Practice Makes Perfect: How Vijay Singh’s Practice Schedule makes him an Expert

By: Christopher Kaminski

For many professional athletes, reaching middle age can spell the ending of an illustrious

career. As physical skills diminish and injuries start to take their toll, middle-aged athletes are

replaced on teams or in standings by young up-and-coming superstars. For many professional

golfers, this problem rings all too true; the older one gets, the more young players enter the tour

hitting the ball farther and more accurate than the generation before. Vijay Singh, however, is no

ordinary golfer. An expert player, Singh seemingly reached the pinnacle of his career when

many others have called it quits. According to his PGAtour.com profile, Vijay Singh is a 34

time Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour champion, including one time FedEx Cup

champion (PGAtour.com, n.d.). These accomplishments alone stand to display Singh as an

expert golfer. A devout training regimen and unmatched focus on improving all areas of his

athleticism have allowed Singh to thrive in the twilight of his career. As a case study, Vijay

Singh has demonstrated that to reach expert levels of sport, a person needs to spend numerous

hours training, while using rest to recover from the physical demands of practice. Singh has

changed practice styles to help with overcoming arrested development, as well. In addition, he

has shown that it is possible to prevail despite the limitations, such as family support, which may

have been able to engulf others who have tried to reach high levels of sport.

One of the most important factors in reaching elite levels of sport involves performing

deliberate practice for many years. It is generally regarded that a decade’s worth of practice is

necessary to reach elite levels. This belief emerged from a study on expert performance in

various fields and claims, “expert performance…will inevitably emerge through an extended

period of ‘deliberate practice’ typically either 10 years or 10,000 hours.” (Ericsson, Krampe, &

Tesch-Rӧmer, 1993). To obtain the required practice time, an athlete has to be absolutely
committed to achieving elite levels of performance. It is not good enough, however, to just

practice. It is important for an athlete to have a purpose when they train, since the athlete is

attempting to outperform their current level. As Christopher M. Janelle and Charles H. Hillman

point out, “Experts adhere to a strict regimen of extended practice that is not necessarily coached

developed. [Deliberate] practice is characterized by structured activities that require effort and

concentration, that do not immediately lead to financial or other extrinsic rewards, and that are

not inherently enjoyable.” (2003, p. 27-28). If a person is willing to dedicate themselves to

deliberately practicing for several years, they are more likely to end up as an expert performer

than those who do not practice in a similar fashion.

As an expert golfer, it comes as no surprise that Vijay Singh continually engages in

deliberate practice to hone his skills. It is well known that Singh is one of the hardest workers on

the PGA Tour. According to Singh, his practice schedule consists of “working out every day,

hitting the practice ground for four hours every day and finishing off with some stretching

exercises every day.” (Lawrenson, 2009). For even the most dedicated tour professionals, this

practice schedule seems daunting. By putting himself through a grueling practice schedule,

Singh is able to work on all aspects of his golf game and get better at playing. It is no secret that

to be able to achieve this level of effort, a person must be dedicated to improving their abilities.

On one trip, Singh claimed he hit several hundred balls because as he claimed, “I was determined

to do it. I had no interference at all in my routine and I was ready…I’m not going to take it

easy.” (Budnick, 2007). As one can see, it takes an incredible amount of effort to work as hard

as Singh does. The type of practice he engages in is difficult by any measure. He is dedicated to

improving, and the only way he knows how to perform at his best is to practice for several hours

a day. Judging by his results, Singh has been rewarded for the hours he puts into practice.
 Although deliberate practice is needed to reach elite levels of golf, there are several

problems that can emerge from practicing for such long hours. One such problem is the

deteriorating of the body due to the severe exertion commonly seen in deliberate practice. As K.

Anders Ericsson states, “There is an optimal level for straining the targeted system. If the strain

exceeds the systems’ capabilities, it may result in irreparable damage to the tissue.” (2003, p.

73). Obviously, the longer and harder a person trains, the more likely it is that the athlete can

become injured. For this reason, it is important that an athlete add rest to their practice schedule.

By adding rest, it becomes possible for an athlete to maximize effort during training sessions.

