Does anyone enjoy practicing/learning more than playing?

[dubbelbogey]

I like practicing quite a bit, but love playing.

 

Too many interesting situations on course that cannot be easily simulated on the range. And, it's a totally different mental challenge to score, which I think is the main objective of the game for most of us.

 

I have a friend who almost never plays - maybe once or twice a year. He has his in-garage hitting "studio" where he typically hits 300-400 balls per session (all full swings). He's all about the launch monitor numbers and the video-based "positions" of his swing. He has taken some fairly in-depth lessons with an instructor, but again - all indoors. To be completely blunt, all that practice doesn't seem to translate to the course at all. His numbers are always way off what his simulator tells him, his mishits on real grass are often quite bad, and he really can't manage his way effectively through a round. Frankly, he's a fairly terrible golfer for the amount of time he spends "practicing". For all the time he spends on this activity, he's done very little to teach himself how to put the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible.

[sailfishchris]

I actually play worse when I practice too much. It's different hitting shots on the course -for me Uneven lies, odd yardages......under tree branches ....behind trees.  YMMV.

[hoganfan924]

I'm 56 years old, and have hit over 500 balls in a single range session multiple times in recent weeks, so yeah, I'm kind of a range rat, especially now that I have a range membership at a nice club.  As I really didn't start playing golf until I was around 19-20, it seems I need a lot of practice to really improve and maintain my ballstriking, but I was always this way in every sport I tried.  I love the feel of a pured shot, that comes off exactly as I envisioned it.  I only play once a week in a 9 hole league, and then maybe once or twice a month on the weekends for 18.  Maybe I'll get out for more twilight rounds this year.

[Ghostwedge]

Depends on what you want out of your golf..  

If you want to shoot your lowest score possible you need to play ALOT.

I spent hours and hours at the range years ago building a repeatable swing, haven't spent more than 15 minutes at a time there since. Warm up is it.

Life is to short to "practice golf", now we play, we'll " practice" when we're 90 and can't play anymore. Enjoy the walk and go low.

 

 

 

 

[DaveMc82]

Driving range - I enjoy technical work to reduce my variance but get bored very quickly. I have to play target games to make it productive 
 

Grass practice ground - this is where I love to be grooving wedge carry distances up to 9 irons. We have to collect our own balls so I set up targets to carry to out of poly rope, kind of like mini greens. 
 

Putting/chipping - do the occasional practice session but learn far more out playing. COVID lockdown had me on a putting nat for hours grooving the stroke. This I loved but don’t have the urge to practice it when I can just play. 
 

Short game bunker area - love to practice it as it’s a mix of technical and feel. Also the benefits of hitting into greenside bunkers on barely reachable par 5s in 2 is huge. 
 

I don’t get how you can prefer practicing to playing overall unless you struggle to score or transfer it to the course. If you do prefer it, my guess would be it’s a mental thing where you’re in a safe zone with no consequences from failure. 

[me05501]

6 hours ago, DaveMc82 said:

I don’t get how you can prefer practicing to playing overall unless you struggle to score or transfer it to the course. If you do prefer it, my guess would be it’s a mental thing where you’re in a safe zone with no consequences from failure. 

 

I don't know if I agree with this generalization. Some people are just limited by time, opportunity/access to the course, busy playing partners, job/family etc. 

 

I love playing with people I know and enjoy being around. I also enjoy competitive rounds and team play, even with people I don't know all that well. But I generally would avoid a casual round with people I don't enjoy being around. If that is my option I'd prefer to work on my own game and see if I can get a little closer to my goals. 

[mgoblue83]

I used to be a range rat who hit hundreds of balls a day but last spring I purchased my first walking membership to a course nearby and was able to play 9-18 holes 4-5x a week all summer. Needless to say I haven't spent more than 10-15 minutes on a driving range (warmups only) in over a year. I still practice my short game once or twice a week but I've never played better and I've gone from focusing on my swing to focusing on the shot. It's a really cool difference and I don't see myself ever going back to pounding balls on the range. 

[dubbelbogey]

30 minutes ago, mgoblue83 said:

I... I've gone from focusing on my swing to focusing on the shot. It's a really cool difference ...

 

That's a really nice way to phrase it.

 

[stryper]

Just a random thought...is being a driving range rat who isn’t all that interested in competitive (or even casual) golf really all that different than a shooting range rat who isn’t into killing things?

[hoganfan924]

4 minutes ago, stryper said:

Just a random thought...is being a driving range rat who isn’t all that interested in competitive (or even casual) golf really all that different than a shooting range rat who isn’t into killing things?

Funny you say that, as I'm also a target shooter but never hunted.  I enjoy the challenge of target shooting and have competed in CMP events a couple of times, so it's a little different than golf.

[dubbelbogey]

4 minutes ago, stryper said:

Just a random thought...is being a driving range rat who isn’t all that interested in competitive (or even casual) golf really all that different than a shooting range rat who isn’t into killing things?

Everything is various shades of gray, but isn't a shooting range rat aiming at pretty specific targets? Target shooting can (but doesn't have to be) a competitive sport in its own right. E.g. Olympic shooting. Pretty divorced from hunting.

 

I'd say a lot of golfers out on the range aren't really aiming at specific targets. I've seen guys who rake and hit several ball in a row without ever looking down range until after the ball is in flight. They could, however, be very focused on their positions and "technique".

