Does anyone enjoy practicing/learning more than playing?

[jetandollie]

Not sure if it is a byproduct of COVID slamming courses and making tee times so difficult to get, but over the past 8-12 months I have found myself enjoying hitting balls and spending time (lots of time) on the putting green and chipping area. The same relaxation and "flow" that I used to get from playing 5-6 times per week is now more than satisfied with an hour or two of daily practice or reading old golf theory books. I play 90% of my rounds by myself (almost always paired with 2-3 others), and playing multiple 4 1/2 to 5 hour rounds per week is starting to feel like a chore where a late night 6 to 9 holes with a ball or two after practice is much more enjoyable. 

 

Anyone else in the same boat? 

[NoTalentLefty]

Not now but when younger I did. I’m just realizing my game needs at 62 some warmup on the range though before starting a round. 

[jut111]

I hear ya. I’d rather spend an hour putting and chipping on a nice practice green (I call it my happy place) rather then slog through a 5 hour round on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. 

[gripandrip]

I love to play... but I equally love to practice. When I can't make it to the course to play, I'm pretty content on the range and some time at the short game area.

Practicing hitting different shots in to different greens and distances can be quite satisfying.

[jholz]

I've really come to enjoy practicing since I had kids. Not as big of a commitment in terms of time or effort. I can spend two or three very happy hours around the practice green, that's for sure.

[Old Tom Morris]

To play the game well, time must be devoted to practicing.  That being said, hitting balls on the range has always been boring after a while for me.  If I have the opportunity to play the course vs. practice range, I will always choose playing.

[SNIPERBBB]

Can be more fun when you're practicing some of the crazier shots you get into sometimes, my favorite was the 70yd putter shot.

[RainShadow]

39 minutes ago, jut111 said:

I hear ya. I’d rather spend an hour putting and chipping on a nice practice green (I call it my happy place) rather then slog through a 5 hour round on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. 

 This is why I'm greatful I don't have to play weekend golf, and if I choose to, we're the first or second group out.

With Covid though, even some weekdays are getting slow...

 

[clevited]

I am of the minority that enjoys practicing almost as much (sometimes more) than playing.  It is my stress relief from work and life in general.  Nothing calms me better than a couple hours chipping, putting, hitting shots out of the bunker, pitching and then working through the bag on the range.  The sound of a perfect putt finding its home, the satisfaction of a well judged chip or bunker shot, the crisp feel of a perfectly nipped pitch shot that lands, hops and stops as intended, all sooth me.  Follow all that up with a systematic range session, going through the entire bag and experiencing that AHA! moment when you finally start to groove the swing and see and feel perfect shots one after another.  To cap off such an amazing and peaceful practice session......about 50 demolished driver shots!

[phizzy30]

I love playing more than practicing.  Always been this way since high school and on.  I would spend 3+ hours at the driving range and practice area at El Caballero CC, 5 days a week when I was playing on my college team.  Nowadays I'm too busy to be practicing that much but try to get a range session and two rounds of golf on a weekly basis.  

Edited May 7, 2021 by phizzy30

[PJE]

I prefer playing but I really like practice as well. Both are fun but in different ways. 

[Nard_S]

I enjoy both but smiles per mile, practice wins out. 

[Ri_Redneck]

I enjoy practicing very much.... just not AS MUCH as playing.

 

BT

[sittingbull]

One of my playing buddies must hit 100 balls a day in his back yard _his back yard is over 800 yards_ and this last winter he got a golf simulator and hit just about every day. He loves it and its starting to pay off on the course. But me personally i get bored real fast on the range 

[RogerinNewZealand]

The last two Summers, oct too march in NZ,i have had too relearn the Swing..just due too not enough golf,no longer driving past a Range on the way too work,and a favourite golf course becoming a road.........feb/march 2020 i relearnt everything and rebuilt fresh bladed 10 days before 6 week covid lockdown🤔 fast Ford to this xmas...i peaked mid january 4 pars in 9 holes so happy there!

April i watched swing fundamental videos ChrisRyan in UK..plus ShaunClements...so last sunday went too range and i got a Great Easy Repeatable Swing at my peak 94/95mph...and straight mid hi with 917d3  so next 3 months will work on Lag,Openness at Impact with nice weight shift🤗 looking for extra 3 to 5 mph .....ps smoking the steel shafted 18 V Steel at the range 👍

[leekgolf]

I love to practice. I can go to the range every day! I can practice hitting nothing but 4,5,6 irons for a couple hours at a time.  I especially love practicing 10-60 yards pitches and chips. About the only club I don't really practice with much is the driver.

 

I used to go every morning and practice putting before work. I can practice regularly and not miss playing, except when I don't play enough my score doesn't improve, even if I'm hitting the ball a little better. I can't really simulate the shots I end up with on the course.

