St. Johns August 2019 Newsletter P3_STM80656 August Newsletter | Page 6

NOTE FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
A U G U ST 2 0 1 9
Cracking the Practice Code: Randomized vs. Block
If you are a golfer there is a good chance at one time or another you have headed to the
range with two large bags of balls and have hit the majority of those golf balls with your
favorite club (probably a 7 iron) and have had a pretty good practice session. During that
session; you made several great swings, hit some gorgeous shots, and even managed to
fit in a club twirl, but now we head to the course. As the round begins, the progress and
confidence of that practice session begins to rapidly evaporate, “What Happened”?
In Golf Instruction and subsequently practicing that instruction, there are two concepts
that play a major role in taking those range sessions to the golf course: Block Practice and
Randomized Practice. The easiest way to think about Block Practice is sheer repetition
while Randomized Practice presents more variety and creativity. The difference is
important as the research shows the Randomized Practice as the best way to improve
performance on the golf course. The benefit from Randomized Practice is realized when
the student is forced to mentally run and execute the motor pattern to hit each new
and novel shot where Block Practice relies heavily on pre-existing information to run the
program and replicate the same shot (over and over). As Block Practice may show brief
improvement in performance, it demonstrates a limited impact on learning, especially over
time.
There are several available strategies to manage and improve how we practice, and most
involve incorporating your “Process” into your range time. By incorporating “Process” we
are starting to practice how we play and recognize each shot on its own merits. As you
step into every shot on the range, there should be a specific shot in mind with a goal for
the swing. One of the best ways to develop a Randomized Practice Session is a drill called
“Alternating Clubs” where the golfer hits one ball per club and moves on to the next club.
At the end of each good practice session we should have thirteen, maybe all fourteen clubs
out of the bag. With the addition of Alternating Clubs, we can take the hard work on the
range directly to the golf course.
Play Well,
John Mousley
PGA, TPI
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