How much practice is too much practice?

This is my 4th year learning and playing this beautiful game. After much hard work (and money lol) I've gotten my handicap to a 3 which i'm proud of. My goal for the next year or so is to become a scratch golfer. As many of you know, shaving off those last few strokes to break par is a difficult thing to do. I've been working mostly on short game and putting. I practice both about 5 times a week on my home course practice green. On top of that, I'll spend 3-4 days hitting a large bucket at the range (sometimes 150-200 balls if i'm working to hit a specific distance). Range time is focused and goal oriented so I don't get caught up in my ego and blast driver for an hour. Then I usually play 18 on a Monday and Saturday league.

So looking at that schedule, I'd say my weeks are full of golf which is great! At the same time, i'm worried that I'm not giving my body enough rest. I'm a high swing speed player (118-119 mph) and i'm in fairly good shape so I'm not totally concerned. But some weeks that I put more hours on the range, I tend to not play as well in league play. On weeks that I stick to schedule or even less than, I play much better. The disparity isn't huge scoring wise but body wise I feel more flexible and ball striking is better. Do you think that is due to over working my body and not getting enough rest? I'm sure there's multiple variables as to why this happens. Your thoughts?

I'm probably not the one to ask since I'm pretty much a range rat. I hit balls longer than most instructors would suggest.

But I mix it up quite a bit. Various shots and different clubs. Plus I do a lot of drill work between shots trying to ingrain what I'm working on.

If I was just raking balls(as I've done often in the past) I think I'd be wasting a bulk of my time.

But I think I'm having a positive effect and I really enjoy digging it out of the dirt.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now's the time (in my opinion of course!) to start shifting practice to performance-based, which means they could be longer or shorter. Do things like the 9-ball flight drill with five clubs, each swing has to hit the ball farther, x putts in a row from five feet, x% out of 10 from 10 feet. But do them all as failure drills. If you do them all first time you might only practice for an hour a day, or 20 mins if you do them over the week.

I got to chat to John Parrot (snooker pro), and I asked him what his practice was like at the height of his playing days, fully expecting six hours a day etc. He had certain things to do every practice session like spin the cue ball to an exact spot etcetc, but if he was pulling the very tight tolerance shots off, why practice more and risk over-thinking it?

Any practice beyond the point where you can give your full concentration to making quality reps is too much practice. That point will vary from person to person but you will know when you reach it.

Steve

I'm pretty sure that I'd play better if I didn't spend so much time hitting into my net in the back yard EVERY SINGE NIGHT. Some night it's 2-3 hours.

It has paid off big time in the short game area. However mostly I over do it, get tired/lazy, bad habits take over. Frustration emerges - shocking I know - and then I can't leave until I fix whatever issue I have developed that particular day.

And as I approach the big 6-5 in July, I wonder why new aches appear getting out of bed in the morning. I figure I'm only hitting a damn ball.

My name is Mark and I have a problem.

Quality over quantity.

I'd recommend trying to mix in some more rounds in some weeks.

If you want to be a scratch or + golfer - you need to be able to shoot low scores. And some of that is experience and mentality that you won't find on the range or practice green. To consistently shoot even or under par, you might have to adjust your playing strategy on the course. More rounds and experience on the course is vital I believe in achieving this.

Here are some adjustments I made to get there:

1) Controlled Trajectory at 100 yards or less. I quit using my 60 degree Lob Wedge everywhere. Learn how to use different clubs to hit 50, 75, 100 yard shots. Different trajectories, smaller swings, easier to be consistent.

2) Aggressiveness - I play on a tight course lined with trees on every hole. On shorter par 4's, I'd hit an iron or other layup club to stay in the fairway for an easy 100 yard shot. I had to stop playing to avoid my misses and play the shot that I'm capable of making. I now hit driver on nearly every one of these short par 4s. You get more birdies playing this way. Sure higher chance to miss the fairway, but I needed to realize I'm good enough to save par most of the times from those misses and I'm much more likely to make birdie from chipping onto the green for birdie.

3) Putting - you can't miss a bunch of 3-4 FT putts and shoot low. Need to consistently be putting at a level, that allows you to take advantage of good shots. Your not going to make every 6-10FT putt, but you need to make some. And you need to not compound errors by missing inside of 3-4 FT.

In regards of fatigue - no one can tell you that, but yourself. Sounds like some weeks you might be overdoing it. Mixing in more rounds, should help as you are hitting less times.

