Are you feeling as if you’re playing too much golf, or not playing enough golf to achieve your goals? Here we will discuss how much time you should spend playing, depending on your goals or motives. Everyone is different, stick around and see how much is just right for you.
It is not bad to play golf every day if your body feels good.If you want to get better at golf you should practise as much as your schedule and body allows. The more you practise, the faster you will get better. However listen to your body and do not play through injury,
If you’re not in pain after your session, then you can play everyday. However, should you be on the course 7 days a week, should every golfer look to practise every single day?
This article will answer these questions, from the view of inspiring pros, and social golfers, keep reading to find out what’s the right answer for you.
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How much golf practice is too much?
Professionals practice/play golf 6 days a week and so should anyone looking to elevate themselves to that level, the more you play the better you will get. The amount of time you put into your golf will have a direct impact on your scores and overall improvement.
Remember if you know you’re playing too much golf when your body cannot handle the physical stress you put on it. While you should be looking to get maximum hours on the range and course, you should also listen to your body. If you feel fatigued or in pain, it is highly recommended you seek treatment, take some time off and come back when you’re healthy.
Practising your putting at the putting range, puts a lot less stress on your body then smashing balls in the driving range with 100% power.
To maximise your time playing golf, you should focus on improving your technique, so you still hit long yardages without injuring yourself.
I recommend any golfer who’s serious about improving their game, to start taking golf lessons. Nothing will be better for your golf, see my helpful guide on how many lessons you should take here.
Is it okay to practice golf every day?
It is okay to practise golf everyday. If you want to get better at golf you should practise as much as your body and schedule allows. The more often you practise, whether your long game, short game or putting, the faster you will improve.
If you want to be a pro, or your aim is playing an 18 hole with your friends, you will have different practice requirements.
Aspiring Professionals
Top professional golfers spend hours every single day practising and perfecting their swing. However, they don’t spend all their time on the golf course playing 18 holes every morning and neither should you. Although being out on the course is the “fun” part of golf it is not where you are going to see the most significant improvements to your scorecard.
Tour players will spend around 6 hours a day practising their golf game. They spend 3 hours on the range, doing specific drills or movements, they will also spend 3 hours chipping and putting. If you want to be a professional golfer then that is the requirement, hours of practice every single day. This tells you it is not just okay to practice every day but a necessity if golf is your passion.
Social Golfer
This guideline doesn’t and shouldn’t apply to everyone though, many of us are social golfers and that is perfectly fine as well. If you enjoy playing golf once every 2 weeks with your friends, then it isn’t necessary to put 100s of hours into your game. Invest as much time into your overall golf game as you wish to get from it, there is no pressure to improve if you are happy with your game.
If you do want to improve your game but can’t find the time to hit the range every day, there are tons of at-home exercises you can do to improve, take a look at this article from Golf Digest for some ideas.
Exercises can be as short as 15 minutes, done every day and you are almost guaranteed to see an improvement in your overall game.
Second to improving your technique with golf lessons, getting a correct fit for all your clubs is crucial to perform your best. For a deeper look into club fitting look no further than my article.
How many hours a week should you play golf?
If you want to achieve par, you should aim for 20 hours a week, and practise multiple days a week. If you want to be a professional, then you need to spend 6 hours a day, 6 days a week practising every aspect of your golf game.
This question is highly subjective, and the answer will vary depending on the type of golfer asking the question. A social golfer might only play a round every weekend and not practice at all. A scratch handicap golfer may tell you 6 hours a week. While a professional golfer will give you a very different answer entirely.
Aspiring Professionals
If your ultimate goal is to become a professional golfer, then the more hours you practice the better. Golf should be treated as if it is your job, not your hobby, and a job requires your full commitment. 6 hours a day should be the number, either you’re playing a round of golf for the day or you should spend a full day on the range.
You can see the schedule, of an aspiring college golfer trying to break 70 in their article.
If you are looking to improve your golf game, a good split is to spend 50% of your time on the course and 50% of your time on the range. Professional golfers will also spend 10+ hours per week on auxiliary exercises, including gym, fitness, flexibility and more. To them it isn’t all about their swing but ensuring they improve all facets of their game.
Social Golfer
As a social golfer, there is no correct answer to this question, you should commit as much time to your golf game as you like. If you are looking to improve your handicap, then add a few extra hours on the range per week. If your score is not important to you and you just enjoy having an afternoon out with your regular fourball then that is fine too.
If you’re just starting as a golfer, it is suggested to get at least 2 hours on the range per week. You don’t have to spend an exorbitant amount of time practising, plan wisely and you can chip a few shots off your game. Identify a specific part of your game that needs work, find a YouTube video that addresses it, and spend an hour or 2 on the range practicing it.