 

[MelloYello]

10 minutes ago, stryper said:

Just a random thought...is being a driving range rat who isn’t all that interested in competitive (or even casual) golf really all that different than a shooting range rat who isn’t into killing things?

 

I think that's probably a fair comparison and it's why we have stand alone driving ranges. 

 

Someone who shoots a lot and does the plinking thing isn't really preparing for competitive shooting or even self-defense both of which are entirely different from standing at a line casually firing. 

 

Still though, nothing wrong with plinking. Likewise, I would encourage more folks to do the driving range thing if that's what they like. I think you have to be smart enough not to get your expectations too high based on driving range results though. That certainly isn't golf. 

 

If there's a "problem" it's that people often imagine the driving range as being indicative of performance in much more stressful or difficult circumstances. Probably happens with plinking, too, but thankfully our self-defense skills aren't put to the test for 4 hours every Sunday, LOL. 

Edited May 11, 2021 by MelloYello

[Nard_S]

On 5/11/2021 at 2:30 AM, DaveMc82 said:

I don’t get how you can prefer practicing to playing overall unless you struggle to score or transfer it to the course. If you do prefer it, my guess would be it’s a mental thing where you’re in a safe zone with no consequences from failure. 

Lol, yeah, no. It's real simple, you might get to hit the ball every 5 minutes on the course. In that time, at a super leisurely pace you can hit 5-10 balls in practice. You can do that and make it real work, not just slumming reps too.

[thaar]

I'm somewhat in the camp of enjoying practice more than play. Part of that is the frustration of 5hr rounds on the weekend, but lately for me, it's been using a Trackman and chasing a great swing and optimal swing and ball specs. It's not necessarily a healthy approach since I tend to lose focus on the result, but it's still fun for me. I really enjoy the process. It's even more fun when it translates to the course.

 

Lately, I've been really working on flighting the ball, using a partial swing with a longer club to give me another tool in my bag. It's really helped with my ball striking too. During the last men's club event, it was pretty windy, and my round was already kinda trash lol, so I started trying some of the things I've been practicing, and was pretty pleased to see my work somewhat paying off. It wasn't perfect, but was still solid, just being a bit off on distance control.

 

The only thing I don't really like practicing is putting. It bores me and hurts my back sometimes if I haven't stretched in awhile. I still do it, but it's a grind for me at times even when I do incorporate games/challenges. I do love going to the short game area to practice chipping and pitching though. I actually prefer that to pounding drives on the range.

[bonvivantva]

During covid I've been practicing about three times a week.  I've also played round with my dad in his simulator about once a week.  I've enjoyed it, but I still prefer real golf.

 

That said, I rarely golf, because I'll really only commit to a 5 hour round in ideal conditions.  Even before things got crowded, I'd only play on weekends with friends.  By myself, I'd never play a weekend round because I hate getting paired up with talkers, advice givers, etc.  Rounds are usually longer, and I prefer to walk.  I have a 9 hole course pretty close to my house, but it's been so slammed I've only played it a couple times this season.  I played a round last year in the rain.  I walked and had the whole course to myself on the back 9.  I enjoyed that so much I got myself some better rain shoes and rain gear for this season.  Might try to book some rainy rounds on purpose...

[me05501]

Just came from a live lesson, and I'll add that I probably enjoy taking lessons as much as I do either practicing on my own or playing on the course. 

 

I really like the pro I use and the way he communicates information. He's great for me because like me he digests a lot of the popular instructional content that's out there so he's a great filter for me between the things I need and ought to try to do and the things I should ignore or avoid.

 

I can ask questions about stuff that came from somewhere else and see how or whether it fits into what we're working on. He doesn't give any impression that this frustrates or undermines his intents for me, but over time I've come to rely way more on what he is giving me than anything from any other source. 

 

I always come away from my lessons feeling like I understand where I'm at a little more and I have constructive homework to build on. It's worth the time and money ($325 for five lessons). 

[Hamez3]

I don't know if I'd say I like practicing more than playing or if it is just infinitely easier to find time to practice than it is to play. 

 

This is my third summer golfing and my second as a parent. While I'd absolutely love to play 9-18 holes every week, my lack of flexibility makes it incredibly difficult to plan and even if I can make it work I feel tremendous guilt being away from my daughter for 4 or 5 hours. On the other hand, I can easily find a few nonconsecutive hours during the week where I can go work on my swing and just enjoy some alone time outside. I think it all depends on what you're trying to get out of it.

 

Having said that, as others have mentioned, the more time I spend practicing, the more pressure I feel to perform well during a round.  Some day I'd like to play every week and get to the point where the game feels totally natural instead of feeling like i'm running through a 50-item check list before each shot.

[Barfolomew]

Not sure if I like practice more then playin but I LOVE to practice.... its like a meditation for me, and yes I meditate lol.  Finding that groove is not possible in the same way while playin.  I like to hit balls pretty quick in succession and find a rhythm specially with chipping.

 

Practice can become a sport of in of itself that has its own quality,  its where you develop that deeper relationship with your skills using the same club over and over and learn those tiny nuances that are much more refined compared to when you're playin a different club once every 3-4 minutes....

 

Yes I was the kid that could just be entertained throwing/kickin a ball against a wall for long periods of time lol.... in fact I came up with a new exercise like that at the gym to help me recover from Achilles surgery..... I balance on a Bosu ball by the wall and throw a racquetball off the wall from one hand to other in squat or standing position.

[leekgolf]

On 5/7/2021 at 6:03 PM, miamistomp said:

 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

Nice ES-125 in your avatar!