If you want to become a scratch golfer, you’ve got to learn how to practice. Simply going to the driving range and beating balls will not turn you into a ball striking machine.
The other day, I was on the range, and in the stall next to me was this young man, probably early 20’s, who clearly had skill. With the driver, when he flushed it, he was carrying the ball close to 300 yards.
The problem is, he was just beating ball after ball, clearly not thinking much about what he was doing. I could see that he had one critical ball flight error…the stuck position in the down swing.
I could see this because his shot pattern included a lot of blocked shots and pull hooks. I am personally very familiar with that shot pattern, since it is a flaw I’ve had to deal with in my own swing.
But, not once did I see him attempt to hit a fade. That’s how you deal with this particular flaw. You need to try and do the opposite.
A fade swing is the opposite of the stuck position, because you are attacking the ball more from outside.
Rarely did I see him go through any sort of routine before he hit a ball. As soon as he was done watching one ball, he reached for another.
Basic Driving Range Practice
How you practice will determine how quickly you improve. Here’s a quick video with some thoughts.
First of all, you don’t need to spend hours upon hours on the driving range to improve your swing.
What you need is FOCUS. Therefore, spending too much time hitting balls can actually be detrimental, because after a certain period of time, you start to lose focus.
50 Minutes
Generally speaking, studies have shown that 50 minutes is about the maximum amount of time that the average student should spend on a single practice session, as they tend to start losing focus after that.
Therefore, if you have not accomplished your goal for a particular practice session within that time frame, then take a break for 10 or 15 minutes.
A Plan and a Goal
Secondly, you need to have a plan for the session, and that session should have a goal. The goal may simply be to make more solid contact with the driver, or perhaps you are trying to learn how to hit a draw.
With the goal in mind, you can then devise a plan to achieve that goal.
For instance, if your critical ball flight error is a slice, then you know you’ve got to work on attacking the ball with a more shallow swing plane in the down swing.
If you are a beginner though, your primary goal is just to learn how to make solid contact with each club in the bag.
Therefore, after your first couple of practice sessions, your goal for each ensuing session should be to move further into your set from the wedges on up to the longer clubs and eventually the driver.
Down the road, you can then start paying more attention to your ball flight and learn how to correct any critical ball flight errors that arise.
Warm Up and Stretch
The golf swing is a complicated move that involves the entire body. Therefore, it is critical that you warm up and stretch properly before any practice session. The last thing you need is to injure yourself, as that will only set yourself back in your progress toward becoming a scratch golfer.
Wedges
To develop some rhythm, just hit about 8 to 10 balls with a wedge at 50% to 75% speed. This will also help you to become more warmed up.
In fact, I highly recommend that you hit 4 or 5 balls with your right hand only on the grip, and then 4 or 5 with your left hand only. This forces you to move the body properly, and in rhythm.
Then, hit your next 8 to 10 balls with a wedge at 50% to 75% speed.
NEVER ever start a practice session with a driver! This is a good way to injure yourself, because if you make full speed swings with a driver before you are thoroughly warmed up, you can easily pull a muscle or worse.
Practice Swings
For every ball you hit, take two to three FOCUSED practice swings with the primary goal of the session in mind.
If you are a beginner and the goal of your session is simply to make better contact, your swings should focus primarily upon the Kinematic Sequence as discussed in Golf Lessons 2, 6 and 7 in the Free Training section of my website.
These practice swings should therefore be pretty slow.
Visualize
Visualization plays a key role in golf. You’ve got to see the shot in your mind to get yourself focused on the task at hand.
Therefore, be sure you visualize the shot you are trying to hit, from impact, all the way to the target.
Set Up Routine
With each ball that you hit, you should also go through your set up routine…it should be exactly the same as you use on the golf course.
You don’t want to immediately hit another ball without going through this process. Quality is much better than quantity.
Ball Flight Patterns
At some point, you’ll notice that your bad shots tend to be similar. Make note of that in your journal. The pattern that shows up the most, such as a slice, will be related to your critical ball flight error. We’ll deal with learning how to correct many of these down the road.
So, to recap, here are the basic points to remember about how to practice on the driving range…
- Identify the primary goal for the session
- Have a written plan for the session on how to achieve the goal
- 50 minute sessions…10 to 15 minute breaks between sessions if want to practice longer
- Warm up and stretch first
- Hit 8 to 10 wedge shots at half to ¾ speed to get your rhythm, more if needed
- Focused practice swings in between each ball you hit
- Visualize the shot you are trying to hit (as you will on the golf course)
- Pay attention to the ball flight and make note of any problematic shot patterns that arise (slices, pulls, tops, fat shots, etc)
- Understand that you may not achieve your goal every practice session, but this is what will require you to continue to practice
- Record in your journal your thoughts on the session
Distance Control
If you are capable of breaking 90, to really take your game to another level, you’ll want to start paying attention to your distance control with the short-irons.
One great way to do this is to employ a launch monitor during your practice sessions. Launch monitors are not just for the tour pros, and there are a few out there that are relatively inexpensive. You can check them out here… 3 portable launch monitors for under $300.
Down the road I will be presenting information for more advanced practice sessions.
Get to work!
