• Welcome To ShotTalk.com!

    We are one of the oldest and largest Golf forums on the internet with golfers from around the world sharing tips, photos and planning golf outings.

    Registering is free and easy! Hope to see you on the forums soon!

Range Work

eclark53520

DB Member Extraordinaire
Supporting Member
Dec 24, 2007
17,520
7,590
South Central Wisconsin
Country
United States United States
I'm going to list some things I've found help me at the driving range...add yours to the list! Most of us usual's already know this stuff, but there seem to be LOTS of guests that visit the site. This may be useful information to some of them...plus it's been a while since we've talked about driving range work. A refresher may be in order!

This is assuming you're attempting to work on something. Sometimes I just want to go to the range, have fun, and blast balls out there. That's fine, it's fun, but not what I'm concerned with in this post.

1. Have a purpose. Whether it's distance control, ball flight shape change, specific swing change, alignment, grip change, etc, have something specific that you are going to work on. Preferably something measurable in some way. If you go in trying to work on 13 different things or something far to general, you won't accomplish much. Make up your mind what you're going to work on before getting to the range.

2. Have a plan. Failure to plan, is planning to fail. Know what drills you want to work on, and what goals you want to achieve while at the range. Check out youtube, golf.com, etc and find drills that are specific to your purpose for being at the range. Study them, take notes if you need to, and execute them on the range. You have wasted you're money and time if you go to the range and don't know how to work on your purpose for being there.

3. Warm up. I typically start with a wedge and a half to three quarter swing to get a good rhythm down. I'm not even really worried about where the shots go at this point, I just want to get warmed up and striking the ball well. I hit a few full easy wedge shots, then move to my 7i, then my 5i, then 3w, then maybe driver. Warming myself up and stretching.

4. Slow down. Go through your entire pre-shot routine before every shot. Focus on your purpose, and carry out your plan. Standing in the same spot blasting balls out there one right after another doesn't help me much. I used to go through an entire large basket in a half hour. What did i learn? Nothing. I could slam balls dead straight into the net @ 300 yds after a while of standing there with the driver swinging. Did I impress anyone at the range? Not likely. Did it change anything on the golf course? Absolutely not. Now it takes me twice that amount of time to go through a medium bucket and I see results on the course. I know when I miss, and I have time to reflect on good shots.

5. Less balls, Francis? Consider dropping to a medium or even a small bucket depending on your purpose. This forces you to really focus on each shot to get the most out of the range session. With 120 balls sitting there, it's easy to just stand back and blast them out there without any real purpose. With only 60, or 30, you have to focus on what you're doing.

6. Remove distractions and inconsistencies. Eat before you go, leave you're wife at home, and shut off the cell phone. Wear what you wear to the golf course, shoes, socks, pants, shirt, sun glasses, hat, etc. Get on real turf. Do you hit off plastic on the course? You're trying to ingrain a swing, hard to do that in your flip flops, cutoff jean shorts, texting your buddy, and eating a sandwich while your wife whine's about her broken nail.

7. Aim small, Miss small. Always have a target. Every single swing requires a target. That doesn't mean it has to be where the ball lands though. It could be that you target a certain position at the top of the back swing, ball flight, or even divot shape...be creative, this should be purpose/plan/drill specific.

8. Documentation. This is something new I'm going to be trying this year. After(or even during...although this may be one of those distractions in #6, haven't decided yet) the range session i'm going to write down accomplishments, future purpose's, plan changes to implement next time, what I like to call 'light bulbs', general notes etc. Light bulbs are those adjustments/moves/etc that give you that 'Aha!' moment. They're remarkably easy to forget sometimes. This also gives you're brain time to interpret and save what happened. When i just grab my clubs, hop in the car, and take off to my next objective, I tend to completely 'purge' what i learned on the range. Writing something down tends to 'save' that thought.
 
OP
eclark53520

eclark53520

DB Member Extraordinaire
Supporting Member
Dec 24, 2007
17,520
7,590
South Central Wisconsin
Country
United States United States
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #2
Drills:

Freeze Frame: Stop your club at certain points in the swing to check your position. Although this only gives you a semi-accurate way of checking your positions(because you can't actually stop yourself perfectly in position) it will show any obvious flaws. I also use this to put myself in a good position at the beginning of the swing and get the feel for what a good position at the top of the swing feels like. This way you have a target to hit at the different points in the swing. Of course, this assumes you know what a 'good' position is...easily found on youtube.

