When you're short on time for golf practice, try this 30-ball drill to efficiently improve your game.
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Sneaking in golf practice, as enjoyable as it may be, can become an oddly difficult task. To get better at this game — truly improving to the best of your ability — requires a lot of practice time. And if you don’t have the time, it can easily get frustrating. It’s easy to get stuck in neutral.
But a person doesn’t need to spend hours on golf practice in order to get better. According to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Ed Oldham, one just needs to learn how to make practice more efficient — and Oldham shares how a 30-ball drill can help.
Try this 30-ball golf practice drill
“Many of us are busy with careers and families, so it’s easy to go weeks (or even months) without proper golf practice,” Oldham says. “But you can make the most of your practice time by organizing it to make it more efficient.”
An easy way to do so is using a 30-ball drill, which will help you work on the main elements of your game.
“If you have time to hit 30 balls, don’t spend the entire time working on technique [regardless of shot outcomes],” he cautions. “Instead, split your time by working on technique, skill, and then playing a game to make golf practice more fun.
“Divide your 30 balls into three piles of 10 balls each,” he says. “For the first 10, focus on the technique that you’re working on. Take practice swings, making sure you go slower and use video for feedback. Exaggerate the motion to help to make change faster.”
The second pile should then be used on improving a skill.
“This can be improving your clubface at impact by varying the face angle at impact — one left, one right, and one down the middle,” Oldham adds. “You can also work on finding the low point of the club when it hits the ground.
“Place a tee in the ground a couple of inches in front of the ball, then attempt to hit the ball and then the ground. A great way for instant feedback is using foot spray on your clubface, which will show you where the ball made contact with the club.”
Finally, use your third pile for a fun game.
“I like to have players see how many of their 10 shots can land within 30 feet of a given target,” Oldham says. “When they go through a pre-shot routine similar to the one they use on the golf course, it helps them lock in and commit to the shot.”
By making your golf practice more efficient, not only will you be able to improve key parts of your game, but the added focus should make things more fun, too.
