When is block practice a good thing?

I have talked extensively about the advantages of random practice, or sometimes called variable or elaborative practice. It is true that the more consistent your golf swing or technique, the more you should be using these types of practice when trying to "groove" your game. But when would constant, block or repetitive practice be useful?

To be clear, constant, block or repetitive practice has the "drag and hit" qualities about it. The player stands on the mat for minutes or hours at a time, whacking ball after ball. Often times, not even watching the full flight or roll to understand what is actually happening. Why would this technique ever be useful? Two times: (1) to establish tempo during the practice session and (2) to discover things about your technique.

One very overlooked aspect of practice is establishing a consistent tempo. Players should always start and end their practice session with focus on tempo. This usually sets the rhythm for the day if you are going out to play and if not, tempo will help you get the most out of your practice session since you are able to consistently deliver the club back to the ball with a good tempo (Not so easy when you start swinging out of your shoes). It is perfectly ok to stand on the mat using the block practice technique when focusing on tempo. You can create an interanl understanding of what is too fast, too slow or just right! I remember Tiger Woods saying one time that he can swing at 100%, but his comfort zone is around 80%. What's yours?

Discovery is not often a goal for most people when they practice....or...if it is, it usually happens by accident. The idea of discovery is very important for learning. For example, when you hit 5 balls (assuming ball position and your alignment are consistent), you will hopefully see the same ball flight. Now, what happens if you move the ball toward the target 2 inches? Does the ball fly higher and more left/right? What happens if you adjust your alignment so that the club approaches the ball from another angle. Does the ball curve? All of these are discovered using repetitive practice. This is not a place to groove anything, moreover you should aim to understand "what" is going on. One important point to understand: Establish a basic set up (with ball position, alignment, balance) and then change one variable at a time. When you understand the results, go back to the basic set up and change another variable. This keeps things somewhat consistent.

If you don't already realize how important it is to schedule your practice, do so now! When you divide up your practice session so that you have different goals, you will also have different practice methods to accomplish these goals. Certain parts require repetitive practice and certain parts require random practice.

So in summary, repetitive practice is not all bad. It just serves a different purpose when practicing. This blog is inspired by the book Practice to Learn, Play to Win by Mark Guadagnoli.

Steven