Scott Fawcett Reveals The TRUTH About Golf Practice 

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I totally agree. A lot of my education is within movement optimization. However when working on a concept, it has been proven that adding variety make the learning more efficient. For that reason, perhaps, randomization within block practice. There are many published studies in this regard with closed loop activities. Two that come to mind. Free throw shooters who slightly changed angles and distance, out performed those who practiced just from the line. Another study showed field goal kickers trying to improve 35 yd field goals. Those who moved around out performed those who exclusively practiced 35 yds. So for golfers. Perhaps work on one element (such as correcting path on trackman) but doing so hitting, high shots, low shots, 3/4 shots etc. I believe studies show the learning is quicker by about 40% We are all searching; that is what make it such a great game

What's interesting to note is that at the end, he's basically referring to "conscious practice" which *does* translate across multiple sports. When I was active in MMA/Kickboxing, we'd often have conversations about guys who come in and actively practice their speed, hip/shoulder rotation, defense and movement VS guys who just came in to sweat and hit the heavy bag the same way they have for 4 years. Same with hitting the range balls. If you just show up and try to crush balls all day, you probably won't get better Vs a guy who practices specific things or feelings.

No matter what, playing actual golf has to be a big part of your practice schedule . This would be the live pitch parallel. There are so many shots, lies, situations that can’t be practiced or simulated on the range. The mental challenge of taking it low or making clutch putts isn’t simulated on the range. Actual block practice in golf is great if you have good direction. But too often this changes from day to day (we are all just junkies looking for a quick fix…) and really isn’t deliberate and building toward a better tomorrow. I’m not sure what the right balance is between practice and play but the older I’ve gotten the more playing actual golf is valuable to me.

I think the key point here is - whether random or block - that _practising slowing down_ between each shot, e.g. applying a legitimate routine to each shot (the same you would use on the course) is more important than anything else when you see guys at the range hitting 100 balls (absolutely talking about myself here 😭) rapid-fire, it's no coincidence that nothing gets better

The title made me curious, and it seems that we're aligned in our thinking about practice. I'm a beginner, and I feel like I can pay better attention when I'm hitting the same shot over and over, especially when practicing chipping. How far does my backswing need to go? What does it feel like when I hit the ball well? And my thinking is, there's probably an infinite amount of potential shots to hit. It's a waste of time to try and practice every possible angle vs getting elite at one or a few and making the right changes on the course. I know fighting isn't a similar sport, but I always think about this Bruce Lee quote when I practice "I don't fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once. I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times"

I tutor math. I tell my students the same thing! Randomizing in practice only works AFTER you have established some good habits, which takes repetition of a single action. I use golf as an example. Hit the ball/do a problem. Watch the ball/check the answer. Learn something. Repeat. Math isn't taught this way anymore and math scores are in a tailspin. I wonder why?

Agree 100% about the ease of going brain dead indoors. I am not an indoor hitter. I instantly go to a mindset wondering what the heck am I hitting at? Doing a fitting indoors for me has prove. To be a waste of time. And I agree with your take on block Va random practice. There is plenty to work on in your swing without throwing intentional randomness into the equation. Target to be honest is secondary when I practice. More about how my body is working and how impact with and flight of the ball is working.

I’m 47 now. When I was a kid before a drivers license parents would drop me and my friends off at the local muni for the day. Play 18, driving range, putt, chip, etc. there was ALWAYS contests and games we’d play to keep us into it. Especially with short game it forced us to stay engaged and use our imagination to hit shots. The old guys would do stuff like that as well. Seve, Travino, etc. These days with short game I’ll hit different clubs from same spot to see how ball reacts and find the best way “for me” to play each shot

Consider rapid firing 100 balls at the range. Don’t judge the book by its cover. Just because I’m not picking different targets and using different clubs doesn’t mean I’m not intentional with each and every swing. For example, there will be several swing thoughts in my brain that I am working on. My task for that session is to coordinate all of these together into a well timed smooth swing. After each swing, I know instantly that I failed at swing thought number 3 or 2 or 4 or whatever. So I am ready for my next ball immediately knowing what to do better. I do not want to practice multiple swings with different targets because I am trying to FIND my swing.

