Golf range question.

[Britishshooting]

Personally it’s practice ground and my shag bag. I always run lots of practice drills that allow me to score and track progress and it keeps its entertaining.

Also run combine skill tests on the Flightscope to do the same sort of thing.

Mindlessly smashing balls is a waste of practice unless you’re working on a swing change you’re trying to make familiar on running through the motions.

 

[Scozzy]

We have a "range" which is more just a practice ground and a "practice area" alot closer to 1st tee.
Pros? Practice ground you are hitting off turf,it's reasonable in condition and has targets to aim at,I'd rather be there after work or dinner than watching Corrie any old day and good to see ball flight if you are actually working on something.
Cons? It's different turf to course and can get heavy ,also back in the car to course (3min drive).Also take your own balls and collect them.
I do quite like it however as you can often find you have the place to yourself and you are hitting off turf."Proper" ranges with mats seem to be filled with people rushing to finish smashing driver before jumping back in the car plus....well....mats suck🤫

 

[Maninblack4612]

Unless you have the perfect swing, range work has to be useful, but only if approached the right way. I have a couple of ingrained faults of which I'm well aware (it's cost me a fortune over the years to be told the same thing by a series of pros 😒). I work on getting the club in the right place on the backswing & trying to learn how it feels. I take time over each shot, always have a target & rarely have more than 50 balls in a session. I'm lucky having a range 5 minutes away with excellent mats a near perfect balls.

 

[Maninblack4612]

Personally it’s practice ground and my shag bag.

Reported to admin for sexist / obscene language.

 

[duncan mackie]

Extending this threads principles, and some of the responses, for the last few weeks I've been hitting an average of 50 lob wedge shots from flat perfect surface - my garden lawn - over a range of up to 20yds.
Aimless? In the sense of targets yes (have one don't set it up) but I'm simply aiming for a consistent strike and building a feel for shorter distance work. Add considerations of the face angle and ball position and it's a huge learning experience.
Further add the pressure associated with each and every swing (obviously I am not expected to leave a mark on the grass, even after hitting 50 balls from the same spot!) and it's proving rather good practice! It is also impacting on my scoring.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I am completely unable to understand why anyone would not be trying to improve. I'm 72 and spend a lot of time working on my swing, that's where the pleasure comes from, finding something which works & seeing it materialize on the course.

Whats difficult to understand why anyone would not be trying to improve but playing purely for enjoyment ?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Do they not improve because they don't properly practice, or are they not properly practicing because they aren't improving?

Anyone can get better at anything with proper practice and tuition. It may not be easy and people will go through peaks and troughs and plateaus but with dedicated practice the trend will always to be better or in golf a lower handicap

This. I want to try and get as low as I can and not being blessed with a natural talent, any success I've had in sport has come via hard work and practice. I like being able to use a range in winter to really work on my swing in conjunction with lessons to try and get a swing that is better than the previous years and get it ready for the course in the Spring. Of course there are times when it falls apart at the range and on the course but as long as I am working on the drills given, am checking the fundamentals regularly and understand why it isn't working then I can take these set backs for the sake of a longer term success

 

[Maninblack4612]

Whats difficult to understand why anyone would not be trying to improve but playing purely for enjoyment ?

Because most of the enjoyment comes from playing well & improving.

 

[Maninblack4612]

Extending this threads principles, and some of the responses, for the last few weeks I've been hitting an average of 50 lob wedge shots from flat perfect surface - my garden lawn - over a range of up to 20yds.
Aimless? In the sense of targets yes (have one don't set it up) but I'm simply aiming for a consistent strike and building a feel for shorter distance work. Add considerations of the face angle and ball position and it's a huge learning experience.
Further add the pressure associated with each and every swing (obviously I am not expected to leave a mark on the grass, even after hitting 50 balls from the same spot!) and it's proving rather good practice! It is also impacting on my scoring.

You really should be taking a divot. Tell the wife I said so.

 

[Bxm Foxy]

I enjoy ball striking full stop. The range has a place, and any practice is good. I take my time, work on a few things, all good fun.

 

[robbeh32]

I like my range. I warm up on the range and pick out targets to hit. Try to hit fade and draws onto the targets. I also use the grass area for bad lies etc. and chipping green etc.

 

[jim8flog]

For me the range has simply become a place to warm up before going out for a round.

These days I only hit about ten balls simply because any more and I will not get any extra benefit.

We are lucky in that we have a short game practice area, which is one thing I still do.