The Range

It depends what you want to achieve. I need to work on my driver and I won’t get that hitting just seven shots on the front 9. I need to refine my action and practice what I’ve changed so that means repetition, repetition, repetition.

Range time is a great chance to work on something that is hampering your game without the bad score to go with it. I usually hit a small bucket of balls to only work on what is not working. I then go chip and putt 60 balls and go home. I can't practice like that during a round because each hole and shot is different and I don't hit the same club(s) or distance that is the current issue with my game. So I use the range to find the solution and put it into play on the next round I play.

DM

The range is a waste if you just scoop ball after ball and not analyze what's going on. Ben Hogan spoke on hitting two-5 balls and diagnose the height, flight, curve and all that stuff.

I spend more time hitting pitch shots, chipping & putting than pounding balls at the range.
Here in Southern California most ranges are really crowded and the balls are absolute garbage.
I keep my shag bag full of fresh ProV's to keep my short game sharp and I work on the long game when I can...
Love short game practice...makes those errant shots easier to rebound from.

Cheers,
Dr. K

For me, range sessions are very beneficial if work is done on specific shots. I use my sessions to work on moving the ball with shaped shots, and ball control for knock down shots through the bag. I can't get that from playing 9 holes.

The best way to practice is definitely through playing on course. However, this isn't always possible and it's more difficult to focus on one area on the course so the range is beneficial too.

It's what you make of it. A few years ago before I started getting lessons my instructor asked me "when you're on the range, are you just hitting balls or working on something?" Basically told him just hitting balls, BAD answer. You need to make the range session matter. We all know the range balls are dead or just not the same as the balls we play today so working on distance is out of the question. So to me it's about accuracy, where I'm hitting the ball on the face, am I making good contact, etc.

Next time you visit the range, make it matter. When i'm on the range, i'll work on target/accuracy. I'll pick 2 flags or a spot and just aim for it. Might come up short, long but as long as I'm in that direction I'm good. Remember distance is out the window. OR I'll pretend I'm playing a hole. Again I'll pick a spot where that's my fairway so I'll hit my driver, then grab a 6 iron and then a wedge and repeat versus hitting the same club over and over and over.

I will say this. I no longer hit LARGE amounts of balls on the range, just a small or medium. I will spend a lot of time working on my short game, say 140 yards and in and only a few balls above that.

i think you can use both "practice playing" and range time effectively. One of my favorite things to do at the range is play holes in my mind. Picture yourself at a certain course, on the first tee. Pull the club you'd hit off that tee. Hit a shot, just like you would on the course, pre shot routine and all. If you pipe it down the middle, hit the club you might have into the green, like a 8 iron or whatever. If you mishit it, work on why you mishit it. I really like that form of practice, personally. Good luck!

Its not a waste if you practice with a purpose. To help keep me focused on certain goals. I only take a full bag to the range about half the time. I might carry out hybrids, or long irons. or only driver.

Todd, I grew up in Ft. Worth. Hogan lived there and I've read and heard stuff that he has said. I have never heard
two-5 balls. What is it?

He'd take a break after hitting 2-5 balls and analyze the shots. I read it in one of the books that was done by one of followers.

If you practice with a purpose, range time is useful. If you just hit ball after ball that's called exercise. Some days I just chip and putt and others I pitch and hit bunker shots. Many times I have stopped hitting full swing shots with half the balls left in the basket. Practice is all about quality not quantity.

I'm definitely a range rat! Love it. Don't just smash ball down the range. Pick out targets move around the mat. try doing your routine for course play think of a hole on the course and play the club's/shot shape you would on the course.

I get much more out of practice because I can work on my weak point. Now playing does improve course management but I love hitting balls on the range at a slow pace. I can spend two hours there and work on a specific swing fault. But there are players (good ones) who rather play than practice.

Range work is a must if you want to get better,look at all the top pros they spend hours on the range but it’s quality practice
But on the plus side you can’t beat a few holes when the sun is going down and the wildlife start to share the course with you
Do both it’s a great game

Mixing in some indoor sessions on Trackman or Skytrack has helped me greatly.
Especially in the off season and during pre-season tuneup.

Outdoor range time is crucial for developing that mental vision link to ballflight.

Why not do both? Visualize you are playing each hole on the range. Just like what I do before I leave the range before the start of a round. I will visualize the first hole tee shot & hit that shot on the range & not leave until it's a good one in my head & I know I can replicate it on the first tee box. I then visualize the second shot into the hole & hit to the flags or targets out in the range like it was the green. I basically "play" the hole on the range before I tee off.

I spent two years away from playing even one round of golf. I used that time (three to four days per week) on the range at Legends Golf Course in Temecula, CA. I practiced all types of shots and eventually joked that it was "target practice". The staff constantly asked if I was hitting all those balls myself. My hands/fingers got really calloused. I did this to learn exactly how I hit each shot. When I could repeat a desired flight path or trajectory 10-20 times in a row, I recorded everything I could about that shot. How far I stood from the ball and where the ball was in my stance (forward, back [measured in 1/2 inches]) ; how I held the grip (loose, tight, weak, strong); the angle of my backswing (really shallow, on plane, or upright); the angle of the face at address (really open, slightly open, square, closed, etc.); my follow through. I know it sounds excessive, but what I have found is that each golfer's swing is uniquely his own. Too technical? Perhaps. Feel is extremely important. So is the mental game. What I came to realize is that when my mind wasn't totally in the moment, and feel begins to fail, I could at least refer back to my cards (always carried in my back left pocket) to refresh my memory on how I personally hit each shot from each distance with each club. With these tools in my bag, I can correct my flaws on the spot. Is the range worth it? Like many stated, it depends on what you wish to achieve. Thanks

I think if you're working on something mechanical, learning a new move, the practice range is the place to do that. But once you've got the move down, there's nothing better than PLAYING golf to help you improve. I played more golf last year than I have in decades and my handicap dropped from a 13 to a 9. I couldn't have done that without playing a lot of golf. But I don't think range practice is a waste at all. If your swing gets a bit wonky it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to make the corrections on the range than it is on the course.

Golf can be so frustrating but I think if you go to the practice range with a plan to work on just one or two things at a time, you'll see some improvement. Just hammering thru a large bucket of balls with every club in your bag I don't think will help much. Getting quality instruction helps too. Still trying hit a draw and improve my release. Spring is onits way and cant wait to get out there.

The range is a waste if you are out there without a plan. Find what you need to work on, or want to focus on, and develop a plan for the range to work on it. But I agree, going to the range and just hitting balls without any plan isn’t doing much for improvement.