I have played in a few statewide amateur events. This was very difficult for me because I never played competitive golf at any level. My swing felt completely unnatural in these events and I had trouble shooting 80 (sometimes 90) as a scratch golfer. I would love some advice on taking my normal game to the competitive arena when I don’t have that many opportunities to actually compete.

I'm reminded of my time as a college bowler. It's another sport where there's no reaction and there's no defense. I think the first step to perfecting these types of sports is learning consistency in the body motion. You need consistent contact in golf just like a consistent release in bowling. Block practice for those things is really important. And then you want to learn specific shots for specific scenarios. Again block practice makes sense because there's no reaction. You set up a specific scenario, a putt, a distance, a spare in bowling and then you just drill that so your body knows how to do that specific thing. There's not a lot of improvisation on the golf course or at the bowling alley so you can really drill specific shots so you have them in the bag when the time is called for. Pros are able to master that consistency on a much larger number of potential shots than amateurs so they're much more versatile.

I agree with you in a certain way. Bloc practice is necessary (physically) in every Macrocycles of a yearly planification. But random scenarios, games, challenges…has to be added to overcome when in a pressure situations but are not necessary in every macrocyle of an annual planification. The benefits of random, game performance oriented practices is not to improve technical aspects of the swing but to improve mental/ emotional skills. Also on a long term point of view, avoiding bordness in practice is also essential to mental health. By adding theses type of practice you can still have some “hidden” volume of practice. Hope my English was good enough. 😂

I'm a 4 handicap but if I get a chance (given my Engineering job and home responsibilities) to practice as much as i want (two a days so like a few hundred balls a day) i can challenge par in most courses from the tips. I always have a plan when I go to the range (say fairway woods and long irons) and I always try to think about holes on specific courses for every swing I make. And then at some point in my practice I always just stop "working" and give me some play time to hit big hooks and big slices and maybe even a few left hand swings so when I need to get around a tree with a left hand swing I can do it and I love to work on the 60 degree wedge picking out like a target 6 yards away and trying to hit my ball almost straight up with a full swing flop shot. I don't spend a lot of time putting but I do play with my stance and ball position and check my swings in relation to if the ball is going in the hole on 10 foot and 6 foot putts.

The issue is trying to practice on an actual golf course. It can be tough when you are expected to rush through 18 holes within 4 hours due to course management. I pick super quiet courses through the week and will regularly send 5 balls down the fairway, and practice chipping. My driving and iron game is my weakness but its very hard to practice on an actual course when losing balls

Hope you're right Scott...I just came home an hour ago from a 4 hour block practice! (including putting and chipping). 2.7 cap...kinda know what I'm doing at practice. Good video!

Fantastic view

Development of feel in your hands is #1. Distance control #2 alignment #3 simple as that.

Used to work with you at Cirro Energy circa 2001. I showed you my Golden Ram Tour Grind irons and you told me to get rid of them. :)

For beginners and amateurs- You first need to learn to setup before you swing. You must first learn to swing before you play. You must first learn to play before you compete. Sounds simple, but there find out which level you are at and don't try and jump out of that stage. You must go through each stage to get good.

Thanks for this sound advice Scott. Random question, but what brand of shirt are you wearing in this? It looks great!

It’s just about achieving your own goals in the game. A tiny number of exceptionally talented players with great dedication get to play the game we see on tv. For most of us it’s about realising what you want and can realistically achieve. I started playing regularly at 25 years old just wanted to break 100 did that pretty quick then 90 got my first handicap of 19 about a year later 9 then got as low as 4.7 I didn’t have any lessons just played with better players at every opportunity and watched what they did well picked a few brains and tried to improve my game. At that time my striking was quality but I let myself down on the greens. The main thing though was that I could play or practice 3-4 times a week my clubs were in my hand every other day during the uk winters I’d try and play at least once a week but I hit balls in the evenings. Now at 42 I have 2 children I don’t play every week all year round I just get out when I can I’m not looking to try and break par anymore I just don’t have that game any score in the 70s makes me content shooting 84 or something annoys me but it happens couple of mis hit shots or a few out of bounds just costs you when you have your clubs in your hand all the time even if you don’t have great technique you eradicate those basic errors scoring gets easier. I hit a decent ball still but the top county players in my area are on another level they hit their driving irons nearly as far as my driver I’m still getting out there at 270-280 and in the uk that’s by no means short but the game those lads play is different and they’re not good enough to be on tour 😂 it’s ridiculous how good the tour pros are. My children are 7 and 4 now I’ve got a bit of time back and I’m back on the grind my swing is getting better and soon hopefully back to its best.

