Driving Range

Do you go to the driving range just to hit a bucket of balls as far and as fast as you can?

If so, you are probably doing more harm than good to your game. How many time have you come off the driving range feeling good about your swing, but five minutes later on the first tee you hit an ugly duck-hook into the woods?

You should always have a goal when you go to the driving range. Try to make your practise resemble what you will do out on the course. On the course, you don't hit 20 drives in quick succession. Doing so on the range will only help to reinforce bad habits. Instead, go through your full pre-shot routine on each shot, and make it feel like the shot has some meaning.

Don't just hit aimless shots down the range. Try to keep your drives to an area that is about as wide as a normal fairway (pick out two points in the distance and visualize them as being the fairway boundary). With your iron shots, pick out a target and aim for that like you are trying to land the ball on the green.

Likewise, when practising your chipping you should vary your shots so that you get a better feel for how to swing to get the ball to go different distances. Hit to a target 20 yards away, then 5 yards, then 10 yards, etc.

On the course you only get one change to hit a shot, and you very rarely get the exact same shot twice in quick succession. Mix up your shots in practice to make it feel like you are out on the course. Your practice sessions may take a little longer, but they will be more interesting and after a while you will be in a much better position to take your range game out onto the course.

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