Practice doesn't always equal learning

So as you may know by now, I love learning about how to practice, how the elite athletes train and, in general, why some people succeed and others do not. Today's post is a bit about a book I would recommend called Practice to learn, Play to Win by Mark Gaudagnoli and a bit about a recent session I had with one of my junior groups.

I recently had a meeting with our Junior Elite Squad. When we started the session, I had everyone sit down at a table and think about a typical practice session they had during the summer. With the "Deer in the Headlights" staring back at me, I pushed a bit more. I wanted them to tell me (1) How often per week / month do you practice (2) How do you practice (3) What do you normally practice and (4) How do you know what to practice? WOW! Crickets could be heard within a hundred miles. Huh? Whattaya mean HOW or WHAT we practice? That was the typical response. I then took a step and asked "Do you SCHEDULE your practice in advance? This is where I almost LOST my squad. Here we are, suppose to be "Elite Junior Golfers," with handicaps ranging from 0-12, and no one had an idea on applying/learning information to becoming a better player. (BTW, learning these techniques on the golf course will help you become anything you want in LIFE too).

So to get the conversation going, I asked my best player to tell me what he does. His response was, "I don't really schedule my practice. I go off of how I am feeling instead." He continued, "I am committed to becoming a good player. On the range, I warm up with a few short irons and then hit for an hour or so. I finish up with a drill where I curve the ball." He said, I believe in hitting LOTS of balls to groove my swing. He continued to tell me that is how Vijay Singh practices...ball after ball after ball. According to Guadagnoli, Vijay is one of the hardest working guys on the PGA Tour. But does that mean he hits ball after ball using the "Drag and Hit" method? I would venture a guess and say NO. Vijay may be working hours on the range, but his method is more QUALITY than quantity. The number of balls Vijay hits is not as important as understanding the whys/hows/whens to hitting different shots. Vijay has a hitting station with clubs on the ground to understand his alignment and ball position. He takes his time after every shot to think about what has happened and lets the shot SINK into his mind. I would imagine that Vijay, being the ultimate role model for practice, is MENTALLY tired after a practice session. Are you?

Often times we have the preception that the number of balls hit or number of putts stroked the same way at a hole is the most important. This type of practice is called repetitive or mass practice. It is how most people practice, because there is an idea of "the more balls, the more I will teach my muscles to remember." Mark talks about this in great detail in his book. Our brains are wired to take in and then forget information. For example, think about the last time you were on vacation and wanted to order a pizza. You looked in the Yellow Pages or internet, and found the number to the pizzeria. You said the number several times to yourself so you wouldn't forget it and then dialed the number. One hour later, could you recall the number? Probably not. This is how most people practice golf. Practicing the same type of shot, to the same target with the same club without any regard for all the "hows/whys/whens." When it is time to recall that shot on the course, can you do it? If you are anything like the telephone number example, you have disgarded the information since your last practice session on the range. Repetitive practice with regard to learning is most often ineffective.

If repetitive practice is so ineffective what are some other strategies?

(1) Slow down your practice session to give yourself time to "soak it in."
(2) Schedule your practice so that you know in advance what to work on.
(3) Give yourself a goal for your practice session...the WHY are you doing this?
(4) Always set up a station with clubs on the ground showing alignment, ball position.
(5) Keep a Golf Improvement journal. Write in it after 5 shots. What is happening in your practice?

A typical 60 minute practice session might look like this:

5 minutes for warm up - your focus here is TEMPO. This is a session where repetitive practice is ok. The key is to focus on your speed and rhythm. Don't judge the results, just feel the beat.

20 minutes for discovery - Here, you are focusing on finding out what happens when you adjust different factors in your golf swing. For example, set up your station and hit 5 shots with normal ball position. Stop and think about what type of shot you hit. Now, move the ball 1inch forward (let's assume you are hitting a 6 iron). Hit 5 shots and take note to what happens. You are not judging your ability here. Then, move the ball back. Try aiming more left, more right, and so forth. Hit five shots with each adjustment, and write down in your journal what happens.

5 minute break for water, to clean your clubs and to think about the first 25 minutes of practice. How's it going? Write it down.

20 minutes for refinement - Let's say you want to "groove" your long irons. If you are a better player, your swing is probably more consistent, so you will want to hit less balls before change clubs (change the club and target after every 3 shots). With refinement (think Vijay), you (a) start every shot behind the ball and go through your routine. Take a practice swing, feel the move you want to feel, step forward and hit the shot. THE KEY IS WATCHING THE BALL LAND, ROLL, AND THEN YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. This is vital. Describe to yourself everything about the shot from routine to roll. Repeat with 2 balls and change clubs. (b) play the course on the range. Change every shot and every situation. By starting over, you are forcing yourself to slow down, keep the same tempo and let the "learning" sink in.

7 minutes for Tempo. Again, repetitive practice is ok, because your focus is on the beat of the swing, not learning a particular move. Don't judge your result or ball flight here. Groove your Flow!

3 minutes to summarize this range session. Write down in your journal what happened, tempo, shots, everything.

There you have it. Inspiration from Mark Guadagnoli's book Practice to Learn, Play to Win.

Regards,
Steven