How and what do you practice on the range?

[philly169]

I went to the range tonight to bed my new bats in and came away feeling pleased with how it went. I didn't go with any plan of working on a certain part of my game, just wanted to go through the bag and strike the ball well and see a nice flight.

It got me thinking, when you go to the range, away from a competition day, how do you decide what to work on? How do you know if you've achieved your goal or anything for that matter? Do you just go there to hammer balls as hard as you can or do you take your time over each shot of your 100 ball bucket with a plan of action?

 

[G1BB0]

mine varies depending what went wrong on the course. At the moment I am still working on my tee shots/longer irons to bed in some swing changes. I dont hit any short stuff either, no point hitting wedges off a mat imho so I nip over the field or up the course for that.

 

[Smiffy]

I practice trying to roll a cigarette with my golf glove on.
It's something I've never been able to master

 

[ScienceBoy]

I have two types of range sessions, ones that are stress relieving and fun at the end of a hard day at work where I just mess around and enjoy myself. I dont care what happens as long as its fun.

The other I tend to work on playing one of a few types of games. One game is to select two targets, between them is the "fairway". I proceed to hit 5 tee shots or positional shots (6 or 7 iron) and score their result. I aim to get at least 19 frequently.

The other one is to select green or green sized area and hit mid or short irons to it, again scoring as above.

I have a few other games I play but pretty much all my non "fun" range time is scored and targeted. I do have times I just go and work on a swing improvement but I prefer to do that without a ball infront of me with drills at home. When I go to the range I try to play "natural" golf, if something is very wrong I usually look up its cause on my phone and just incorporate that "quick fix" into my games until I can bring it up at my next lesson.

I have been playing golf long enough to know why I do most of my natural bad shots so usually I can identify the cause and correct it there and then. I still try and remember to run it by my pro just in case.

 

[One Planer]

I have a routine that I "try" stick to for practice sessions.

Tuesdays: Pitching 100, 80 and 50 yards with full, 3/4 and 1/2 swings. Perfom in a circuit with 3 different clubs, I.E 1 circuit PW, 1 circuit GW, 1 circuit SW (repeat as required). Followed by 30 minutes putting >10ft

Thursdays: Chipping from 30 yards in, in 10 yard incriments, then greenside chipping. as above, using different clubs (Mainly 7 iron, 9 iron and PW). Followed by 30 minutes putting <10ft

Sundays: Bunker play onto the practice green. "trying" to master different flights out of sand I.E high, soft landing or low wih a little run. Followed this with lag putting, usually from the opposite end of the green (circa 40ft) with a tee peg placed 3 ft behind the hole. The idea to get the lag putt hole high or past, without going past the tee.

I'm planning on adding a long game session during my lunch break to work as we have a good range is 5 minutes away. If I do It will be to work on my driver as I've really neglected this over last few months and it, to be honest, shows.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It depends. If I'm working on something from a lesson or trying to fix a swing fault, I'll hit shots and focus on getting the technique right without too much attention to anything else. If its a normal session I tend to just work through the bag and not get too hung up on swing thought. Dispersion is my main goal and a good strike

 

[Stub]

Very impressed with Gareth's disciplined approach, which I'm sure must pay dividends. However I tend to go to the range to work on specific aspects of woods and long iron play, usually following drills provided by my pro. I practice short game on the practice area at the club and try to make it as much like a game as possible by setting targets that have to be achieved or I have to start again i.e. land 8 of 10 pitches from within 50 yards within 10 feet of pin or start on the sequence of 10 again. Sometimes I'm there all night :whoo:.

 

[granters]

I generally picture my bosses face and put several balls through the back nets. Whether they go straight or not is a different story. I'm more fascinated by other folk at the range, and wondering how it's scientifically possible to hit a wall/roof at a 90 degree angle to yourself.

When i'm really bored i'll try and hit the tractor collecting the balls, the only part of my game i can actually take to the course successfully, the green keepers hate me

 

[One Planer]

Very impressed with Gareth's disciplined approach, which I'm sure must pay dividends. However I tend to go to the range to work on specific aspects of woods and long iron play, usually following drills provided by my pro. I practice short game on the practice area at the club and try to make it as much like a game as possible by setting targets that have to be achieved or I have to start again i.e. land 8 of 10 pitches from within 50 yards within 10 feet of pin or start on the sequence of 10 again. Sometimes I'm there all night :whoo:.

Don't get we wrong. I do experement sometimes.

As an example last night I was opening up the face on my wedges trying to get the ball to check up on the green...... Still no joy

I'm definatley trying a premium ball!!

 

[patricks148]

I hardly ever go to the range, mostly just play.

 

[RGDave]

It depends. If I'm working on something from a lesson or trying to fix a swing fault, I'll hit shots and focus on getting the technique right without too much attention to anything else. If its a normal session I tend to just work through the bag and not get too hung up on swing thought. Dispersion is my main goal and a good strike

Crikey. That's almost my answer.

I'm either working on my swing, or grooving my path.

Can't seem to do both at one time. Depends how close I am to an important game.

 

[RGDave]

I practice trying to roll a cigarette with my golf glove on.
It's something I've never been able to master

Smiffy, you are more inspirational than Bob Rotella.

I'm trying this next time out.....you've given me purpose in life....

 

[thelank1985]

I tend to only take PW,7i,4i,RW,5w,Driver.

I then hit 5-10 with the wedge to get a good tempo then move up through the clubs. If i am working on fixing swing faults I don't tend to pick a target just a target line. I find if I miss a target I start trying too hard but if I just aim on a particular line with no end point I can see how close to that line my ball finishes.

I sometimes try to play imaginary holes from courses I have played to so say a 400 yard par 4 I would imagine a fairway take the distance and then hit an approach iron to a target of roughly that distance. I then score based on GIR. So I play 18 holes, 36 balls if I score 18 I phone the PGA tour and tell them I'm coming

 

[jdchelsea]

When I go to the range I generally have same pattern. Warm up with a few stretches then hit about 10 7 irons then I move on to wedge shots, then 4 iron and then driver. Then for last 30 balls it's I just work on whatever I feel like but always finish off with about 3 drives.

As for picking targets etc I have a bit of a problem-I have to aim wherever the mat is aimed at lol not sure if it's a subconscious thing but if I try to pick targets left and right of this line I'll end up hitting hooks or fades. Don't know what causes it but must be subconsciously lining something up to the mat/bay target or swinging towards this in some way. Anyone else find this?

Other things I do are pick imaginary fairway targets to see how accurate my drives are. I'll try draws and fades to targets on my line. And play imaginary holes. Rhythm and tempo are a big practice point for me. If I've time I'll also hit the putting green. I used to be very tough on myself during range sessions but I've learned that my range practice generally has no bearing on how I strike it when I'm out on the course next.

 

[Khamelion]

At the minute I'm trying to cure my chicken wing, so I'm working on trying to keep my left arm straight at impact.

50 balls and I hit half the basket on drills aimed at promoting a straight left arm then the other half is seeing if the drills have worked.

But then after a rubbish day at work I sometime let off steam by smacking the skin off the ball, not really caring where it goes, I just imagine whoevers face has peed me off through the day on the ball and whack.