What do you do in a practice round?

My son is playing in his first AJGA tournament next month and they have a practice round before the tournament starts. What do you do in a practice round? For example, I would think it would be benificial to note the breaks on all the greens and make a lag put from different areas to see how the ball responds.

note where not to miss every green

the bail out side

way the green slopes

what to hit off the tee

I note down all of the ridges in the greens, breaks, no-no areas, and if some greens are noticeably firmer/faster than other greens.

One thing that always helped me was to play a little later in the day and look for "paint spots" on the greens. This will usually tell you exactly where the pin placements are going to be the following day/first round. Unless it's a late start they always set the pins the day before.

Note where he would want to place his tee shots (due to angle to green/approach yardage/ease of hitting fairway) and what he would hit off the tee to put him there.

Then note how he would approach the hole depending on flag location....noting bail out areas and places he just does not want to be.

Then note how the green generally slopes, and other things that he may find important.

Note holes he can be aggressive, and holes where par/bogey is going to be a good score.

Put together a game plan, so he doesn't have to "think" as much on the course. And by "think" I mean make those silly stupid decisions we all make on the course and wish we hadn't...for a young kid you DON'T want them to make play decisions based soley on emotion.

Other than that, get comfortable with the course, and have fun!

Wheres he playing at?

I try to simulate the nerves on the first tee! I like the other responses. But nothing like going through your routine infront of a large group of people. Lol. And getting applause afterward.

The main reason why I play a practice round is to see what I should be hitting on the par 3s and what holes are good for driver, FW, or irons as first shots. Other than that I just go out there to get familiar with where everything is

Just get familiar with the course, learn some of the breaks, drive placement.

The first thing my coach taught me... never putt to where the hole is that day. That's the one spot you know it won't be!

The biggest thing I do in a practice round is buy a yardage book! then i make notes about the greens, specifically the ridges and how far onto the greens they are. this helps me understand not only the green, but where to miss, where not to miss, and how I can make my approach shot easier.

one more thng. when you hit a tee shot and/or are trying to figure out how far/where to hit it, make sure you look back at the tee from the fairway. It often gives a helpful second perspective.

howd your son do?

tommy jewell

age 13

hdcp 3.5

i will hit 3 drives off the tees, one in the right of the fairway, one in the center and one on the left, and see which one gives me the best angle to the greens. i will do that on iron shots also. i will drop balls to where i think i might miss the ball on the hole and chip to all parts of the green. like, my miss on par 3's is left, so i will go to different spots on the left of the green and chip. you can't do this in an organized practice round, but if you go out and play the course with him by getting a tee time, like i do, you can practice doing this.

When i played practice rounds for college tournaments, I would play the course hitting driver off every tee, because you can always lay up and hit 3 wood or whatever is safe. I think playing aggressive is a must for practice rounds. Also if I jsut payed attention to the course I would remember slopes, and places not to miss and lay up areas. I think people think too much during practice rounds. Just play the course, and IMO you will learn more than hitting from certain areas.

I would have to agree with UCR. Unless you have two or more practice rounds to gather information I would focus on a general game plan. Decide what your going to hit off each tee... even on par 3s find a club that hits the middle of the green. On par 5s set a "lay-up distance", meaning if you're more than *230* out you will lay-up (obviously wind can change a game plan).

Definitely pay close attention to the greens. If you can, go out with a friend or a parent and record major tendencies of each green and the greens surroundings. It doesn't have to overly detailed... but you should know that if a pin is front right on a two-tiered green, hitting to the back of the green will leave a difficult two putt, while a miss short will leave either an uphill putt or a makeable chip. Know what side of the green to miss on, if a pin is back left and a miss left of the green is a probable bogey, don't go pin hunting.

If you have more than a round to get to know the course then you should start to consider angles into greens, which greens hold better than others (ex: if a pin is back left do you give the shot an extra couple yards of bounce before it sticks or will the green catch it immediately), etc.

screw around. but make sure to pay attention to greens and putting. i cant stand playing seriously outside of competition

Never ever EVER keep score in a practice round. Expectations are always bad and a bad round is death in a tournament for confidence.

I like to first of all and most importantly find what club is good off every tee, so I pay attention to my tee shots in particular as on a new course clubbing off the tee is vital. After that, it's just trying out what's in front of me, try go for it on a par 5 to see where it leaves you, and screw around on the greens, try and get a feel for how they react to chip shots and putts from various angles.

On Par 3's make sure he takes his time, surveying the hole from each tee box that maybe used and then hitting balls from those areas and seeing what brings him to the front of the green, and what club puts him in the back of the green. Par 3's can make or break a round espesically when you do not know what to do on that certain hole.

For me, I bring my sports psychologist, my short game coach and my swing coach, along with a few sponsors, family and family dog, to ensure I have all the distractions and swing thoughts I may be dealing with on the course dutring the tourney. Then, I play all sorts of shots from different parts of fairway, rough and short game shots all over every hole. I start around 7 am and usually not done until around 6 pm.

It works for me.

If you want to see what the best players do, there is a practice round video of Brian Gay (T-20) and his caddie Kip (Big Break) from the PGA Championship here:

LynnBlakeGolf -- Yoda PGA Video

You have to register to view it, but it's worth watching imo.

For me, I bring my sports psychologist, my short game coach and my swing coach, along with a few sponsors, family and family dog, to ensure I have all the distractions and swing thoughts I may be dealing with on the course dutring the tourney. Then, I play all sorts of shots from different parts of fairway, rough and short game shots all over every hole. I start around 7 am and usually not done until around 6 pm.

 

It works for me.

Hey Phil, welcome to GolfWRX! So, when did you leave Callaway? BTW, as far as that working for you...you may want to reconsider based on your recent major suscess (or lack there of).

wow eagle i reallly hope you where kidding, lmao