Unlocking Your Golf Potential: The Science of Effective Practice
- Dr. David Didlake, DPT
- Aug 5, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 3
Introduction
We all know that if you want to be good at something, like playing golf, the old adage of "practice makes perfect" rings true. But how much practice is needed, and what kinds of practice are best suited to optimize performance and learning?
This article explores different types of practice and shares research-backed tips on how to optimize your training. Whether you're a parent of a young golfer or someone who started later in life, these insights will help make your practice more efficient and tailored to your developmental needs.
The 10,000 Hour Rule: Myth or Reality?
It should be pretty obvious that practice for a child would look markedly different from that of an adult. However, when it comes to the amount of practice needed to reach expert status, several research studies have shown that, regardless of age, 10,000 hours or 10 years of training are typically required (Bloom 1985; Ericsson 1990; Ericsson et al.1993).
The Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) goes even further, reporting that golf is a 20-year developmental sport!
This raises important questions:
Are those who start playing later in life at a disadvantage?
Should golf lessons begin when children are toddlers?
The K.J. Choi Exception
South Korea's K.J. Choi provides some useful insight. K.J. didn't begin to play golf until high school, yet he turned professional at just 24 years old—significantly earlier than the 20-year development timeline would suggest.
How did he beat the odds?
Research suggests that sports-related skills transfer across disciplines. The time K.J. spent developing general athleticism through other activities counted toward his 10,000 hours of training. He developed athleticism first (ages 4-16), then focused on golf-specific training (ages 16-24), totaling the 20 years of development TPI references.
Key takeaway: If older golfers spent time playing a variety of sports in their youth, their athleticism can carry over into their golf game. They'll still need practice and lessons, but they have a head start over those who didn't develop general athleticism earlier in life.
Early Specialization: A Path to Avoid
Early specialization in any single sport can be detrimental to long-term outcomes for young athletes. Research shows that focusing exclusively on one sport too early can lead to:
Burnout
Limited overall athletic development
Reduced long-term performance potential
Myer et al. (2015) demonstrated that children should be exposed to a variety of sports and activities to maximize their athletic development. This principle applies regardless of which sport they ultimately choose to specialize in, including golf.
So, should toddlers take golf lessons? Yes, but with major caveats:
Lessons should be minimal
Session length should be age-appropriate
Frequency should be limited
The focus should be on fun and general movement skills
How Should Practice Be Structured?
Deliberate Practice vs. Deliberate Play
Ericsson and colleagues found that deliberate practice separated expert professionals from average professionals (Ericsson et al. 1993). Deliberate practice is:
Designed specifically to improve performance
Structured by an instructor
Not inherently enjoyable
Requires hard work
Shows no immediate returns
However, this approach isn't ideal for everyone, especially children.
About a decade later, Côté and Hay discovered that deliberate play was superior for younger athletes, as deliberate play:
Allows young athletes to have fun
Involves games with simple rules
Focuses on enjoyment over rigid structure
Develops intrinsic motivation
The Development Timeline
Soberlak and Côté studied the development process of professional ice hockey players and found that:
Early years (up to age 15): Athletes participated in both deliberate play and a variety of sports
After age 15-16: Sport specialization began to increase
Their conclusion parallels K.J. Choi's experience and helps us understand that sport specialization doesn't need to occur until youth are 15 or 16 years old.
Despite this evidence, early specialization remains popular among parents and coaches in the United States. Remember: early specialization is generally counterproductive for children's long-term athletic development.
The optimal approach is to develop young players with randomized, game-based activities that enhance both athleticism and motor learning. While deliberate practice becomes beneficial later, it shouldn't be the primary focus until athletes are mature enough to handle more complex and less inherently enjoyable practice sessions.
Optimizing Performance: Block vs. Random Practice
The Doldrums of Block Practice
Most golfers practice by hitting, chipping, or putting a bucket of balls at the same target—known as block practice. This approach has limitations:
You get better at exactly what you practice (hitting off a mat at the range)
It improves performance for specific tasks in specific environments
It doesn't account for golf's constantly changing conditions and requirements
While block practice is appropriate when first learning a skill, research clearly shows it's not ideal for developing adaptable skills for actual golf performance.
The Power of Random Practice
Random practice involves varying your practice conditions:
Hitting with different clubs
Aiming at different targets
Practicing from different lies
Attempting different shot types
Although random practice is more challenging and potentially less immediately gratifying, it yields greater learning and better prepares you for the varied situations you'll encounter during actual rounds of golf.
Unlocking Full Athletic Potential
If young children don't acquire generalizable athletic skills during critical developmental windows, they will never reach their full athletic potential. These windows represent opportunities for maximizing:
Fundamental movement skills (running, jumping, skipping, crawling)
Coordination skills (throwing, catching, hitting)
Balance and proprioception
Speed and agility
Strength and power
Once these developmental windows close, they don't reopen. Athletes can still improve, but their ceiling becomes lower than it could have been.
Summary: Practice Smart, Not Just Hard
What you or your child does to acquire those 10,000 hours of practice matters tremendously. Don't waste time with unfocused practice or endless block practice at the range.
To maximize golf potential:
Prioritize overall athletic development first
Avoid early specialization
Emphasize fun and deliberate play for younger athletes
Introduce deliberate practice gradually as athletes mature
Incorporate random practice to develop adaptable skills
Be patient—the long-term results will be worth the wait
Golf smarter, not just harder.
SCHEDULE YOUR SESSION TODAY!
Here's to your health and your golf game!
Dr. David Didlake, DPT
PT, Cert. SMT/DN, CSCS, Cert. TPI Medical Level 3, Dip. Osteopractic, FAAOMPT
Owner, Integrative Therapeutics "Home of the Saint Louis Golf Doc"
Follow me @theintegrativeclinic @thestlgolfdoc
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References
For those interested in the scientific evidence behind performance and practice, we've included some key research citations:
Bloom, BS. (1985). Developing talent in young people. New York: Ballantine.
Ericsson, KA. (1990). Peak performance and age: An examination of peak performance in sports. In P.B. Baltes & M.M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp 164-195). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, 363-406.
Myer GD, Jayanthi N, Difiori JP, Faigenbaum AD, Kiefer AW, Logerstedt D, Micheli LJ. Sport Specialization, Part I: Does Early Sports Specialization Increase Negative Outcomes and Reduce the Opportunity for Success in Young Athletes? Sports Health. 2015 Sep-Oct;7(5):437-42. doi: 10.1177/1941738115598747. Epub 2015 Aug 6. PMID: 26502420; PMCID: PMC4547120.
Côté, J., & Hay, J. (2002). Children's involvement in sport: A developmental perspective. In J. M. Silva & D. Stevens (Eds.), Psychological foundations of sport (pp.484-502). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Soberlak, P., & Côté, J. (2003). The developmental activities of elite ice hockey players. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 15 (1), 41-49.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new treatment.
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