Practicing With A Purpose (And With Data)

Before moving to Chicago, I played a lot of golf and practiced almost none. I would show up at the range, hit a pile of 8-irons with no real plan, and call it work. I played a ton, but I was not getting better.

If I got to the course early, maybe I would hit a few drivers and roll a couple of putts before the round. That was about it. I wanted my GHIN to go down, but I never had a clear process for making that happen.

That is what made this last year different. For the first time, I started using my time at PARennial with an actual purpose. Instead of just hitting balls, I started collecting a repeatable sample and paying attention to what the numbers were actually telling me.

What I Tracked

I picked one club, my 5-wood, and committed to tracking the same small group of numbers over time. I kept it simple:

Carry distance
Total distance
Club speed
Ball speed
Smash factor

In mid-May 2024, I collected 200 shots over a week of practice sessions. I used the same indoor environment each time and removed the biggest outliers so the sample reflected what my normal swing looked like, not just the best or worst swings of the week.

I repeated that exact process again in November 2024 with another 200-shot sample using the same club and the same basic approach.

The Numbers

May 2024

5-wood, 200 swings at PARennial Lincoln Park

Carry: 202.8
Total: 219.0
Ball Speed: 130.9
Club Speed: 90.7
Smash Factor: 1.44

November 2024

5-wood, 200 swings at PARennial Lincoln Park

Carry: 221.9
Total: 239.3
Ball Speed: 145.7
Club Speed: 100.1
Smash Factor: 1.46

What Changed

The jump was real. Carry went up by more than 19 yards. Total distance jumped more than 20 yards. Ball speed climbed almost 15 mph. Club speed improved by more than 9 mph. Smash factor also moved in the right direction, which told me I was not just swinging faster. I was delivering the club better too.

What makes that more interesting is that I actually played less outdoor golf during that stretch than I normally would in a year. I did use SuperSpeed sticks about once a week, sometimes less, but I was not obsessively tracking those sessions or chasing speed every day.

Why I Think It Worked

The biggest difference was not some magic swing thought. It was finally practicing with a plan. I stopped treating every session like random range time and started treating it like actual training.

I narrowed the focus to one club instead of bouncing all over the bag.
I tracked a small set of useful numbers instead of trying to understand everything at once.
I collected enough swings to find a pattern instead of reacting to one good shot.
I gave myself something objective to measure, which made each session feel like progress instead of guesswork.

What This Taught Me

The lesson for me was simple. More golf does not automatically mean better golf. Purpose matters. Structure matters. Feedback matters. Once I started combining all three, the practice finally began to lead somewhere.

If you are trying to do the same thing, start with the main launch monitor guide, then look at Smash Factor and Club Path. Those posts do a good job explaining why better practice starts showing up in the numbers.

What I Am Chasing Next

Now that I know this process works, the next step is obvious. Set a new target, keep working through the winter, and see what actually carries over to the course. For now, though, I think my 5-wood has earned a short break.