The Weekend Golfer's Practice Plan That Actually Works

Most weekend golfers practice the same way: a large bucket, starting with driver, ending when the bucket’s empty. It feels productive and improves nothing. Here’s the structure that actually lowers scores.

The 50/30/20 Split

50% — Wedges and short game. Scoring happens inside 100 yards. Lag putts, chip shots to specific targets, bunker escapes. Boring? Yes. Effective? Undeniably.

30% — Mid-irons with a target. Every shot at a specific green, not just swinging. Pick a target, pick a club, commit. Practice without a target is just exercise.

20% — Driver. Yes, it’s fun. It’s also 14 clubs out of 14. Keep it to the last fifth of the session.

The Tools That Help

Alignment sticks (the cheapest real improvement in golf), a small notebook or phone note recording fairways hit and putts per round, and a launch monitor session once a season if you can swing it.

The Commitment

Two structured hours a week beats six casual ones. Track one stat — putts per round — and watch it fall within a month.