Practice with All Clubs?

[Mattie]

Hi All

So when I am at the range I might hit 50 - 100 balls, mostly concentraing on all my wedges 9, 7, 5 iron and 4 wood driver.

While I am grooving in my new swing should I just stick to a couple of clubs, PW and 9 iron maybe?

 

[Imurg]

If you don't practice every club you won't be as confident when it comes to using it on the course..

 

[Mattie]

If you don't practice every club you won't be as confident when it comes to using it on the course..

While I am going through this change tho, and in lockdown and not playing, I thought if I can get my new swing going on a few clubs first and then try the others?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It depends what you're looking to achieve. If you are making a swing change then in my opinion it makes sense to work on block technique with something like a 7 iron. If you aren't working specifically on technique or a change then I'd got through the bag from wedges to driver. I tend to hit 5-10 balls (depending on what size bucket I bought) at specific targets and rate how many hit the target (and a note of where my misses were)

 

[Foxholer]

7 iron seems the right club to use for 90% of iron swing work imo. After that's 'grooved' in any session, longer and shorter clubs can be 'tested' to ensure same swing with them works too.
All assuming that you are not using a single-length set of course!

 

[Mattie]

It depends what you're looking to achieve. If you are making a swing change then in my opinion it makes sense to work on block technique with something like a 7 iron. If you aren't working specifically on technique or a change then I'd got through the bag from wedges to driver. I tend to hit 5-10 balls (depending on what size bucket I bought) at specific targets and rate how many hit the target (and a note of where my misses were)

Sounds good yes... I am working on a swing change... flatter... it's looking good and seems to be working

 

[Mattie]

7 iron seems the right club to use for 90% of iron swing work imo. After that's 'grooved' in any session, longer and shorter clubs can be 'tested' to ensure same swing with them works too.
All assuming that you are not using a single-length set of course!

Yes, I will go with that thank you

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Sounds good yes... I am working on a swing change... flatter... it's looking good and seems to be working

If you are working on a change then block practice but at the same time, you also need to move away from that and work on specific practice too. As I know from bitter experience too much block practice doesn't necessarily bear fruit on the course. Hitting ball after ball to get the technique right is fine but then you have to hit shots, one ball, one go as you would on the course

 

[Mandofred]

When I go to the practice field, I usually hit two shag bags of balls (about 180). I put cones out at 40, 60, 80 and 100 yards. Probably 70% of my shots are inside 100 yards. After I've hit my warm up shots with my 56 wedge I try not to hit more than 3 shots with any one club. Sometimes if I am working on something in particular.....like hitting through the ball, I will hit 5-10 shots with the same club since I don't care about anything other than what I am working on.

 

[Mattie]

When I go to the practice field, I usually hit two shag bags of balls (about 180). I put cones out at 40, 60, 80 and 100 yards. Probably 70% of my shots are inside 100 yards. After I've hit my warm up shots with my 56 wedge I try not to hit more than 3 shots with any one club. Sometimes if I am working on something in particular.....like hitting through the ball, I will hit 5-10 shots with the same club since I don't care about anything other than what I am working on.

I'll be honest I do love the short game and I do practice that a lot - as we all should

 

[ScienceBoy]

For me the approach shot on par 5s is where I make or break my best birdie chances so ensuring I am good with an 8 or 9 iron in hand is important. I warm up with an 6-8 and then work on PW/9 shots, so under 140 yards is still a focus.

I try to ensure I build confidence in 5 iron shots for par 3s, 4 iron and hybrid tee shots for fairway finding and just try to loosen up the driver, if it goes straight I will use it, if not it stays in the bag.

56 feels a strange one to warm up with as it’s too short and too lofted to feel the compression that I need. An 8 iron strikes the balance for me in ease of hitting for confidence and low enough loft to get the compression of the ball going.

 

[Mattie]

If you are working on a change then block practice but at the same time, you also need to move away from that and work on specific practice too. As I know from bitter experience too much block practice doesn't necessarily bear fruit on the course. Hitting ball after ball to get the technique right is fine but then you have to hit shots, one ball, one go as you would on the course

Oo interesting... hope I can get to a course soon! I'm on thwe Welsh border so... ahem, might be able to sneak out

 

[Fabia999]

If I take most of my set, I'll start by hitting SW up to driver only hitting a couple of balls each (that's how tiger warms up) then I'll focus on a thing I need to improve on. If I've just took a few clubs I'll skip the warm up bit.

 

[patricks148]

i will be making a rare visit to a practice ground today, my new shovels arrived yesterday, a big jump from forged blades to caste CB.


If did practice with my old clubs it was usually just wedges and 5,7,9, hardly ever with woods unless i'm struggling or want to try something

 

[ManinBlack]

When grooving a new swing it is important to look at the ball flight to determine what the clubface & swingpath are doing at impact. You are more likely to find out with the longer clubs. The shorter ones impart more backspin than sidespin & you could be coming across with the shorter clubs & not see the slice or draw which you would with a longer club. Also, the margin for error is larger with the shorter clubs so it's with the longer ones that any faults are more likely to be seen.

 

[jmf1488]

I don't go to the range unless something is broke with my swing. I find I am more likely to lose my swing by going to the range when I am swinging well. That said I used to go with a 7 iron that was complete trash but had one of them grips that put your grip in the correct place. I had that, an old rbz hybrid and a mizuno sand wedge. My other clubs stayed in my locker and I tended to go to the range on my lunch break from work.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I watched Bob Charles practice about 10 years ago before his last tilt at the British Seniors.
I could not work out what he was doing as he seemed to be taking ages over each shot and hitting a big variety of clubs.
Finally worked out that he was playing the course in his head, imagining the shot/shape for each hole.
Took him nearly 2 hours to hit about 60 balls.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'll be honest I do love the short game and I do practice that a lot - as we all should

Love the short game. It's my nemesis but I refuse to let it beat me

 

[TigerBear]

Practice with every club bar the putter. No surprise putting is the worst part of my game.

At least I know what to work on over winter!

 

[Slab]

I take putter and PW on each practice visit + 1 or 2 other clubs that change each time depending on what poor shots I played last time out or what longer shots will be needed next time out

On a weekend visit I’ll take full bag