How to make your practice more productive

Recently, I welcomed KOHR Academy Director & Mental Performance Coach Iain Highfield to Sleepy Hollow to deliver a performance clinic for our members. The clinic was a huge success as members learned more about "productive practice" and how they can ensure changes made on the range can be transferred effectively to the course.?

The clinic was a combination of classroom-type learning combined with on the range practical learning through which members could execute the teachings. The feedback from the members following the event was fantastic, and I wanted to share some of the main takeaways from the event with my connections to help improve on-course performance through a better understanding of golf psychology.

?I created this event to help my members understand how they can implement the changes they are working on in their golf swing. There is tons of technical information within the golf world explaining what a player should do in their swing, which creates a situation where many people know what they want to do but find it hard to implement or the changes they make on the range never stick.

?Here is a quick recap of section one of our clinic.

?How to make a swing change stick?

The first section of the clinic kicked off with some clips from the film Topgun (not the newest one, don't worry). It demonstrated how the Topgun school recreated and simulated situations that the pilots would face in battle and integrated that into their practice. Golfers do the opposite, as they stand on the range and hit into a huge area; if they hit a poor shot, they reload and hit again. When poor shots start to appear mid or later in the round, they struggle to recall the feelings of when they were hitting the ball well early on. The clips shown demonstrated Maverick executing successful actions in practice situations.

?Iain and I like to have all of our players create a practice plan that allows them to work on their mechanics and help the mechanical changes stick, but it will also help them simulate situations that they will face on the golf course. Here at Sleepy Hollow, we have some fantastic facilities, but players must utilize this facility and create a game-like environment on the range or short game area to get the most out of their practice.?

"The most important part of practice is defining it."

?When discussing making a swing change stick, Iain busted one of the biggest myths in golf, actually in all of sport! Muscle memory, there is no such thing as muscle memory.

The concept of muscle memory leads to bad habits, where a player just gets reps and gets hold of a feeling and keeps it. An effective golf practice session is when a player loses the feeling but can recall it.

?Iain presented a philosophy for learning new skills, which is split into three areas: Spacing, variability & challenge.?

?Spacing

Spacing is the time between each shot; one of the biggest things Iain encouraged all members to take from this clinic is the importance of taking time after each shot. As I stand down at the learning center, I often see golfers go through twenty balls in less than five minutes.?

Iain's recommendation is to make twenty balls last twenty minutes. Twenty balls in less than five minutes is a perfect example of getting hold of a feeling and keeping it. If we look at a round of golf, how long it is from the first drive you hit and the next one, we must put some spacing into our practice to recreate and simulate what we will face on the golf course.?

?Spacing also helps with shot planning; taking time between each shot will allow you to challenge your working memory. Creating an environment that demands you to take more time is essential!

?Variability?

This is an area that I have always liked to incorporate into my lessons. Often, I will give my clients a couple of drills to complete to help them become familiar with a new feeling, but I won't have them do the exercise for long periods. I like them to complete the drill a couple of times, then change exercise, then eventually come back to the first drill. This forces players to think back to what they were doing previously, thereby keeping the brain engaged as it challenges its working memory.

?Challenges?

As Ian discussed challenges, he highlighted the importance of tailoring your challenges with your ability. They should have more variability for better and more experienced players, making the challenges harder.

For example, If you are a beginner golfer working on grip position, then it would be sufficient to hit ten balls within ten minutes to get familiar with the feeling. It would be best if you took a short break to gather more balls and hit another ten balls in a ten-minute session focusing on another aspect of your game before returning to focusing on grip.?

However, these challenges look very different when I work with my good amateur or professional players. I would have three stations set up with complex drills; an excellent example is up & down challenges at the short game area, followed by target practice on the range. Instead of hitting ten balls in two minutes, it would involve a player achieving a set target before moving on to the next section.?

It's essential to align the challenges with your ability; if you overcomplicate the challenges or make them too hard, it becomes too much and will negatively impact your game.?

?Iain said one comment that stood out to me; champions are made when nobody is looking. This refers to the work being done when you aren't with your coach. I couldn't agree more, the most crucial work is when a player is on their own practicing, but the effectiveness depends on how the player approaches their practice.?

?I hope this article can help my connections improve their practice routines; making each practice session more productive will make it much easier to bring the new swing changes to the golf course.?

?If you have any questions regarding golf psychology or broader instruction, please don't hesitate to drop Iain or me a message!