Knowing where your game is now, is the key to effective practice.

One of the big problems with golf is that there is such a lot to practice. There are so many areas of the game to work on, and most of us have limited practice time available to us.  The pro's typically use a stats programme such as strokeaverage.com to analyse their games.  The problem with this for most amateurs is that the amount of golf they play doesn't give them enough data to make a stats programme effective in the short term.  Over a season they might build up enough information to give them a good idea about where their strengths and weaknesses are, but how does the guy who plays once a week decide which area needs the most practice now?

It is important to understand what you are doing when you go to practice.  Are you working to improve your capability in the long term, by developing your swing or fitness or short game technique?  Or are you practicing the implementation and execution of what you already have, to make sure you play to your potential the next time you head out on the course.  In my experience, most golfers spend far too much time on the former, and hardly any time practicing taking what they have to the course.

So, you have 2 hours this evening to go and practice?  How do you decide what to work on?  The first thing is to plan what you are going to do.  If you have time, split your practice between technique, and performance.  Spend the first part of the session working on whatever it is you are develpoing in your technique.  In the second part of the session switch to hitting shots as you would hit them on the golf course, using your routine and focusing on a small target. 

Statistically, the areas of the game that make most difference to our scores are short putting (6 feet and in) and the short game.  If you miss a green by 20 yards but then chip it to 4 feet and hole the putt, your score is exactly the same as if you hit a fantastic shot to ten feet and then lipped the putt.  I know with my own game, if I'm holing out well and my short game is sharp, then I'm usually going to shoot par or better, unless the golf course is very hard or the weather is awful.

I try to keep my stats after every round I play, which gives me a decent idea about what is happening on the course  But I also like to have little tests which I can do in practice, to assess where I am, and to make sure I'm putting myself under a little bit of pressure when I'm practicing.  I have different tests for different areas of the game.  In this section there are a number of those tests which you can use to assess where you game is now and which areas you need to work on.