garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
theres a reason you play off 8. i cant put my finger on it. :mmm: i bet you hit a straight ball, unlike the rest of us! lol
Does practice make you better or worse?
- Thread starter bobmac
- Start date
theres a reason you play off 8. i cant put my finger on it. :mmm: i bet you hit a straight ball, unlike the rest of us! lol
DaveM
Tour Winner
Spot on bob as normal. I would only hit 50 though. I dont go to the range much, as have a park across the road. Where I will stick bamboo sticks in the ground and play to them.
Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
You'd be surprised (or maybe not). I average about 5 fairways per round. I still wouldn't sacrifice 20yds for better accuracy though, but that's another thread.
I'm just even more wayward if I don't have something small as a target.
Dave B
Q-School Graduate
I think a constructive session with 50 balls taking your time to hit each one is better than hitting 100 balls especially if you are 40 +
For a lot of high handicap players practice can be a waste of time without prior lessons to identify faults and help them understand the basic fundamentals. It takes a lot of players several years to understand their swings and what they are doing wrong however a course of lessons over the course of a period of time in conjunction with practice is the way to go.
For a lot of high handicap players practice can be a waste of time without prior lessons to identify faults and help them understand the basic fundamentals. It takes a lot of players several years to understand their swings and what they are doing wrong however a course of lessons over the course of a period of time in conjunction with practice is the way to go.
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
5 fairways a round isnt great. how far would you hit it if you dont mind me asking. im currently working on finding a drive that will let me find the fairway more often than not even if i can hit it further (and wilder) with my old swing.
harvey4banger
Challenge Tour Pro
My game seems to have got better and more consistent since I stopped going to the range. Think I used to tinker too much and tried to smack the living hell out of the ball too, which didnt help my game
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
would i look like a nut, heading into the range with a 6ft mirror and a laptop ? i really think this is the way forward! 
Aztecs27
Money List Winner
Yea, well you would :angry:
I should have been more specific - I use the above method for longer irons/woods as if I were teeing off trying to land it on the short stuff. I obviously aim where I want to be (i.e somewhere in the middle of my "fairway" as I would on the course, I'm not good enough to "aim down the left to give me a better angle into the green") but appreciate that 5, or even 10, yards either side, would give me a decent second shot into the green.
For my shorter irons, I use the flags we have or the yardage markers as my pins and aim at those as if I were hitting into the green.
pokerjoke
Money List Winner
I used to go up the range a lot when i first started the game.
However i then realised what a waste of money it was.
Hitting 50 balls off a mat or a Tee that has no relevence to tee height
on the course.
Ive had great sessions up the range,ony to hit the course a day later
and play awfull.
I now only practice on the course,use my own balls and save money.
But to answer Bobs question,practice does make better.
And having a structure to practice is a great plan.
However i then realised what a waste of money it was.
Hitting 50 balls off a mat or a Tee that has no relevence to tee height
on the course.
Ive had great sessions up the range,ony to hit the course a day later
and play awfull.
I now only practice on the course,use my own balls and save money.
But to answer Bobs question,practice does make better.
And having a structure to practice is a great plan.
Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
It varies quite a bit but with a steady swing I'd say carry anywhere between 220-240.
To be fair (to my driving) a lot of missed fairways are either only just off or semi-intentionally off as it's the best side to play from. It's the 2 or 3 bad ones that leave me no shot to the green that hurt, and it's not like I've got a wild swing or try to hit it too hard (imo).
Dave B
Q-School Graduate
In Korea and Japan where it can be extremely expensive to play their driving ranges put ours to shame. Not only do they have tilt and slide matts, whith overhead heating for winter and cooling fans for summer, they also have mirrors and video analysis to play back each swing automatically.
Tommo21
Tour Winner
Try not tinkering or or smacking the living hell out it. Then it might help your game. Bofore a medal I just warm up with the few chips then a few short irons. Then I hit a few shots as if I'm playing a few holes...driver, 7 iron. 3 wood, 5 iron....and so on. Give yourself plenty time to have a good few putts from varying lengths.
