Massed practice is a possible cause of a performance plateau.

Massed practice is a possible cause of a performance plateau.

• A. False
• B. Not sure
• C. Occasionally
• D. True

Answer: (D)

When learning a complex skill, how practice is organized can shape whether progress continues smoothly or stalls at a plateau. Massed practice—doing a large number of repetitions with little or no rest—can contribute to that stall because fatigue builds up both physically and mentally, reducing the quality of each swing and the ability to process feedback between reps. With little time to consolidate what you’ve just practiced, errors linger, adjustments don’t take hold, and the apparent rate of improvement slows or stops. Rest and spacing between repetitions give the brain a chance to encode corrections, rebuild focus, and transfer what’s learned in practice toward performance on the course. In golf, this means you’re more likely to see gradual gains in consistency, accuracy, and feel when practice sessions include breaks and varied drills rather than constantly grinding through reps. So, massed practice can be a plausible cause of a performance plateau, whereas incorporating distributed practice tends to support continued progress.

When learning a complex skill, how practice is organized can shape whether progress continues smoothly or stalls at a plateau. Massed practice—doing a large number of repetitions with little or no rest—can contribute to that stall because fatigue builds up both physically and mentally, reducing the quality of each swing and the ability to process feedback between reps. With little time to consolidate what you’ve just practiced, errors linger, adjustments don’t take hold, and the apparent rate of improvement slows or stops.

Rest and spacing between repetitions give the brain a chance to encode corrections, rebuild focus, and transfer what’s learned in practice toward performance on the course. In golf, this means you’re more likely to see gradual gains in consistency, accuracy, and feel when practice sessions include breaks and varied drills rather than constantly grinding through reps. So, massed practice can be a plausible cause of a performance plateau, whereas incorporating distributed practice tends to support continued progress.