Driving Range - Waste of Time?

[north5]

I have played a little bit of golf now for a few years, but have decided to put a bit more time/effort into it now.

In previous years I would spend at lot more time at the driving range but not much on the course.

What I have noticed recently though is that my strikes on the driving range do not resemble my strikes on the course at all.

I am hitting everything on the range a bit right, and everything on the course a bit left. I'm also at least 2 clubs shorter on the range - i.e. 6 is 150yds on range on course it is an 8 or 9. and my swing is a lot faster on the range too.

So I just don't see the point of the range now - I think I will try and play the par 3 9 hole a lot if I don't have time for a round and try and knock a few balls per hole.

Does anyone else get different results on the range and is there something I should do to try and make it more like a real hole?

 

[AuburnWarrior]

I don't particularly like driving ranges, I find them unrealistic to course conditions. With a range you're always hitting off a nice, tight lie - on a course the ball may be above your feet, below your feet, on a fluffy lie or on a tight lie. Add into that some unusual stances like when your ball is just in a bunker but you have to stand outside the bunker and the driving range becomes rather redundant.

The range is good for working on a swing change perhaps but for real practice I believe the course is best.

 

[Oddsocks]

I don't particularly like driving ranges, I find them unrealistic to course conditions. With a range you're always hitting off a nice, tight lie - on a course the ball may be above your feet, below your feet, on a fluffy lie or on a tight lie. Add into that some unusual stances like when your ball is just in a bunker but you have to stand outside the bunker and the driving range becomes rather redundant.

The range is good for working on a swing change perhaps but for real practice I believe the course is best.

+1, you wont get better practice than on the course and the 9 hole par's are sometimes the best form of practice.

Chipping to real greens,
playing from real bunkers,
pitching from sh*t lies on the edge of the rough
playing from real ground not rubber matts

its all stuff that you cant get a feel of on the range, the only time i use the range is during the winter for swing changes, everything else now is practice afterwoork at twilight rate. in 2.5 hours you could hit up to 300 balls, and at £3.00 for 50, thats £18.00, you could play twilight golf for around a £10'er at most courses, and get a bit of a walk too.

 

[Macster]

Hate ranges, - only time I ever go is perhaps mid winter, when I havent played for a while, and just want to swing a club for an hour perhaps.

Other than that, I think they are pretty useless. As been said, a tight mat lie is hardly good for getting into the back of the ball, so nothing like the course.

 

[THJahar]

I find that the range balls are so poor and hard, that the flight I get off them in comparison with my ZStars is so different as to be absolutely worthless.
The only thing I find the range good for is if I'm having problems with my ball contact (fats/thins etc.) and I need to improve my consistency in that respect.
As to deeper fixes i.e. ball flight and direction, then I'm a bit stuck and I can only work on those during a friendly after work 9 holes round either with a partner of by my self.

 

[Matty]

Range balls do normally fly for a lesser distance so that'd explain the 2 clubs difference.

The left and right difference is hard to explain though - could it be alignment of your body to the club?

I agree though with the sentiment of the thread, nothing beats practice on a real course when you have a tight target area to land your ball in rather than a massive field!

 

[nidge1976]

Yes & no. Today I went down for a bucket of balls cos I am playing a game tomorrow but struggled with my 3 wood & driver so now I have lost a bit of confidence.

Luckily I often find how I do on the range doesn't always relate to what I do on the course anyway. However I did spend a couple of hours on the practice area trying to improve my short game which I rarely bother to do and felt it was much more productive.

 

[RGDave]

Yes, the driving range is a waste of time.

When I started playing, I joined a muni that had no practise facilities, just a putting green.

I started on 24 and finished on 8.

Nothing at all to do with the 100 sessions a year at the range.

 

[timgolfy]

Where would you take an absolute beginner to learn golf? The range or to the course?

 

[richart]

Where would you take an absolute beginner to learn golf? The range or to the course?

Practice ground, hit off grass and not mats.

 

[timgolfy]

Yes, that would be ideal. Preferably with real balls and not range balls.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I was thinking about this very topic myself the other day.

I used to spend a lot of time on the range because my course was so busy I either couldn't get on it or had to endure slow rounds. As a result I'd spend hours on the range. I never had a problem with it, in fact I quite enjoyed it. The problem I realise now was that it gave me too much time to think about my swing. I'd get on the course and think about what I was doing on the range and inevitably play poorly.

Since moving to Royal Ascot all I've done is play golf, and play well. I haven't been on the range so I don't think about my swing, I don't put so much pressure on myself to play well when I do get on the course because I know my next round isn't far away. All I do is get on the course and play, no thinking (well maybe a bit) but nothing compared to what I used to.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go as far as to say the range is a waste of time. It has it's place for practicing something specific or working in swing changes but it is no substitute for playing golf.

On the range you can learn to hit golf balls but only on the course can you learn to play golf.

 

[shaun83]

Depends, do you go the range and fire off 100 balls ike a machine gun?
Or
Do you spend time working on drills, even just putting clubs down and working on alignment will make your time spent there worth while.

 

[AuburnWarrior]

Where would you take an absolute beginner to learn golf? The range or to the course?

Good question.

An ABSOLUTE beginner - I'd suggest the practice ground WITH LESSONS. They could get the basics nailed - posture, grip, etc and then attempt to groove 'their swing' under expert guidance in realistic conditions.

BUT....

Very few clubs have the facilities to cater for big hits on the practice ground....

 

[north5]

shaun83 - I try to practice well and will mostly try and play each ball as a proper shot with a pre shot routine and a target - but am guilty of sometimes just whacking away.

Like HawkeyeMS - I have come to the conclusion that I can have a good swing on the range - and that I can also have a good swing on the course - but they are not the same.

The more I think about it the more I'm certain that I swing a lot faster and harder on the range (probably because even though I try and hit a target there is no punishment and I can just hit the next ball)