Mental game series: To practice swing or not to practice swing? That is the question | Women & Golf

I get asked by many golfers if they should do practice swings or not. The reason they’re asking is usually one of three: they want to conserve energy, avoid slow play or don’t see the benefit of doing one.My answer is that it depends on why you’re doing a practice swing in the first place… If you’re just swinging your arms around to loosen up, then it doesn’t really serve a purpose and you’d be better off not bothering (unless you really do need to loosen up, e.g. if the round is slow and you feel yourself stiffening up). If you’re just “going through the motions” because that’s what everyone else seems to do, again, just save your energy. When should you do a practice swing?However, there are certain situations that you SHOULD do practice swings, and not always just one! Here are my suggestions: 1. When you’re in an unusual or awkward lie, for example, on a slope or in the rough. Here, you should do a practice swing to check your stance and weight is in the right position to brush the...