This is an interesting question in golf improvement and it does really depend on where you are currently with your golf game. Of course the ultimate combination for improvement would be to harness both however due to time constraints we often choose one over the other. For someone who comes in for lessons, I will always encourage the student to be driven toward quality. This would mean committing to one to two buckets per week doing exactly what we worked on during the lesson.
Once they have come back consistently for lessons and we can see the technique improving, only then will I prescribe to add more buckets during the week for improvement. As like we all have done, we can sometimes be tempted to add more buckets to improve faster. However if the new technique isn't embedded properly it can cause additional bad habits to arise. It's always best to really understand the technique before hitting too many balls.
The first stage of improvement is always about learning the overall golf swing followed by particular bad habits that you can sometimes fall into. If you are getting consistent lessons, often after 6 months you can start to get a good idea of the overall swing plus how to keep that swing from falling back into bad habits. The biggest help with being consistent is utilising a mirror to check your swing as well filming your swing during practice to ensure your changes are coming into effect.
For my own game I have a particular regime where I will practice Monday each week followed by a game on Tuesday. As I have played for 30+ years and have put large amounts of reps over the years plus being quite aware of the technique I'm trying to keep, I will tend to hit less balls and more mirror practice. These days I will often do 30 mins mirror work followed by 20-30 balls as part of my practice. In the mirror I do practice swings from the front and also for the backswing. Im trying to both see and feel exactly what I need to do in the swing. If done correctly, I can feel strong connection between my arms and body when I swing.
This method is definitely harder as we all just want to hit balls but doing proper technique practice is often way more beneficial than doing 2-3 hours of just hitting balls. If I was playing tournament golf again I may though combine more quantity but this would be more short game related.
If you'd like any further advice on how to design your practice just book in with myself at David Waters Golf.
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