Good video. However the flaw in your logic in random vs block practice is how effective it is for various skill levels. An expert level tour player will not benefit as much in the skill retention benefits that random practice provides because their skill is already so high. They do block practice because they may be working on a mechanical change in their swing or maybe are working on a swing feel, etc. Conversely a beginner or novice player will not benefit from block practice because random practice provides a greater neurological challenge to them and their skill retention will receive a higher benefit versus block practice.

For myself I had to figure out a basic swing, how to his a chip, a consistent way to putt. The only way for me to figure out golf was thru practice.

The fact this guy says “im not saying im right, im just saying this concept has flaws” is so logically sound.

There are mountains of evidence that variable practice is integral for motor learning adaptation. Golf shots require so much variability, outside of tee shots no two shots are alike.

One small point. Baseball does have one position that mirrors golf, "pitching". The mental aspect is the same. Nothing happens until you throw :: Nothing happens until you swing

What episode is this from?

The very worse thing I can do for my golf game is hit a bucket of balls on a golf range ... it actually makes my game worse! I finally figured out why and realized that the best and only practice routine that works for me is to practise like I play - hitting one ball (and one ball only!) on a golf course. Applying this practice method resulted in my handicap dropping from 11 to 5 in less than three months. I wouldn't recommend fake golf (hitting lots of balls on a range) to anyone. Ditto for chipping and putting ... practise with just one ball ... hitting balls one after the other doesn't teach you anything.

I appreciate Scott Fawcett's golf input, but I think the flaw in this argument is, every good golfer needs to adapt to changes on the course. The more you can adapt to change, the more you will evolve into a great player. You have to practice that on the range. Second: The amount of block and random practice depends on the level at which you play golf. And the definition of block versus random has to be clear. Block does not necessarily mean 50 Balls in a row and random every shot a new target. On Tour the majority of players use launch monitors and training aids to verify their feels and visuals, not to block practice, they normally don't want to be coached or practice on technique during tournament, except, something is extremely wrong in their game.

Intentionality is the one key thing to golf practice i feel

Totally agree , if you want to learn how to hit balls well time after time then you have to map your brain to feel and therefore know what works , the only way to do that is hit a lot of balls and observe the nuances , its not reacting its knowing and trusting that knowledge . Reacting is childs play in comparison .

it's about intensity and not quantity. If you practice with zero focus it's bad practice.

I’d compare golf with biljards.

Would a free throw in basketball be a good comparison? I mean basketball players of every skill, block practice free throws to death 🤷‍♂️

Free throws are close to the discipline and control that golf requires. A player doesn't get better shooting free throws by practicing shooting from different spots all over the court. You shoot from the line and the more you do the better you get. Hitting a good 50 yard wedge requires hitting that exact shot and randomizing clubs and distance will not help you one bit with that.

I don't know about anyone else, but when I play golf, the Trees sure do know how to play pretty good defense 😂

not that I even disagree but its a bit funny hearing Scott make the argument about studies or examples not being comparable for xyz when stat guys constantly use Professionals data to give strategy for a 15 handicap as their holy grail. Same sport, different game. Can't use generalized pro's data for weekend warriors who play once a month

When I'm on a simulator, i always hit well on them... then when i go back outside... i hit them terrible. I stay stay away from the simulator now. Ruins my game

It would be great if he could back his claims with results from a proper randomized control trial study. Not saying he is wrong or right, just saying that talking is cheap.

Golf is the same as all sports you need natural abilities to play well . I would bet no coach in the world can teach someone with no natural ability.

The guys on the tour are using all these training contraptions because they are getting paid to use them. It’s advertisement for the product, don’t be fooled.

Why do we keep listening to this guy when it comes to practice? He has 0 idea what he is talking about. And doesn’t understand the science of training at all. He always quotes one study and that’s all. Ridiculous. “All the pros are doing that” is the weakest argument ever.