Winter Practice vs Playing

[Capella]

Since I work during the few precious daylight hours during the week and apart from the occasional visit to the gym get no excercise at all, playing a round of golf on the weekend is my way of making up for that and to give my body a few hours of light excercise outside with hopefully at least a few rays of sun. Because I go into serious winter depression if I don't. Practice on the range is just not the same (because standing in one place makes it feel a lot colder and I would not have the energy to stick with that for 4 horus). So for me it is normally way more playing time than practice time in winter.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

i'm of the opinion that winter gold isn't really about the golf, its a walk and catch up with mates. i would rather wonder around for 2 and half / 3 hours having a Craic, than hitting frozen balls.

I agree with this, we have a blind pairs game on a Sunday, its always good fun whether you play well or not and a bit of craic in the bar after. Practice is during the week for me.

 

[shortgame]

If you're going to practice for "a few hours" you might as well go out and play. Surely that's no change from a summer regime.

I know what you mean but most of the 3-4 hours on the course is spent walking
I'd be hitting only say ten or so drive, a handful of irons and wedges, some chips and 30 or so putts (hopefully!)

In a couple of hours practice I'd get through 4 or 5 times more shots, probably more

Balance is everything for me

Too much range time is not helpful as has quite rightly been pointed out it's a 'false' environment

Too much course time and too little range time results in bad habits that creep in (alignment/posture etc)

Getting the balance between the 2 is key for me

 

[shortgame]

I think range time is overrated
You're playing from a perfect lie on a mat with nice right angles on it that make it easy to align yourself. Also there's no pressure on the shot.
Grass ranges are often sodden at this time of year and if you're spending hours on there, you may as well spend hours on the course- playing real situations that will affect your next shot and your score.
Playing from real lies makes you think - p!aging from a mat doesn't.
That's not to say range time is useless but give me a choice of range time or course time and I'm feeling up on the first...
You learn to hit balls on the range, you learn to play golf on the course.

Many good points but for honing technique I choose the range. The use of a mirror to check posture and swing positions, alignment sticks for alignment, puttig mirror etc all help IMO

In these cases the perfect conditions help practice

As already said the balance between course and range is key for me

As you quite rightly say, learn to swing on the range, learn to play on the course

 

[azazel]

Each to their own of course but the idea of going to the range instead of playing at any time fills me with horror. Driving ranges bore me to tears - maybe I've got a short attention span but the sheer monotony of it would put me off golf for life.

I've probably been to the range five times in my life and I would honestly rather not hit a ball at all than go to the range for anything other than a warm up.

 

[Jamesbrown]

I barely play in winter. Couple of times a month at a course which is not on mats or temps.
I have a winter program with my coach. Two lessons a month.
I work on that at the range. Try not to bash 5 irons all the time. I set little holes up in my head on the range and try to recreate holes.

 

[Garush34]

Play most Saturdays through the winter. Would rather keep the game ticking over than not. I enjoy playing with my regular group than just hitting balls. I will go to the range if the group isn't there, but I have to have something to work on, instead of just beating balls.

Only time I don't go out is if its frozen over, do not like temp greens and the thought of hitting off frozen ground.

 

[User101]

Looking at the handicaps in the sigs some of you really need to spend more time on the range

 

[shortgame]

I should have added that how you practice that is important too

Lots of ways to make it meaningful and purposeful rather than just bashing balls (which can cause more harm than good IMO)

 

[7255carl]

I generally use to the winter to groove changes and build strength, but in my opinion you must get out there occasionally as if you are working on something all winter that doesn't work for you out on the course it will take a long time to undo it later

 

[Canary Kid]

This winter, my mates and I have decided to just carry a lightweight bag and five clubs. So not a “proper” game, but rather a way of meeting up and, as we are seniors, getting the exercise that we wouldn’t otherwise get.

As I am not a precise ball striker, I am always around 10 shots per round worse in the mud and so, if I do have the occasional “proper” game, I need to seriously manage my expectations - otherwise it’s all doom and gloom.

 

[tsped83]

Range is only there if I want to practice something very specific - and brief. Otherwise, get on the course, much more fun to be had.

 

[jim8flog]

Days like today are when I put my practice in. Buggy ban on both courses. I can still walk 6/7 holes, nobody on the 9 hole course so just two clubs, 6 & wedge, just two balls and seven holes of practice playing the course.

I was lucky at one point I thought it was going to be just one ball after second shot in to the 3rd green headed towards the river. Instead I ended up with 5 balls to play with if I lost one.

 

[PJ87]

I was planning to go the range today.. but when I got there I thought it’s a bit windy why not try and control the irons even more on the little 9 hole again

(That’s 3 times in space of 7 days)

Grab the bag.. ditch anything above a 6 Iron so 6-P , 50 54 58 putter

Prob too many clubs but I then can do a hard 8 or a soft 7 and just practice real life situations

Weather was a bit rainy after the 3rd so only went round once but in that time round I played a couple of holes with 3 balls (only scored with my main one) just to try different approaches in.

Well worth the membership

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If you're going to practice for "a few hours" you might as well go out and play. Surely that's no change from a summer regime.

I disagree I'm afraid. I feel a couple of hours working on pitching, chipping and bunker play is more beneficial. My short game has improved although the chipping has a way to go.

 

[garyinderry]

Over winter which is Sept to march, we tend to play wee matches between us for a bit of fun.

Either 2 on 2 match play or catch the leader which is 3 players. When one wins a hole out right, he goes one up and the others two team up trying to knock him back to all square.

 

[Crow]

I've done hardly any range practice the last year or so. I find that as soon as I get there I start shanking every other iron shot, no idea why, probably just a mental thing but it does my head in.

Anyway I went there tonight as I'm struggling to survive on one game a week, took a mix of vintage clubs with me so rather than ram my old school preference down your collective throats () I've made a more detailed post on the vintage golf thread.

Here I'll just say that things followed the usual pattern for the first dozen or so balls, especially when the Pro walked past, but then I settled into a nice groove and was hitting some very pleasing shots with the 5 irons and now intend to make more time for range work over the winter.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Don't even bother hitting a single ball from end of Sept until sometime in March.

Its like learning all over again each season!

Little boy starts school next Sept so hopefully shift rota will enable me to play a little winter midweek golf although last time I played through winter I was crap all the following summer.

 

[Patster1969]

We are quite lucky, as for the last two years, have had no temp greens or tees. It's a bit soggy underfoot on 1 or 2 holes but nothing to make it too much of a waste of time. There's also comps every Saturday anyhow, so would rather play in those. Don't have any mates that play, so can't go in for social rounds either.
Also (as has been said by a few others), I like the 4 hour walk (as long as it's not chucking it down with a howling gale) as otherwise, wouldn't get any more exercise