Exaggeration: Hooking the ball? Slicing it off the course? Try to exaggerate the opposite swing path. If you're a slicer, try to hit a wicked hook, opposite for a hooker(giggity). When I started I had a nasty slice. I figured out I had an over the top move that produced an outside to inside swing path. I needed an inside to outside swing path. To get that 'feeling' i took practice swings that were WAY inside to outside. Almost comically so. Get the feeling for it, then try to copy it on the ball.

While messing around with the 'exagerated' swings i came across someone doing this, but took it to the extreme and was hitting balls while doing it. I'll try to explain it the best i can.

If you hook, stand facing directly down your target line and the ball directly to your right(left for lefties). Take a club, and with your feet in the same position(move to keep the club angle correct to the ball), hit the ball. This keeps your face angle open, and causes an exaggerated outside-in club path. You get the feel, and try it on the ball in a regular stance.

If you slice, stand facing directly away from your target and the ball directly to your left(right for lefties). Take a club, and with your feet in the same position(move to keep the club angle correct to the ball), hit the ball. This shuts your club face quickly and causes an inside-out club path. You get the feel, and try it on the ball in a regular stance.

I was amazed at how easy it was to hit the ball standing like this...this drill helped me quite a bit get the feeling for an inside out swing path and releasing the club face through impact.

Single club Range Sessions: Take a single club to the range and hit the entire bucket with it. Hit low ones, high ones, long ones, short ones, hooks, slices, draws, fades, punch's chips, flops, up/down slope lies, side hill lies(if your range has this), bunker play(fairway and green side if available), and anything else you may encounter on the course. You can learn to do a lot of different things with one club this way.

Video Sessions: Video camera's are everywhere today. Grab one and video tape yourself swinging. Typically you shoot two different angles, one down your target line, and one facing you head on. You can then play this back in slow motion or even frame by frame and check your positions. There are lots of video analysis you tube video's out there. Watch those and try to see where you can improve your positioning. It's amazing how what you think you're doing in your head, doesn't always translate into what your body is actually doing during the swing.

Alignment: Lay a club down on the ground as an alignment aid. I see this preached by a lot of people, yet I never see anyone else do it on the range. Two ways i do this: First I look down range and pick a target. Then i lay the club on the ground pointing at that target. After that I can line my shot up with that alignment. Secondly, i will setup to a target without any alignment aids on the ground, without hitting the ball i will lay a club on the ground on the line that i'm setup on. Don't look at the target while putting the club down, just lay it down on what line your on right now. Get back and look down the line of the club...is it on your intended target line? I have a real hard time with this sometimes. I tend to line up way right.

Target work: Most of these are pretty obvious...
1. Hit the ball-picker-upper. Well, not him, but the car he's in...
2. Closest to the pin? Duh...
3. Mentally paint a fairway between some of the flags, try to draw or fade your driver into them.
4. Hit a ball with one club, then try to hit that same spot with another club. Close your eyes when picking the second club!
5. Go through your entire bag and hit one ball soft, one stock, and one hard all down the same target line. This one made me realize real quick that an easy 8 is typically a lot more accurate than a strong 9.


Imaginary Course: Take a score card from your favorite course and play each hole on the range(most you can find online). Imagine the fairways, hit them, subtract your yardage, and mark a target at that yardage. Miss the green? Play a short pitch shot to a close target. This forces you to play different clubs one right after another and make good swings on all of them. Score how many shots it took to make all 18 greens and write it down. Beat that score next time.

Youtube it: There are literally thousands of golf tips/drills/hints etc on youtube. Most of these I learned there...find ones that you think will help your game and tweak them to your style.
 

RustyL

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2007
134
1
Good post. After 5 years of playing I have come to the conclusion that if I am going to play golf, I need to improve. I have been going to the range and having some success. Question

Is hitting off mats proper? Seems to me one needs to hit off the ground.
 
OP
eclark53520

eclark53520

DB Member Extraordinaire
Supporting Member
Dec 24, 2007
17,520
7,590
South Central Wisconsin
Country
United States United States
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
Good post. After 5 years of playing I have come to the conclusion that if I am going to play golf, I need to improve. I have been going to the range and having some success. Question

Is hitting off mats proper? Seems to me one needs to hit off the ground.

Absolutely, if you have the choice, hit on real grass. Mats will disguise fat shots very well.
 

🔥 Latest posts

Top