When I was learning the game (self-taught at 40) I practiced at the range nearly everyday hitting up to 1500 balls a week with different shot regimes. I have always been physically and cardiovascular strong. But I could always tell when I had hit over 1k balls, I began to slow down. If I played a round or two during a given week, it was a test. How much is too much? Depends on your physical and mental conditioning and golf goals. My goal was to be single digit as fast as possible around running a company.

If you have as much time as you suggest, I would work in at least one 9 hole practice round a week. Toss balls in odd places to practice shots you can't recreate on the practice range but might face during a round.

Ask Tiger or Nicklaus

Likely at the point where your practice is not translating to the golf course. If you hit it like a scratch on the range, but shoot 78's, then there is starting to be a disconnect between what you are doing on the range versus what you're doing on the course. The distractions and consequences are different whether it's on the range, the practice green or the short game area. Practice is really a tool to keep you sharp and to hopefully improve. I think many golfers, myself included, can get fooled when they see them improve a certain part of the game or the swing that they have practice on and mistakenly take that as improvement while their scores have not improved at all.

RH

Moe Norman slept in sand bunkers... woke up and golfed till bedtime. So I'd say you cant practice too much

Play!!! If you are a 3 now and want to shave the few strokes to get to a scratch, you need to learn how to score on the course. Play more, you don't make birdies on the range. Learn how to keep going lower when you have a good score going, and learn how to scrape it out when you don't.

Why not set your goals to be a plus 5 or something? The way to do that is play a lot more golf than you are. 2 rounds a week isn't going to cut it.

Work on your mental game to reach scratch you already play good enough to...

You said the last few strokes are difficult to shave off.... well change your whole attitude.

Nothing is difficult on the golf course just some things are more difficult then other things but see pars as easy and normal.... but don't bullshlt yourself cause your golf game will know if you are... now you understand how important the mental game is to feeling comfortable being a scratch golfer and that it aint no thang...

But don't ask VJ. :-)

I practice a lot, but it's something I enjoy doing so I will continue to do it. It's not just about the golf, it's being outside, getting some fresh air and exercise too. I play every day weather permitting, and will get to the course early to practice...not so much now since all practice facilities on golf courses are closed in my state.

Same here. I love to practice. Our range just opened this week. The short game area is still closed.

Diverse targeted practice regime is just as important as playing golf. Tournament competition and money golf (real money) are very different from playing golf. I know plenty of people that play a lot of golf yet they have not improved. Also, I have played lots of golf for money against people that as it turns out can't handle that kind of pressure on top of golf. At a low index, progress is more about mental self-control, staying focused on the task at hand and being able to see and execute shots that come from demanding practice routines.

It sounds like you already think you're wearing yourself out (or, you really wouldn't have started this thread, yes?). If you wait for an injury to confirm it, that'll end up being much more time off than cutting back now.

Something you might consider is getting an opposite handed gap wedge matching your regular one and making use of it in practicing both your full swing and your short game. In your full swing, it'll offset all the torque you're putting on your spine in the usual direction, while in the short game, it'll give you more insight on the role eye dominance plays in the game.

I can't recommend this post enough, particularly points #2 and #3.
You have to play golf and learn what "aggressive" is for you. As someone with a good short game myself, I understand what @wagolfer7 is talking about when he says he needed to learn for himself that he was good enough to overcome a few errant drives on short holes. You @mcc0819 need to learn for yourself just how aggressive you can afford to be before it bites you. Being aggressive is also a great way to find weaknesses in your short game. And like @wagolfer7 was saying, it's more likely you can get up-and-down for birdie or par from around the green as opposed to laying back and trying to stick a longer wedge shot in tight. Even for good players, that's still pretty rare. Lay back when you have to protect against a big number, but don't make a habit of playing defensively if you don't have to.
Likewise, the point about putting is also vital. Short putts are the bane of my existence unfortunately. If I were to really get serious and practice, I would need to eliminate those 2-3 missed putts that I see every single round. I often chip it close and then miss the tap-in. If you want to be scratch, you can't be doing that!

The only other thing I'd say is that you definitely need to play more. I said this in another thread but the one thing that binds us all is that no matter who you are, you're probably not playing as much golf as the people who are better than you. That's a good lesson. At some point you'll hit a wall and give up. It's inevitable. But until then, make a commitment to play more golf.