If you want to break your next scoring barrier in golf you should practice at least 3-4 times per week. If you want to maintain your levels, you should practice at least 1-2 times per week. If you are ok with not getting better or maybe even getting worse then no practice and playing for fun is a good recipe!
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Many golfers struggle to get better.
They seem to shoot the same scores year in and year out, even with an increase in technology in clubs, GPS watches, rangefinders, improvement in instruction and overall access to how to play better golf.
How many golfers do you know that are still fighting a slice? I know of one golfer that I play with that refuses to take a lesson or seek any help. He flights this ugle slice that robs him of close to 30-40 yards!
I think most of this frustration and the inability to improve comes down to lack of practice or the lack of quality practice.
There needs to be a combination of ball striking, short game, swing speed and course management.
If you are weak in one of these three areas they golf game might struggle to improve unless you become above average or elite in one of the three areas.
Frequency of Golf Practice
I am not here to judge people who choose not to practice and simply play the game for fun. However, they shouldn’t be misguided that the new driver or new putter is going to make a significant difference in the game.
The key to improvement is to practice, practice, practice and to make sure you are doing it in the right manner with the right feedback.
Practicing the wrong technique or having poor course management can be devastating to the overall goal of breaking the next barrier in score improvement.
Consider this stat for a second:
According to Forbes Magazine, 24 million Americans play an average of 465 million rounds of golf annually. To think that only 2 percent of golfers break 80 is something special. I’m sure you would like to join the 2 percent and we are here to help.
Forbes Magazine
Below I will dive into the following topics:
- Why practice 3-4 times per week to improve your golf game
- What to practice 3-4 times per week to improve your golf game
- Where to practice 3-4 times per week to improve your golf game
- My Secret To Golf Improvement
- Measure your progress with a launch monitor
- Measure your progress with these key stats
Why Practice 3-4 Times Per Week To Improve Your Golf Game?
The game of golf can be complicated, right? This is the number one reason that we have to practice this much. If you can do it and really want to get better faster, playing and practicing golf 5-7 days would speed up the process.
It is interesting that most good golfers at one point in their life were either dropped off at their local golf course or had access as a member to a private course and would play all day long.
While this might not be possible for most golfers, it drives home the importance of doing different golf related activities as often as possible.
Can’t get to the course often enough? Check out these tips below:
How to get better at home! (5 Tips)
We know we have to hit the ball at high speeds with the driver, control the approach shots with our irons, be able to hit quality chips when missing a green and then sink those 3-10 footers at a decent rate.
Also, having the right mindset will be vital to performing at our best when we want to perform at our best.
The golfer needs to find the combination of practice and playing. When I was coaching junior golfers during their high school season, during the off season I would recommend taking at least one day a week where they are trying to shoot their best scores.
The other days of the week should be about getting better and training for swing speed, short game and solid ball contact.
To truly improve in each of these areas, it takes some quality practice on a regular basis.
I would recommend find a system that allows you to better understand the golf swing. The game of golf is complicated enough, but we are fortunate to have access to some of the best instructors int he world right here on the internet.
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
Make your golf practice fun with these 22 games or approaches to practice!
What To Practice 3-4 Times Per Week To Improve Your Golf Game?
There needs to be a combination of ball striking, short game, swing speed and course management. I would highly recommend breaking it down into these four areas:
#1 Fundamentals
The Stack and Tilt Instructors said it best when they described what they believed were the fundamentals of golf. They explained it somewhat similar to this:
- Fundamental #1: The golfer’s ability to control the bottom of the golf swing. The best golfers will hit the ground in the intended spot, close to 100% of the time.
- Fundamental #2: The golfer’s ability to control the curve of the golf ball. The best golfers are able to start the ball to the right or left of the target line and have the ball curve towards the target without the ball over curving past the target.
- Fundamental #3: The golfer’s ability to have enough power to play the golf course. This means they are able to hit the ball far enough to play the course in regulation.
Drill for Fundamental #1:
The Drill: The Low Point Control Dril
- Take some yard paint and patina a 1-2 yard long line.
- Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
- Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
- Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
- You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.
Drill For Fundamental #2:
Control your start line (Build a Stock Shot)
- Set up an alignment stick 6-8 yards down your target line in front of the ball.
- If you have one, set up a second alignment stick 2-4 yards right of that target line
- Go ahead and see how many swings out of 10 you can get the ball to start to the right of the first of the alignment stick. The goal here is to progress to 7 out of 10.
- Practice this drill everytime you hit golf balls.
The key to golf is being able to control your contact and your start line. Could you imagine a round of golf where you strike the ball solid and 7 times out of 10 the ball starts down your intended target line?