ArnoldArmChewer
Tour Winner
Personally I don't think I have ever had a bucket of 100 balls laid out in front of me, it would simply make me want to knock them out asap, I would be very tired at the end of the session leading to poor technique.. Added to that I would never hit 100 shots (excluding putts) during a round, so why hit 100 in one practise session?
25 range balls usually take me 30-40 minutes to hit, using 4 or 5 clubs and trying to replicate holes I know well, and as you say to analyse shots hit, surely less is more if you structure your practice correctly
Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
I meant with all clubs Jon. I will pick a couple of fence posts at the back of the range to act as the edges of my fairway, but I'll still be aiming at something specific.
Everyone is good enough to aim at a specific point. You might think you're not good enough to expect to hit that target, but there's no harm in aiming at it. If 'anywhere in the fairway' will do you then why not aim at something specific in the distance that is on that line.
Lots of people putt by picking a target to aim at and giving the mind an image of the distance and uphill/downhill, then don't worry about the pace but just let your body figure it out.
How can your body hit a ball to a target when it doesn't know where that target is?
DaveyG
Challenge Tour Pro
I think without doubt Practise will always make you better... I can honestly say 70% of the people at my range dont practise though. I must admit I have only just started too. I must of looked like someone had offered me £20 per ball I hit.
I try and imagine the time I take on a real course per ball (without the walk ofcourse) and have set targets all the time... Surely I will improve by doing this.
I hope
I try and imagine the time I take on a real course per ball (without the walk ofcourse) and have set targets all the time... Surely I will improve by doing this.
I hope
Foxholer
Blackballed
My Range sessions are pretty much along the lines of Bob's post.
However, I wouldn't consider going to the range without a plan as to what I want to work on before I go there.
I'd do some stretching as my warm-up before even touching a club. Swinging my Driver with the headcover on works quite well as a prelim the the half wedges - as long as the cover stays on!
The main reason I go to the range, rehab apart, is for med-long irons and the Driver. We have a short game area, of sorts, that I use much more often as that's the scoring area and chipping is the weakest part of my game.
I don't get obsessive about the self analysis. While I can identify and make adjustments for issues previously identified and 'fixed', I let my Pro do the major changes - though I do dabble a bit.
Always good to hit a few Drives but temptation is to hit too many and too hard. 'Warm down' with some 'Pelz' wedges.
Feel and Flight are the measures of connection and how successful the swing was. My target is always a line or point rather than a general area.
However, I wouldn't consider going to the range without a plan as to what I want to work on before I go there.
I'd do some stretching as my warm-up before even touching a club. Swinging my Driver with the headcover on works quite well as a prelim the the half wedges - as long as the cover stays on!
The main reason I go to the range, rehab apart, is for med-long irons and the Driver. We have a short game area, of sorts, that I use much more often as that's the scoring area and chipping is the weakest part of my game.
I don't get obsessive about the self analysis. While I can identify and make adjustments for issues previously identified and 'fixed', I let my Pro do the major changes - though I do dabble a bit.
Always good to hit a few Drives but temptation is to hit too many and too hard. 'Warm down' with some 'Pelz' wedges.
Feel and Flight are the measures of connection and how successful the swing was. My target is always a line or point rather than a general area.
Aztecs27
Money List Winner
I aim my V-Easy alignment stick tour stick(tm) at a "specific" point (be it in line with a yardage marker or between the rugby posts we have at our range, so I'm "aiming" at something I suppose, and I always pick something in the distance to aim at on the course.
I'm really not good at making myself clear
Sorry! 
jp5
Q-School Graduate
To build stamina into your game? (something which is probably already prevalent in lower handicappers)
- ie. if I can hit 100 controlled shots at the range, when it comes to playing the course I am less likely to tire and hit loose swings towards the end of the ~50 drivers/irons/wedges during a round.
sona
Assistant Pro
The nearest range is 90 miles away at Glasgow or Inverness so do not get there often. I know is sounds stupid but if I get 50 balls I tend to concentrate more on each shot than if I get 100 which I work through in too casual a manner.
