GOLF SCHOOL

SO MANY SHOTS, SO LITTLE TIME

Our Golf Digest TOP 100 instructor’s strategy for making the most of your golf time

By Kevin Kirk Illustrated by Anita Bilan

Are you reading text messages at the stoplight on the way to pick up your kid to take him/her to soccer practice before a late meeting? Is your cell phone within reach of your pillow? The reality of life in 2014 is that most of us have PhDs in multitasking.

There is a good chance that you are currently juggling several activities and relationships. Each of those requires time and attention. With all of those demands, it surprises me that most of us still fi nd time to play golf, let alone practice it.

Golf is a time vacuum. A touring professional will normally spend 40 to 50 hours each week playing and practicing golf. High school and college golfers will normally play and practice 20 to 30 hours each week. Unless you are retired, single or independently wealthy, my guess is you will be lucky to get fi ve to 10 hours a week. If that sounds like you, read on.

Indoor drills daily Indoor drills daily 10–15 minutes/day, 10–15 minutes/day, 3–5 days/week 3–5 days/week 36 holes (10 hours) 36 holes (10 hours) 27 holes (7.5 hours) 27 holes (7.5 hours) plus three 45-minute training blocks plus three 45-minute training blocks 18 holes (5 hours) 18 holes (5 hours) plus six 45-minute training blocks plus six 45-minute training blocks 9 holes (2.5 hours) 9 holes (2.5 hours) plus nine 45-minute training blocks plus nine 45-minute training blocks Twelve 45-minute training blocks Twelve 45-minute training blocks

Indoor drills daily 10–15 minutes/day, 10–15 minutes/day, 3–5 days/week 3–5 days/week 18 holes (5 hours) 18 holes (5 hours) 9 holes (2.5 hours) 9 holes (2.5 hours) plus three 45-minute plus three 45-minute training blocks training blocks Six 45-minute Six 45-minute training blocks training blocks

TIME- CRUNCHED GOLFER DEFINED Let’s say, for the purposes of this article, that a “time-crunched golfer” is a person who spends 10 hours or less each week playing and practicing golf. Most golfers who only have fi ve to 10 hours a week to play/practice golf do not improve. It is just enough time to get out and play a few times a week and, if they are lucky, fi t in a little bit of practice on the side.

I do, however, think it’s possible to be a “time-crunched golfer” and shoot lower scores. My plan requires some awareness, discipline and direction. Almost everyone, and especially beginners, will need some coaching (help of a qualifi ed instructor) to put this together. Think of it as a personal trainer for your game who helps you come up with a plan to follow and then you check in occasionally to fi ne-tune and make sure you’re on track. 1. CONTROL YOUR MOVEMENT

Golf is a series of movement-based activities. There are fi ve basic skills, each of which contributes to your score (full swing, putting, chipping, pitching and bunker play). Controlling your movement involves two major areas: movement of your body and movement of the club. The good news is that movement of the club and body are best trained in front of a mirror and not on the practice tee.

We will be addressing these issues by working in front of a mirror 10 to 15 minutes, three to fi ve times a week. You will need some guidance from a qualifi ed golf instructor to make sure you are focusing your attention on the right things. This approach to learning movement is congruent with motor learning principles. Doing so will free you up to build your outdoor practice around activities that will transfer into better performance on the course. 2. CONTROL YOUR MIND

From a mental perspective, motor skills are broken into two categories (open-loop and closed-loop). Open-loop skills are activities where the athlete reacts to an outside stimulus, while closed-loop skills are ones in which the athlete initiates the movement.

Closed-loop skills involve activities like throwing a pitch, serving a tennis ball or hitting a golf ball. Open-loop skills would include hitting a baseball, returning a serve in tennis or defending the goal in soccer.

By nature, closed-loop activities are more challenging due to the amount of time the mind has to wander. Most of those activities require mental training along with physical training. In very simplistic terms, these skills require a certain degree of technical/physical competence (which in this case will come mostly from your indoor training) and a strong emphasis on “target focus.” Most of the work you will be doing during your practice and on the course will involve “target focus.”

