Range Practice

[Mick-Mulli]

Recently getting addicted to golf I have been spending alot of time a the range. So I just thought I'd ask how you guys practice...or train.

What do you work on at the range ?
And what kind of practice routine do you use ?
Which clubs, and how many balls....etc ?

[Wilster]

Whichever clubs i am struggling with on the course , i'll usually spend most of the time the range with those clubs , maybe hit 75% of the balls .
But its hard when your struggling all your clubs right now

[dreaded_snowman]

I have a few things that I do...
General things:
- always execute my pre-shot routine as on course. This means never hitting the balls out of the horrible tray against a mat, or dumping the whole bucket on the ground in front of me. I put the bucket at least 4 paces from where I'm hitting, and walk back to get another ball between each shot.
- always choose a target/line for every shot. Nothing worse than hitting and thinking you're pushing the ball only to realize you're lined such that your perceived pushes are straight.
- I always keep a close eye on the time spent, and make sure that I work on my short game at least as much (if not more) than my longer clubs

Club work:
- generally I warm up with 2-3 balls per club, working down from SW all the way to driver, trying to hit them all well.
- I often picture a round at a course I know well and actually play the holes, complete with pitches. I use my rangefinder to guess the relative length of my shots to figure out what sort I pitch I might need...
- when working with longer clubs, I pick targets and make imaginary OB lines or water where any shot outside the envelope is dead, no matter how solid my contact.

[leftylucas]

That is a great practice session Snowman, my teacher ecommended something like that to me recently and I am hitting many fewer balls but I am getting a lot more out of the session than ever before.

[Mick-Mulli]

Also.....one more thing guys.....how do you feel about the mats and the rubber tee's ? I genrally like using real tee's off real grass, because it represents the real thing. But do you guys think it matters or is it a waste of tee's ? Thanks again for all your responses.

[BigFlopper]

Also.....one more thing guys.....how do you feel about the mats and the rubber tee's ? I genrally like using real tee's off real grass, because it represents the real thing. But do you guys think it matters or is it a waste of tee's ? Thanks again for all your responses.

I find hitting off the mats are good when you are working on a specific part of the swing and want to take out some of the variables grass adds. But the majority of the time I hit off the grass since mistakes can be masked off the mats.

[Goshawk]

Generally, if you're hitting off mats, your contact may not be quite solid but will give you decent results. What the mats mask is predominantly fat shots. The clubface will ricochet into the ball and make decent contact, whereas on grass you'll take a divot and the ball will not travel far, if at all. If you're working on some aspect of your swing, mats is a good place to do it. You'll still feel the contact and be able to tell if it was solid or not.
I've found a good routine is to only take the clubs you're going to be working on to the range. If you're going to work on your wedges, why take your driver and fairway metals? Taking the entire bag just gives you a excuse to deviate from what you want to do. This is especially true for "younger" players who like to blast drivers for most of the session. Doing this if what you're working on is the driver is great, but why bring the rest of the clubs? I've watched people bring their bag to the range and go through maybe 20 out of the entire bucket with 4 or 5 irons and the rest with the driver. That's more of a workout than a practice session.
Another suggestion is to follow Snowman's suggestion about taking your time between swings. Go through your pre-shot routine prior to every shot. Take your time to analyze each shot. I've watched guys come onto the range with a large bucket (80+ balls) warm up for 10 seconds and be done with the bucket in 20 minutes. My question to them (BTW I've never asked this): What did you learn/accomplish? There's no way you can convince me that 20 minutes for 80+ shots (most with the driver) was a learning experience. Again, just a workout. You can do that in your backyard with a 2X4!

[dreaded_snowman]

Also.....one more thing guys.....how do you feel about the mats and the rubber tee's ? I genrally like using real tee's off real grass, because it represents the real thing. But do you guys think it matters or is it a waste of tee's ? Thanks again for all your responses.

Get a pack of long plastic tees just for the range; they won't break and you generally won't be smashing them too far forward to retrieve. Personally, I don't find rubber tees are a problem at all, doesn't really matter what the ball sits on... but the mat, that's another thing altogether - it's nothing like grass. The only time I use a mat is when the grass tees are so wrecked at a range that there's basically no grass....

[Kiwi]

Welcome to my addiction also. At the risk of info overload I'd go buy a copy of Golf Digest. Lots of good (and bad too) tips and drills there. I try to stick with the pros or some of the top teachers as there are lots of weird (IMHO) suggestions too. The small booklet pull-out in the magazine is a good thing to take to the range with you. Only personal suggestion I would make is that from my experience rather than try to fix all the faults at once, pick a particular problem and work on it until you are happy with your progress and then move on. Good luck and see you on the course.

[Mick-Mulli]

Thanks for the tips.
Cheers

[ping]

I always hit on the grass area, I take my time and take breaks to not get too tired out when hitting a large bucket myself.

[DIbit]

Because I don't have enough time to golf this year going to the range helps keep my swing in check.
I usually hit a super bucket (on Innes Rd.) 110+ balls and this is my routine:
- 10-12 balls LW 50-60 yards
- 10-12 GW 100 yards
- 10-12 PW 125
- 8-10 8i 150
- 8-10 6i 175
- 8-10 4i 200
- 8-10 hybrid 200 +
- 5-6 5wood down the middle (I tee-up the last couple balls) - my money club
- 10-12 3 wood (put the 1st balls on the mat, then on tee)
- 10-12 Driver
I try not to swing hard till the woods...
then back to LW
I always use the crappier, older balls with the wedges and will won't change clubs if I wasn't satisfied with the last shot.
This takes me about 1:15 minutes.

[golfisforfun]

110 Balls??? Holy crap!!! That is over 2 rounds of golf... I would be exhausted.

Here is a great drill to work on...

Take your 7 iron (or any mid-iron).
Hit it 50 yards.
Hit it 75 yards
Hit it 100 yards
Hit it 125 yards
Hit it 150 yards

Do this until you are basically swinging too hard. Then you will really learn what a comfortable swing is for each club. It also teaches you how to control shots and focus on solid contact. I know that I can hit a 7 iron close to 165-170 yards but am comfortable hitting it 160 max.
You will also develop much better "feel" after doing this drill.

I also suggest hitting balls wearing sandals or flip flops. It forces you to slow down, relax and keep a good tempo so you don't overswing.

Focus on contact and not as much trajectory or distance because a LOT of range balls are old, out of round, cracked or re-finished so you don't get an accurate ball flight.

Chateau Cartier has restricted flight balls, so distance is irrelevant. All you have to focus on is contact.