Interruption #5:
Getting exercise not practice

Learning Secret #5:
Learn to maximise practice time

A huge problem is not practicing the correct way. Golfers often get exercise, not improvement.

You’ve heard that “perfect practice makes perfect”. But what is the right way to practice?

Over the last 20 years scientists have mapped out better ways to practice. Ideas and strategies that actually work.

And this is where things get really interesting.

For many years people believed (and probably still do) that people are born with a special talent. And to harness this talent requires nurturing. The Nature – Nurture model has become the standard.

But there’s now alternative thinking on how talent is formed.

Tiger Woods was born a natural. Right? Do you think that Tiger was born a natural golfer?

Recent evidence suggests that nobody is born with a gift. The difference between “natural” athletes and everybody else is deep or deliberate practice*.

Learning to practice correctly is a key for you to improve your game.

Deep Practice has become a foundation of my ideas and I’ll cover this more later. But here’s something for you to consider.

Wasting time and hitting balls for the sake of it will do you no good. Practice needs to be structured so you improve your game.

One way to get better practice time is to …

Practice like you play – don’t play like you practice.

What this means is that you need to simulate play when you practice. If you spend all your practice time working on swing changes and attempting to improve your potential then you’re unlikely to get what you’re looking for.

But, if you understand the learning process and you spend your time maximising success, you’ll improve and get better each time. A benefit of correct practice is your sessions should be short and sharp – this makes them more enjoyable and gives you more time to play golf.

Example: Going to the driving range with a large bucket of balls and seeing if you can clear the fence at the end of the range - It might be fun but it’s hardly going to improve your golf game.

This type of practice is a waste of time. You don’t learn anything and you’re not preparing yourself for play. Your mind becomes distracted by your ego. How far can I hit the ball? How well can I hit each shot? Is that person watching me?

You need to use practice time to prepare yourself for play. Practice is not an ego building process. Use it wisely and you’ll reap rewards.

More to come.

*Sidenote: A terrific book on deep practice is “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle