5 Smarter Practice Methods That Actually Improve Your Golf Game

/ Dennis Sales Golf Academy/

Are You Practicing the Wrong Way?

Many golfers spend hours at the range and still wonder why their scores never improve. The issue isn’t effort, it’s how you're practicing.

At Dennis Sales Golf Academy, we see it all the time: players showing up without a plan, mindlessly hitting balls, and hoping for a breakthrough. But improvement doesn’t happen by accident.

What does work? Intentional, structured practice, driven by real feedback and built on proven methods following a full assessment. That’s the foundation of our success.

We evaluate every key aspect of your game and create a personalized improvement plan tailored to your goals.

Below are 5 core methods that define our training philosophy and methods that have helped countless golfers go from inconsistent to elite performers.

1. Practice With Purpose: The 3 Types of Practice We Use

At Dennis Sales Golf Academy, our training is built around three distinct practice styles:

• Baseline Swing Building

This is where swing change begins. Using video feedback and structured feedback stations, we help players refine motion patterns and lay the foundation for long-term change.

• Block Practice

Block practice means hitting the same club to the same target repeatedly. It’s essential for building confidence and creating initial self-belief in a new move.

• Performance Practice

Simulate how you’d play on the course—without leaving the range. Visualize a full hole: tee shot, approach, short game, and putt. This bridges the gap between technique and real-world execution.

2. Contact Training: Strike It Clean

Improved contact is one of the fastest ways to shoot lower scores. We break contact into two key elements:

  • Where the club strikes the ground

  • Where the ball contacts the clubface

Ground Contact Drill
Draw or paint a straight line on the ground. Start with practice swings that contact the ground slightly in front of the line. Then place a ball on the line, your goal is to ensure the divot starts in front of it.

On mats? Place a strip of masking tape one clubhead behind the ball. Hit shots without disturbing the tape.

Face Contact Drill
Use Dr. Scholl’s foot spray or impact tape to identify toe or heel bias. Train intentionally by “hitting ugly” - deliberately strike shots all over the face. This builds awareness, feel, and adaptability.

Better contact = better distance and ball control—without changing your entire swing.

3. Train the Extremes: Build Awareness & Shot-Making Skill

Improving your swing or becoming a better player sometimes means going to the extremes—on purpose.

Slice the ball? Try hitting big hooks. Struggle with fat shots? Practice catching them thin. This “opposite” method interrupts faulty patterns and helps reset movement instincts.

It’s also a powerful way to develop creativity. Use your imagination to hit:

  • High fades and low draws

  • Punch shots and stingers

  • Flop shots and bunker punch-outs

  • Uncomfortable lies with strange setups

This kind of training builds versatility and expands your shot-making toolbox.

Pro Tip: Record your sessions. What feels dramatic often looks subtle. Video feedback builds awareness and accelerates change.

Not sure how to create these shots? A coach can teach you the mechanics behind trajectory, shape and skills that win under pressure.

4. Performance Games: Pressure Practice That Pays Off

The best way to simulate scoring pressure is by adding challenge and consequences to your practice. At our academy, we frequently use performance games to develop focus, consistency, and execution under stress.

Try These Drills:

  • 5-Club Challenge: Hit five different clubs to the same target. Adjust tempo, not swing mechanics to control distance and flight.

  • Shot Shaping Ladder: Hit three shapes (fade, draw, straight) to the same target. Define your start line, trajectory, and landing reaction.

  • Up-and-Down Scramble: Toss five balls around the green. Play them as they lie. Get up-and-down from each position.

Games create accountability and simulate real on-course demands.

5. Swing Speed Training: Build Speed With Purpose

Speed is a skill and a measurable separator between good players and great ones.

Step One: Ask yourself if speed is truly your limiter. If your contact and control aren’t solid, more speed may just magnify your misses.

For Junior Golfers

If your goal is to compete at a high level, speed training is essential. Coaches want players who can move the ball. We focus on building the athlete first—then transferring those traits into the golf swing.

Be an athlete first. Golf skills follow.

Pro Tip: We recommend overspeed training tools like The Stack System. Our players have gained 5–10 mph safely, without compromising their swing mechanics.

Train With Purpose. Improve With Clarity.

At Dennis Sales Golf Academy in Argyle Texas, we go beyond just hitting balls. Every session has structure. Every rep has intention.

✅ Full Swing & Short Game Evaluations
✅ Video, Launch Monitor, and Ground Force Feedback
✅ Custom Practice Plans Backed by Results

👉 Book Your New Student Assessment Today »