Spending many hours on the practice tee, I’ve noticed many bad
habits people have when they practice
I would like to thank my good friend Don Delorenzo from Gilroy Golf Course for allowing me to share this weekly golf article. I’ve been coaching golf for more than 25 years and am currently the director of instruction at Coyote Creek Golf Club.
Spending many hours on the practice tee, I’ve noticed many bad habits people have when they practice. Most of the time, they’re on the range beating balls with their drivers, spending little time around the green chipping, pitching or, especially, putting. Next time you’re on the range, take a look around and you’ll notice far more golfers on the practice tee and only one or two chipping or putting.
The short game represents more than 65 percent of your score, so why aren’t we practicing it? We have a couple of college teams that practice at Coyote Creek, and their coaches encourage players to spend the majority of their practice time around the green. John Ellis, a local professional going through the second stage of tour qualifying school, spends 80 percent of his time around the green. He will tell you that’s the difference between getting your tour card or not.
So, if you have time to work on both full-swing and short-game fundamentals, divide your time and head to the short game area first, then full swing and finish up with putting or short pitches. By dividing your practice time and spending more time around the green, I guarantee you’ll cut strokes off your score.
