, then perhaps holing 100 3-foot putts in a row that we approach our practice routine more like we would for other sports or activities such as basketball, football, baseball, and even piano. A basketball player wouldn't go to the gym and spend five minutes shooting 5-foot jump shots, then 10-footers, 15-footer, all the way back to a bunch of three-pointers. Can you imagine a concert pianist practicing by striking the same key over and over?


I think I'll take a mulligan, by bensargent at flickr.com

Using basketball as an example for a new approach to our golf rehearsals, Nomm shares that, "usually the first few minutes of time is devoted to the warm-up. Randomly shooting short shots, long shots, and throwing in a lay-up or two - basically getting a feel for the ball as the body loosens up and get's ready to go. This is a great way to begin our golf practice session - hit some chips and pitches, high-and-low shots, and vary the distance of each. Focus on getting the feel in your hands: re-connecting your body with the game enabling your natural ability to take over. Eventually you will want to lengthen the shots so that you are swinging fully, but continually change from driver to iron to wedge and so on. Like a basketball player, every shot you'll face on the course will be different. Get your body ready for this... our focus should be getting us confident enough to be able to hit the shot on the course. Finally, when the warm-up is completed and the drills are done, usually the rest of the time is devoted to real game simulations. In golf, it means GET OUT ON THE COURSE. Practce out there. You don't have to play an entire round - it could be four or five holes. And like a coach observing a practice, if the team messed up a play, he may require them to do it again. If you're on the course for the purpose of practice, allow yourself to hit the occasional second try. However, if you have a recurring problem with a certain club or shot, note it to yourself and if time allows, spend a few minutes back on the range when you are done."

I think this is excellent advice! I have incorporated a similar practice philosophy and make a point to mix up my shots and putts as much as possible during practice sessions to better simulate conditions during a round. When I'm not working on a particular new shot or technique, I limit every shot I'm practicing to two shots. I call this my "Mulligan" practice routine. I'm sure we've all missed a shot or putt before during a round, then dropped another ball and tried again, just for practice. Chances are you nailed it the second time. I use this to my advantage when I practice. I hit one shot or putt and gauge conditions such as wind, break or speed, then hit or putt my mulligan ball, attempting to improve on the first shot. I know I only get two chances to hit my target or hole my putt, so I make the most of each attempt. I find that golfers who drop a whole bucket of balls down and hit or chip the same shot over and over again with the same club seem to loose focus. They think they're working on developing muscle memory, but the routine lacks the mindset required on the course.

On the practice green, I use my two balls and practice up and downs from varying locations around the green. I'll practice a random rotation of holing putts from various distances, lag long putts, chip from off the green, and lob over imaginary mounds and bunkers, then hole the resulting putt. I keep track of how many strokes above or below par I am, with each shot being a par 2. For me, this makes practice fun and I never tire of doing it. If my back didn't start hurting from bending over for so many putts, I could go on for hours.

Yesterday, inspired by Peter Nomm's practice advice and eager to experiment with Chuck Hogan's insights, I headed out for a lengthy practice session before my Tuesday night 9-hole league round. What I discovered is a new variation to my "Mulligan" routine.

On the range, I picked a very precise target (usually a single ball sitting on the range), then visualized my ball traveling through the air and landing on that spot. I then looked down and took my swing, doing physically what I'd just rehearsed in my mind. I then did it again with the same club, then moved on to another club. I didn't concentrate, I just looked out at the range and observed the conditions and visualized my desired shot. I was amazed by my accuracy.

I then moved to the practice green and rehearsed my shots in the same manner. I casually observed the break of the green, visualized the ball landing and rolling to the hole, and picked a very precise spot on the edge of the hole where the ball should drop in. I then simply took the wedge or putter back and performed the stroke I'd just rehearsed. I never chipped or putted better.

What I discovered is that I was using my rehearsed "virtual" shot as if it was my first practice shot, then treated my actual shot as if it were my "mulligan" shot, which we all know is always an improvement over our first shot, because it's approached with that invaluable "non-caring" attitude. As I expected, I nailed that "second" shot every time. I already knew I could do it since I'd just done it "virtually".

Once the match began, I maintained my "soft eyes" and calm demeanor out on the course and continued to rehearse my shots, sensitive to the conditions of my surroundings, but without concentrating or trying. I simply trusted that I'd make the "mulligan" shot to the precise spot I'd just rehearsed visually.

I succeeded on nearly every shot and won my match. I holed every putt within 8 feet and shot a round of 2-over, even with a 2-stroke penalty for an out-of-bounds due to poor club selection. It was a very windy round and I miscalculated the wind direction on a long approach shot, thinking I had more headwind, when in fact it was mostly a crosswind. I ended up taking too much club and landed 1 foot past the OB marker beyond the green. I double bogied that hole and bogied 2 others, but managed 2 birdies to capture a great round under some difficult conditions.

It looks like I'll be practicing and playing with mulligans from now on!

Labels: Articles, Disciplines, Practice