CRUNCHED GOLFER DEFINED of this article, that a “time-crunched golfer” is a person who spends 10 hours or less each week playing and practicing golf. Most golfers who only have fi ve to 10 hours a week to play/practice golf do not improve. It is just enough time to get out and play a few times a week and, if they are lucky, fi t in a little bit of practice

3. CONTROL THE BALL

Controlling the golf ball is the essence of the game. Simply stated, the better you control the ball, the better scores you will shoot. There the better you control the ball, the better scores you will shoot. There are four primary elements in ball control: distance, direction, trajecare four primary elements in ball control: distance, direction, trajectory and spin. Whether you are focusing on tee shot or putting, most tory and spin. Whether you are focusing on tee shot or putting, most of your practice should involve controlling the ball. of your practice should involve controlling the ball.

Your golf instructor can help you establish the ball control parameters. Focusing your outdoor practice on controlling your mind and eters. Focusing your outdoor practice on controlling your mind and

Kevin Kirk

INDOOR TRAINING

STARTING POSITION

PIVOT

HAND PATH

CLUB PATH AND IMPACT ALIGNMENTS

PUTTING BETWEEN RODS Line rods up parallel to target with a width of about fi ve inches between them.

Two minutes on each drill. Drills done in front of a mirror three to fi ve times a week.

FULL SWING

WARM UP THE BODY [focus on movements/contact using alignment rods] WARM UP THE MIND [focus on target ] WARM UP THE BODY [3 ft putts between parallel rods about 5 inches apart, focus on stroke] WARM UP THE BODY [chip with one club between rods, focus on mechanics/contact] OUTDOOR TRAINING WARM UP THE BODY [line drill, focus on mechanics/contact] WARM UP THE BODY [pendulum, ½ swing, ¾ swing and full swing using alignment rods, focus on mechanics/contact] WARM UP THE MIND [3 balls at targets measuring 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120 ft, focus on target]

WARM UP THE MIND [3 ft putts between rods, focus on hole/target] WARM UP THE MIND [chip with one club between rods, focus on hole/target]

WARM UP THE MIND [3 balls to targets at diff erent distances—10, 20, 30, 40, 50 yards, focus on target]

CONTROL THE BALL[trajectory, curves, tee shots focusing on target] CONTROL THE BALL [poor lies inside 30 yards of the hole]

CONTROL THE BALL [5 shots with SW, 9-iron, 6-iron and putter, focus on hole/target] DISTANCE CONTROL [20, 40, 60, 80 ft putts with high target focus] CONTROL THE BALL [poor lies]

CONTROL THE BALL [chip and putt for score] 6 holes PERFORMANCE PUTTING [SHORT PUTTING: 3-6, 9, 12-15 ft] 4 from each distance [LONG PUTTING; 20 ft and further] 6 holes for score

CONTROL THE BALL [fairway bunker shots] [45-MINUTE MAXIMUM FOR EACH SKILL]

CH I PPING PUTTING BUNKER PITCHING

controlling the ball will allow your practice to become impactful on your score when you play in a very positive way.

Here is how it works. Ask your instructor to put together the following:

1. A 10- to 15-minute indoor practice to be done in front of a mirror to help you improve your golf body and golf club movements. 2. A 30- to 45-minute practice program that is focused on controlling your mind and controlling the ball. You will need a practice program for all fi ve skills (full swing, putting, chipping, pitching and bunker play).

3. Plot out your time and build a weekly plan that mixes and matches what you need. Just like weight training, you can break down your work on diff erent parts to diff erent days and factor in play time. ~~~~~

As you see, this structure will give you some options. It makes allowances for you and your coach to mix and match your time based on your individual situation, goals and training cycles. I hope this helps you in getting the most out of your “golf time” this year. Get out and enjoy yourself … wishing you all the best!