Ericsson echoes these sentiments by claiming, “Coaches can also motivate the athletes to push

themselves as well as encourage them to seek rest to retain equilibrium on a daily basis.” (2003,

p.73-74). In the end, an athlete must be able to balance a dedicated practice regimen with rest in

order to achieve elite performance.

After having sustained injuries throughout the early portion of his career, Vijay Singh

learned the importance of rest. After one tournament (i.e. four consecutive days of high-pressure

golf) it is not uncommon for the athletes to be worn down from competing. When asked what he

would be doing following the tournament, which he had won, and if it included hitting several

hundred golf balls, Singh replied, “No, I think I’m going to take a day off tomorrow.” (Budnick,

2007). After the strenuous week of golf, Singh can afford to take a day to rest so that he can

recuperate. It would be detrimental to his health for Singh to not take a break between

tournaments. His body would wear down and future results would suffer as his ability to

perform at peak levels would become harder to sustain. As an elite golfer, Singh knows how to

best prepare his body for competition, and sometimes that requires rest.
 As noted earlier, Vijay Singh became an elite golfer and has continued his success

throughout many years. While many others would have been content at his successful young

age, Singh has worked hard to improve his game despite reaching early goals. One problem that

many elite athletes can face throughout their careers is arrested development. As Ericsson

believes, “At some point in their career, however, some experts eventually give up their

commitment to seek excellence. They stop engaging in deliberate practice and focus only on

maintaining their performance, which results in premature automation (and “arrested

development”). (2003, p.65). It is only natural for successful athletes to develop a routine

which has worked well and become a proven winner. However, it is impossible to become

better by performing the same routine over and over again. At one point in his career, when he

felt his putting could improve, Singh knew the time had come for change. Singh explained, “I

went from belly putter to the conventional putter and putted really well. So my theory was, well

I'm going to practise the off-season with the belly putter and go and play conventional. But I just

thought, well, it felt good, so might as well keep going [with the belly putter].” (Budnick, 2007).

Despite not putting that badly, Singh knew he could be more successful with a change in his

putting style. By using a belly putter, Singh was able to practice an entirely new technique for

putting. With a renewed focus on putting, Singh’s putting statistics improved. It is interesting to

note that Singh had been a champion on the tour before the putting change, so there was no real

need to change his style other than to personally improve his golfing ability. By changing

putters, Singh was able to avoid arrested development.

Not only does Vijay Singh have the determination to practice and become the best golfer

he can be, he also had to overcome some significant limitations along the way. One of the most

important influences on a young athlete is the support of his/her family. Without a supporting
family, it is extremely difficult to achieve success in any field. Despite learning the game from

his father, a golf instructor (PGAtour.com), Singh did not have typical family support. For many

expert athletes, “in the early years of a child’s involvement in an activity, parents tended to be

supportive, which allowed their children the freedom to decide whether to practice formally or

not.” (Côté, Baker, and Abernethy, 2003). By being supportive and allowing their child

freedom, the athlete is able to choose a sport which they can connect to. For Vijay Singh,

support was difficult to come by. Jamie Diaz proclaims, “[Singh grew] up under a father he

labels ‘tough’ but whom he rarely sees” (2004, p.3). Without the true support of his father, it

must have been difficult for Singh to achieve greatness. More often than not, expert athletes

have the support of their families, but Singh rarely saw his father and described him as tough to

deal with when he was around. Despite the lack of support, Singh was able to reach the upper

echelon of golf.

Vijay Singh is a prime example of an expert golfer. He has achieved continued

success on the hardest stage of professional golf. Much as the research has proven, Singh has

been able to reach elite status because of his prolonged practice sessions. Singh puts himself

through very strenuous deliberate practice in order to compete at the highest level. In addition,

Singh has learned to give his body the rest it needs in order to recover from the demands of

playing professional golf. Without the rest, and training schedule, Singh would not have been

able to achieve success so late in his career. Next, Singh has changed his playing style

throughout his career in order to stave off arrested development. Lastly, Singh has been able to

reach expert levels of golf despite not having a truly supportive home environment when he grew

up. One of the greatest golfers to ever play, Vijay Singh has become the epitome of an expert

golfer.
 References

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