Done with driving ranges

[warbirdlover]

I've found the same thing and don't go to the range much anymore.

 

[rubber314chicken]

yea, I've alwayed liked to switch shots every 5 balls or so. keeps it fresh, and non-repetitive. (and I get better practice with associating a club to a distance)

 

[ezra76]

You may be surprised if you add up the money saved by not going to a range, as well as the money you spend on rounds at your home course, how much you may be able to save with a membership. Although from a prior thread, I don't think that is the case with WI. Which is another reason I stopped going to the range. I spend nothing extra by going out in a cart and practicing.

With the $5-8 I used to spend 2-3 times a week at the range and the 2-3 rounds at $45-60 a round a week the membership is a bargain and allows me to go out about 5-6 days a week for either practice or rounds.

You are right PA. I added up and multiplied a very conservative average, allowing for 10 weeks in fact of no golf whatsoever... and still came up with $2700 for the year. There are several courses I could become a member at that rate around here.

 

[CircleTen]

I love the range, I feel like i improve my game 3-4 strokes when I go, this also might be because I am very new to the game...

 

[David Hillman]

I hate going to the range. It's just not golf. The rhythm is totally different, and at the end of the day, if you can't grab a club and swing it well on the first try, you aren't going to play well.

 

[King Par]

if you can't grab a club and swing it well on the first try, you aren't going to play well.

Totally disagree.

If that were the case, why would almost every professional golfer have a specific practice routine that they go through at each and every tournament. You have to get the blood flowing, get into your swing routine and get used to the feel of the ball. Sure it may not be as severe as the range, but you swing the club to get a feel for it. You go to the putting green to get a feel for chipping and putting. Bottom line - If the first/second swing of the day is teeing off on the first hole, that spells bad round.

 

[zaphod]

Hey Fitz,

I totally agree with you. I see way too many people at driving ranges just getting good at repeating their mistakes. If I need to work on something I hit wedges in my backyard. I can hit shots up to 130 yards. I find working on swing changes is much easier with an easy short club swing (maximum 8 iron 1/2 swing perhaps 100 yards) than swing something fast and long.

If I'm at a driving range you can bet its just for the pure enjoyment of hitting balls. And off mats with big rubber tees---don't get me started.

 

[David Hillman]

Totally disagree.

If that were the case, why would almost every professional golfer have a specific practice routine that they go through at each and every tournament. You have to get the blood flowing, get into your swing routine and get used to the feel of the ball. Sure it may not be as severe as the range, but you swing the club to get a feel for it. You go to the putting green to get a feel for chipping and putting. Bottom line - If the first/second swing of the day is teeing off on the first hole, that spells bad round.

We're talking about slightly different deals. I mean, when you are standing in the fairway, having just hit a driver, and you pull your 5i, you're only getting one crack at it. You can take a couple practice swings, sure, but you only get to hit it once. Similar deal with your drives; last 'swing' you made was probably with a putter.

Going to the range and banging out 20 drives in a row is not necessarily helpful.

I only hit the practice green if I have to wait before teeing off. 'Course, I don't play high-buck courses with very consistent greens anway, so there's not much to be gained there.

I may be alone on this one, but the ball feels the same to me every time I don't think I've ever hit the range before playing a round. Professional golfers do many things that an amateur like me doesn't do... for example, I carry my own bag That gets the blood flowing just fine for me.

 

[King Par]

True. There was some misunderstanding involved.

But you used a very broad term. "Not going to play well". We're amateurs, we're more hot and cold than Wisconsin in April. One swing will be phenomenal, while the other will look horrendous.

 

[dave.]

Some people like practice some don't, some like to be technical on the range, some don't. There is no right or wrong and yes, some people grind in mistakes on the range, but equally those that play all the time never work on theirs either, so quid pro quo. To me practice is crucuial to improving my game, and I think thats the same for about 95% of all golfers, without it how do improve?

 

[SCGolfer]

Having the luxury of living at the golf course I rarely ever go to the range....I just take 10 or so balls and go out to the course. Nobody is on the course after about 6:45 so that leaves over an hour to slip out and get in some practice. Somedays I take my driver and just hit tee shots off a few holes or I will take two or three irons and hit from different spots on each hole. Before I am going out of town to play or something I will spend that entire week with my wedge and putter and hit different shots around the green. If you play often enough, for me twice a week or so, I don't get any benefit from pounding balls....much better to be able to play shots on the course.

Jason

 

[IrishGolfer]

I love the range but I am fairly disciplined. Here's my rules to make it more productive for me.

• I don't talk to anyone, I am 100% concentration.
• I pick targets and imagine fairways (woods) / greens (irons) and try and work out the % of targets I am hitting.
• I try and work on fundamentals like a grip change, alignment or pre-shot routine.
• I am trying to build up muscle memory so when I am on the course I limit what I have to think about with my swing.
• I give myself 6 balls per club and then rotate.
• I try and practice with Driver, 3 wood, hybrid, 6 iron, PW, SW.
• I NEVER get a large bucket, just small or medium.
• I always warm up before hitting balls
• I don't just beat balls! I try and think exactly what I am working on.
• I also experiment at the range. Trying to hit a punched cut, or a high draw generally doesn't work when I try it at the course for the first time ever. It usually take 10-20 goes at it first to build up some confidence. It amazes me the people who play and decide to take on a shot that they have never practiced and then get pissed when they make a huge mess of it. "Hell I shanked that "stinger"! Goddammitt!"

I get frustrated when I hit the ball well at the range but not on the course, hell everyone does. But I don't blame the range.

 

[chemboy2]

I don't get the opportunity to play but once, maybe twice, a month so range time makes up the vast majority of my "golf."

Like IG, I'm quit disciplined on the range though and am working on very specific things; I never just tee up the driver and start pounding away. I limit my time on each club to four shots and I alternate between long and short clubs. I want to build the confidence in my shots and range time does this for me.

With that being said, two thirds of my trips to the range are to the short game area. One of our local courses has an expansive short game area that I can do everything from short sided chip/flop to 50 yd pitch shots. There's also a huge bunker that has a low side as well as a 6 ft high lip. This area coupled with a multi-tiered practice putting green is the primary reason I've dropped 10 strokes off my cap in just over a year.