Practice Swing and Real Swing

Do you take a practice swing before hitting a shot? Why do you take practice swings? Are there any benefits for it?

 

Tiger Woods was Wasting Practice Swings

Tiger Woods said he was wasting  his practice swings even after he turned pro. He said he didn't realize the importance of it and thought that his practice swings were mostly wasted motion. There are 2 benefits for taking a practice swing. First, it makes you relax before the real shot. Second, it's a good rehearsal for the real swing. I think Tiger wasn't treating it as a rehearsal.

 

Tiger said that lots of players make practice swings that don't fit the intended shot. He wanted to point out that if you try to hit a draw, your practice swing has to be the one that lets you hit a draw. If you treat your practice swing as a rehearsal, you can focus on the shot and not worrying about the swing. I can tell what kind of problems they have if I see their practice swings. So treat your practice swings like a real swing. If you don't think anything during the practice swing, you are rehearsing your weakness or just wasting your time.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/golfswing/practice-swing-real-swing.htm