 

Put me down with you @jetandollieI love practicing.

 

My favorite practice is to go out on the course when it's empty and try all kinds of things. I'll toss a couple balls into the rough and behind a tree and begin trying different shots - high, low, hook, slice, maybe where the loft needed to clear the tree going high is not enough club by a few clubs. I might try a 3 ball worst ball scramble. 

For the last year, I haven't found the course empty very often though.

 

 

[miamistomp]

 My favorite too.

  Find a quiet hole on the course at sundown and just try different shots or play closest to the pin with different colored balls

    A relaxing hour or so is awesome

[Wormkiller]

Confessions of a range rat:

 

For a long time I avoided playing, especially with others. I took solace in long sessions on the range. I avoided playing because I was fearful of taking my game to the course. And the more I practiced the more fearful of playing I got. What was I scared of? Well, to be honest I was scared of seeing the time and dedication Id put in to practice not translating to performance on the course. And like a self-fulfilling prophecy this came true many times. Hours on the range, thousands of balls hit, hundreds of dollars spent and still Id hack around.

 

I had to change my mindset. Previously as I was scraping and hitting on the range my thought was “the more I practice the better I should play” and my self expectations and related anxiety would rise. I became the definition of a range rat. I cant remember the last time I saw another player park up on the range hit it better than me to be honest. Bearing in mind 99% of my practice has been at public courses. Yet I know now that everywhere Im surrounded by holistically better golfers. It has taken me years to realise that for me, personally, there is no correlation to practice on the range to performance on course - for full swing practice to be specific. Those sweetly struck iron shots off the mat would turn into chunks and emotional depression.

 

Ive now increased my focus on short game practice in a meaningful, game based context. The jury is still out on how well this is translating to on-course performance.

 

Regarding full swing practice - I still enjoy whacking balls. But its purely for the fun of it now. Like last night when I met up with a mate for some banter and ball bashing. Or Ill go play Toptracer virtual golf. Endlessly hitting ball after ball on my lonesome just gets in my head and leads to paralysis by analysis with my technique. There is nothing to be gained. Just wasted time, money and back ache. Again - this is my personal experience only. It will of course differ for everyone else. Playing on course is a priority for me now. I still have major anxieties when it comes to competition golf which sees me want to avoid it. So playing socially with friends and by myself is my preferable way to enjoy the game now.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Wormkiller

[phizzy30]

40 minutes ago, Wormkiller said:

Confessions of a range rat:

 

For a long time I avoided playing, especially with others. I took solace in long sessions on the range. I avoided playing because I was fearful of taking my game to the course. And the more I practiced the more fearful of playing I got. What was I scared of? Well, to be honest I was scared of seeing the time and dedication Id put in to practice not translating to performance on the course. And like a self-fulfilling prophecy this came true many times. Hours on the range, thousands of balls hit, hundreds of dollars spent and still Id hack around.

 

I had to change my mindset. Previously as I was scraping and hitting on the range my thought was “the more I practice the better I should play” and my self expectations and related anxiety would rise. I became the definition of a range rat. I cant remember the last time I saw another player park up on the range hit it better than me to be honest. Bearing in mind 99% of my practice has been at public courses. Yet I know now that everywhere Im surrounded by holistically better golfers. It has taken me years to realise that for me, personally, there is no correlation to practice on the range to performance on course - for full swing practice to be specific. Those sweetly struck iron shots off the mat would turn into chunks and emotional depression.

 

Ive now increased my focus on short game practice in a meaningful, game based context. The jury is still out on how well this is translating to on-course performance.

 

Regarding full swing practice - I still enjoy whacking balls. But its purely for the fun of it now. Like last night when I met up with a mate for some banter and ball bashing. Or Ill go play Toptracer virtual golf. Endlessly hitting ball after ball on my lonesome just gets in my head and leads to paralysis by analysis with my technique. There is nothing to be gained. Just wasted time, money and back ache. Again - this is my personal experience only. It will of course differ for everyone else. Playing on course is a priority for me now. I still have major anxieties when it comes to competition golf which sees me want to avoid it. So playing socially with friends and by myself is my preferable way to enjoy the game now.

Whoa.  Over analysis by paralysis.  You're overthinking it.  Practice should be foreplay.  Playing should be the orgasm/climax.  Don't worry so much about how you do out on the course.  Just have fun and relax whether it be by playing by yourself or a group of friends.  Golf should be fun, not frustrating.  😉 

[YouDaHamHider]

14 hours ago, jetandollie said:

Not sure if it is a byproduct of COVID slamming courses and making tee times so difficult to get, but over the past 8-12 months I have found myself enjoying hitting balls and spending time (lots of time) on the putting green and chipping area. The same relaxation and "flow" that I used to get from playing 5-6 times per week is now more than satisfied with an hour or two of daily practice or reading old golf theory books. I play 90% of my rounds by myself (almost always paired with 2-3 others), and playing multiple 4 1/2 to 5 hour rounds per week is starting to feel like a chore where a late night 6 to 9 holes with a ball or two after practice is much more enjoyable. 