This is the ultimate in golf and helps you start to focus on your course management. You will gain confidence and the consistency that we all seek!
Drill for Fundamental #3:
Increase your swing speed through overspeed training
- Check out SuperSpeed Overspeed Training Protocols
- Train every other day for 10-15 minutes.
- See a 4-6% increase in swing speed as early as the first training protocol.
The number one thing that has helped me gain significant distance is the SuperSpeed Training System.
This overspeed based system where you train every other day for about 10-15 minutes with different swing sticks can help you increase your swing speed by 5-8% which can be 20-30 yards. Who wouldn’t want an extra 20-30 yards. Plus it helps improve your mechanics.
SuperSpeed Golf – Use Discount Code Golfjourney365 for some savings!
The analytics are pretty clear on the importance of speed in the game of golf. Would you rather hit your approach shot from 130 yards of 160 yards? The answer is pretty simple! We know that over the course of time, we will hit shots from 130 yards much closer than from 160 yards, whether we are an average amateur golfer, a scratch golfer, or a PGA Tour member!
The key is having shorter approach shots, so we can hit the ball closer to the hole and then make more putts! Speed is king in the game of golf! Make sure you check out SuperSpeed Golf!
#2 Short Game
There are many options when it comes to the short game. The good news is that it doesn’t great athletic ability, strength or speed to be a great short game player. It truly comes down to practice.
I have experienced golfers with poor technique that can get the ball up and down to save par. Why? Because the have practiced that motion over and over and own it. They are able to repeat it under pressure and chip it within five feet.
The measuring stick is to be able to get up and don 50% of the time. This can be done with enough practice!
#3 Swing Speed
This is fundamental #3 above. Many of us have heard about or read about the importance of distance in the game. The analytics are rather clear that the further we hit the ball the better chance we have at a lower handicap.
The logic is simple. Would you hit the ball closer from 155 yards or 105 yards? The analytics from the PGA Tour tell us that even the pros only hit it to 18 feet on average form 100 yards and almost double that when you get into the 160-170 range.
The simple logic is if we can hit the ball further, we will have shorter approach shots into the green. Which will leave us shorter putts, which means we will make more putts. Get started on your speed training today! Your score will thank you!
Check out my full review on SuperSpeed Golf!
#4 Course Management
Golfers leak a lot of shots around a course just by making bad decision in their game plan or the club that they pick. I have created a series on breaking each barrier in your game with most of it based on course management. Check out the post below:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
Where to Practice 3-4 Times Per Week to Improve Your Golf Game?
I know this is a major barrier for most people. If you don’t have a membership at a local club or course, having the budget and time to practice and play can be difficult.
This is where I found my secret to game improvement through practice by building a golf simulator in my garage.
My Secret To Golf Improvement
Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.
I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.
This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.
I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.
It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.
Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:
Measure Your Progress With A Launch Monitor
It can be helpful to know your swing path and club face direction at impact. In today’s golf world, even amateurs can have access to this technology and data with the technology now available.
A Launch Monitor is a great addition to your practice session. Stop guessing on your ball and club data and get the immediate feedback that you need to improve your game.
The professional golfers of today all have access to some great technology including launch monitors to help measure their swing and know their numbers. Can an amateur use this same or similar technology for game improvement? Yes, absolutely and I would highly recommend it.
Even if you aren’t going to go all out and build an indoor golf simulator like I did (see below), you can still pick up a launch monitor at a reasonable price and use it in your indoor net or taking to the course or driving range with you!
Know numbers like spin rate, ball speed, spin axis and other key information is vital to your growth. Sharing these numbers with your instructor can be helpful and help with equipment selection as well.
I would recommend one of the three launch monitors listed below:
Measure Your Progress With These Key Stats
You can track the traditional stats over time to help you understand if you are getting better even if your scores do not appear to be decreasing. Sometimes the scoring aspect is the last part to come along:
- Greens in Regulation
- Fairways Hit
- Putts Per Hole
- Scrambling
- Sand Saves
- Average Driving Distance
For comparison sake, here is where the typical scratch golfer is in these categories.
| Greens in Regulation | 67% |
| Fairways Hit | 53% |
| Putts Per Hole | 1.67 |
| Scrambling | 54% |
| Sand Saves | 59% |
| Average Driving Distance | 251 |
I heard about these 5 stats that Tiger Woods used to help his scoring and to keep him in the hunt in most tournaments.
Coming from arguably the greatest golfer of all time, they are worth considering:
- No 6s on par 5s
- No Double Bogeys
- No 3-Putts
- No Bogeys with 9 irons or less
- No Blown easy saves
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.