Actually I do something similar if it's an array I'm accessing a lot, for example I often take that approach for my particle systems, particularly if I have a game that's not running very fast but if it's something that's not changed very often you don't need to. It's probably better practice to do it your way though.
As I said:
Quote: "Unless you're doing it hundreds of times per frame it's plenty quick enough"
I guess as usual it depends on the game.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."