 

Anyone else in the same boat? 

I'm totally with you on this one. The most enjoyment I get outside of competing in a proper medal or playing for stressful sums of money is the late or super early 9 holes I play by myself. My daily game is to tee off with one ball and then play the rest of the hole as a 4 ball worst ball scramble. You get as much practice in as you would at the range but with all the enjoyment of a round. 

[MelloYello]

Not sure I really separate practicing & playing at this point. I'm 35 and have played for about 12 years. I'm trying to eliminate the final few strokes from my game and get closer to scratch. Physically, yes, there is a difference between practice and play but holistically, it's all part of one process. 

 

I don't have some master plan mind you, I merely do this for enjoyment. I'm not on some regimen with some goal in front of me. I merely recognize that as the 4-5 index I am, there's a lot of potential in merely being more consistent, in not wasting strokes. 

 

If I'm really practicing, then it's not all fun and relaxation. A lot of it is purposefully challenging: working out swing kinks and feels, aiming at actual targets, randomizing my shots/lies, etc.

 

Out on the course is the culmination of all that in-between time. You could say it's a test, I suppose. It's more like another type of practice to me. Golf doesn't stop after any given round. It's practice followed by play followed by more practice, etc.

 

I can't imagine playing w/o practice or vice versa. It's all one thing to me. I don't really enjoy one part of it any more than another. Maybe it would help if I did, IDK? I do sense some that are better than me do enjoy putting a little more. They seem a bit more at home on the greens. I'm working now to embrace more of that attitude, although it's generally good for all areas of the game. 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by MelloYello

[Saltydawg15]

My home course has a huge practice area with several practice holes, so I love put in my AirPods with a bucket of balls and just practicing my chipping and putting. It really has taken over for my quiet solo rounds I used to play.

[DShepley]

I love a good practice green and chipping area so much I built one in my yard so I could practice until dusk!  I also love playing!

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

On 5/7/2021 at 8:45 AM, jetandollie said:

Not sure if it is a byproduct of COVID slamming courses and making tee times so difficult to get, but over the past 8-12 months I have found myself enjoying hitting balls and spending time (lots of time) on the putting green and chipping area. The same relaxation and "flow" that I used to get from playing 5-6 times per week is now more than satisfied with an hour or two of daily practice or reading old golf theory books. I play 90% of my rounds by myself (almost always paired with 2-3 others), and playing multiple 4 1/2 to 5 hour rounds per week is starting to feel like a chore where a late night 6 to 9 holes with a ball or two after practice is much more enjoyable. 

 

Anyone else in the same boat? 

 

Many people enjoy “Top Golf” for the very reasons you outlined.

 

An added benefit is a more relaxing social environment.

[me05501]

I enjoy both. 
 

I’d love to have access to a great short game area for those shots inside 100 yards. I make do with one at the closest muni. At the very least there’s decent turf there and a broad variety of lies to work with. 
 

Some of my most enjoyable range sessions seem to happen when I call up a buddy, and we have a couple cans of beer while shooting the crap and hitting a small bucket. 

[RobertBaron]

I love practicing. Hardly ever actually play but practice all the time. But I’ve always been more interested in golf swing and learning all I can about creating a solid dependable powerful accurate swing than actual golf. 

[bladehunter]

On 5/7/2021 at 4:51 PM, sittingbull said:

One of my playing buddies must hit 100 balls a day in his back yard _his back yard is over 800 yards_ and this last winter he got a golf simulator and hit just about every day. He loves it and its starting to pay off on the course. But me personally i get bored real fast on the range 

This is me. I’m blessed with room to practice at home.  Built a putting green , and a driver range and a wedge range. Then a 170-160-150 target range for irons.  I get to play once a week tops nowadays. But I practice everyday .  Never played better.   In fact I’m headed out in a few to pick the driver range this morning!    If I didn’t have the space to practice , I’d quit the game i have no doubt.  

[sittingbull]

Hmm very interesting stuff

[nevets88]

The thing about playing that kills it for me is dealing with the traffic to get to and from the course. And then the slow play. Both combine to make the quality of life aspect of golf so bad, I'd rather practice.

[mattwood]

I enjoy practicing as much if not more than playing.  Partly because I don't have the time to play that much, but I also like the price of practicing over playing.