Where do you practice Driving?

[Brackenghyll6]

I’m a 5 handicapper and I’m going through a bad patch with the driver (it’s woeful).

Practice makes perfect so, I’m trying to find the best place to try different techniques.

The local driving range is like teeing off from thick rough and the range is about 240yards long.

The driving range 20 mins away has stall with rubber tees which aren’t anything like the real deal.

The course is always packed out, so I feel I can’t hit 2/3 drives and practice out on the course.

Where can you practice driver that’s consistent to course scenarios???

thanks in advance

 

[jim8flog]

I find the main trouble is wherever you go you are using range balls and it very depends on the quality of the ball compared to whatever you normally use.

In terms of teeing it up our clubs range requires you to either supply your own rubber tees or normal tees, the length is long enough for all hitters because it becomes seriously uphill after 200 yards.

Ps I would have thought the ball would be long gone before the club hits a rubber tee, as used on driving ranges, so it is all the mind.

 

[Maninblack4612]

Can't see a problem with the range. "rubber tees which aren’t anything like the real deal. " so what? it doesn't affect the ball flight at all. Provided they've got dimples the quality of the balls isn't important either, all you need to see is the ball flight to diagnose any faults. They don't go as far but behave exactly the same if you hit them off centre. I prefer the range to the course for grooving a swing. Nobody in the way & you don't have to go & pick them up.

 

[chrisd]

One or two pro's in our area will rent out their Trackman or GC Quad, this could be an option if any local to you do

 

[clubchamp98]

I get to the course at 6/30 am you have all the time in the world then to practise anything you want.
Only one ball into the green mind.
Depends on your work life obviously and late evening is also nice.
Off five I would think it’s just back to basics.
Go to ask the experts and ask Bob he’s your man.

 

[HeftyHacker]

There's a grass range near me that I use but to be honest I find that more beneficial for irons practice. The best driving practice I find is a solo round and taking a few extra off the tee if required. Even if its a good one, if I felt I did something different then I'll try to recreate it to see whether it's a genuine improvement or just a red herring.

I used to be terrible for just blasting balls down the range when I use driver there so now limit myself to 5 or 10 balls randomly interspersed nowadays.

 

[patricks148]

If I am having any issues I swing in the garden feeling what a good swing is as I usually know what I'm doing wrong. Failing that I pop in and see my pro and he will have a look . I do have access to the range at Nairn before a round, its a grass range, but they supply balls for free, or go to the kings which now has a grass range on the old 12th and 13th holes of the old course, or failing that fairways the local driving range with similar in each bay

 

[Bunkermagnet]

When I was regularly practising at a range, I never took the driver.

 

[NoLayingUp]

Go and see your local PGA pro, if you’re playing off 5 then evidently you have a good base level and should be easy for them to spot. Failing that, get the video camera out and take a look for yourself. As a previous poster said “go back to basics”

 

[Orikoru]

There's a grass range near me that I use but to be honest I find that more beneficial for irons practice. The best driving practice I find is a solo round and taking a few extra off the tee if required. Even if its a good one, if I felt I did something different then I'll try to recreate it to see whether it's a genuine improvement or just a red herring.

I used to be terrible for just blasting balls down the range when I use driver there so now limit myself to 5 or 10 balls randomly interspersed nowadays.

I would say the same. Can't see the point in smashing dead balls down a driving range. Just get on the course on your own when it's less busy and tee a second ball up if you're not happy with the first one. I can't hit a proper drive unless I've got an actual fairway in front of me to aim for anyway. And I also hate the rubber range tees like OP - they make an awful thwack sound that puts you off, and they are never the correct height!

 

[BiMGuy]

We have a pretty good range that uses Titleist practice balls. So I use that. There is plenty of targets to aim at/make a fairway from.

I typically don't practice driving all that much, but having recently had a lesson on trying to fix my weak spinny drives, I have been down there specifically to just hit driver. I do however make sure I step away after every shot and pick new target for the next.

 

[CountLippe]

Play the course, hit 3, 4 or 5 drives on each hole picking them all up and walking on. At your standard they're likely to be clustered. If you have time then play one ball in to the green, otherwise just walk to the next tee. Gives you practice driving each hole without ridiculous repetition and the walking replicates a round.

 

[RoninPanda]

I'm making an assumption based on your username that your course is Bracken Ghyll in West Yorkshire.

There's a Toptracer range at Express Golf in Shipley fairly close by and personally I love the setup with that type of range for having some data on all your shots.

 

[Tiger man]

Castle tees wedge perfectly inside the rubber ones, so find the smallest rubber tee that barely gets out the mat and stick your preferred height castle in it.

 

[3offTheTee]

Going off track how did you go on with your dispute with the Club please? Not sure whether many clubs would be pleased with you practicing on the course as suggested earlier.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

We are very fortunate in having a large 'field' that can accommodate the drives of all but the very longest (300yders) and well marked out with distance markers every 50yds. We have hosted long driving competitions in the past hitting down the diagonal. We also not so long ago purchased a large quantity of decent range balls...Srixons I think. The range balls are free and collected by the club, and it's good hitting the same ball rather than a mixture of all sorts.

 

[Brackenghyll6]

Going off track how did you go on with your dispute with the Club please? Not sure whether many clubs would be pleased with you practicing on the course as suggested earlier.

@3offTheTee - I’ve contacted them trying to reach an agreement/compromise, they haven’t come back to me. I’m just going to wait and see what they say.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

For practicing driving I don't really care what the tees are like (so long as they're the right height), so I use the range