5 Actually Fun Practice Games To Improve Your Game
- Updated: May 3, 2019
@McIlroyRory
This is a guest post by Marc Pereira. Marc plays to a two handicap and is the tournament director at the Meadow Hills Men’s Club in Aurora, CO. In his spare time, he collects Scotty Cameron putters. He’s also a man of many talents including graphic design and silk-screen printing.**Please note: some of the drills may be slightly more advanced. It’s not our fault he’s good at golf!
Practice. We talkin’ about practice! Yes, it’s no surprise that if you want to become a better golfer you need to practice.
Practice takes time and dedication. For these reasons, we need to practice as we’d play on the course. In this week’s lesson, we talk about fun, competitive practice sessions that you and your buddies can use to improve your game.
Few things to keep in mind when hitting that next bucket you probably paid too much for:
- On the course every shot counts
- Every shot presents a different challenge
- There’s time between shots
9-Point
Tiger Woods made this driving range practice drill famous when he included it in his warm-up routine before tournament rounds. He’d wow spectators by flawlessly executing nine different ball flights on command, hence the name 9-Point.
But trust us, this driving range game is a lot harder than Tiger made it look. This is what it looks like for a righty:
- High draw
- High straight
- High fade
- Draw
- Straight
- Fade
- Low draw
- Low straight
- Low fade
You pull this off consistently on command, you are on your way to becoming pretty, pretty, pretty good at this game.
Simon Says
Take 9-point one step further and play Simon Says with a friend. They stand behind you on the driving range and calls out a shot type (like a draw, punch shot or high fade) when you begin your take away.
If a player calls out a shot type and their opponent fails to execute it, no points are awarded. However, if their opponent manages to pull it off, they get a point. First to five points wins the game and bragging rights, because that was freakin’ impressive.
7-Up
One of my favorite putting games is 7-Up. The key is to work on your two-putting. Not sure if you can consider a missed 10 footer a good lag putt, but for all intents and purposes, we’re just trying to get better here!
Find the nearest putting green. Go to it. Both you and your opponent throw down a ball and pick a hole. Doesn’t matter if you start with a 100-footer or a 5-foot downhill slider.
- Decide who goes first. Both putt.
- Whoever is AWAY then strokes their 2nd putt.
- If they make, they get 1 point
- If they miss they lose 1 point
- Whoever is CLOSEST then strokes their 2nd putt.
- If they make, they get 2 point
- If they miss they get no points
- If either holes out with their first putt, it’s worth 3 points.
- Whoever wins the hole, picks the next hole.
- Play to 7 points.
I’m a big fan of this game because you have to lag it well so you have the chance to score points. Plus you have to make the close ones in order to get the points or avoid losing them.
Simulate the golf course
Next time at the range break up the monotony of hitting golf balls by pretending you’re not even there. Instead, try acting like it’s the first hole on your course.
For me, it’s a 420 yard par-4. Imagine the hole is right in front of you and use markers on the driving range like trees, flag sticks, bunkers or yardage signs to lay out the boundaries for the hole.
First I’ll take out the big stick and tee up a ball. Again this is the real thing. I’ll go through my pre-shot routine like normal. Usually, I’ll pick a spot over them mountains over there, and bomb a drive over them. Fairway hit. Next, I wait at least one minute, maybe check the wind, and then grab a 7-iron. I’ll go over my pre-shot routine, aim at my target and shape a baby cut to a back right pin. GIR. 8 feet for birdie. No big deal.
http://gty.im/1060951812Try this drill next time at the range. Hit a drive, then a 5-iron. Hit 3-wood then 9 iron. Mix it up. Remember to go through the pre-shot routine and wait in between shots.
This practice drill lets golfers use a variety of clubs, practice their pre-shot routines and focus on hitting a golf shot rather than aimlessly making swings.
HORSE
Yes, it is exactly like the basketball game you played in your driveway. When you’re with a friend at the range, pick a target and see if you can match each other. First person to spell H-O-R-S-E loses, as is tradition.
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