Driving Range Pro to Golf Course Idiot?

So lately this is becoming a recurring theme for me, and its destroying my enjoyment of the game of Golf. On Saturday, I got to the course early to warm up. Hit about 40 balls, and was very satisfied with my swing. I warmed with a variety of clubs: wedges, irons, and woods. Distance and direction were good on all my clubs. I felt comfortable and confident standing over the ball. Then i get to the first tee box, and it all falls apart. And I am not talking about first tee jitters, here. I had an awful round, maybe hitting 3 or 4 shots I could actually play the entire time. I felt like I took the exact same swing from the range to the course, but I was hitting hosel rockets, shanking, hitting thin, coming over the top, you name it. It was so frustrating, especially since 45 minutes prior, I was hitting some pretty nice shots. Needless to say, I put up a monster number that day, and walked away frustrated to no end.

I guess my question is, what the heck am I doing wrong? I would assume the problem is mental, so what swing thoughts should I carry to the course? Does this happen to anyone else? What do you do when you have days like this?

Thanks in advance,

Mark

Mark,

We've all been there. Here's some advice that I've read and heard from various pros and it makes the most sense: Spend the last few minutes at the driving range hitting the club and the type of shot you want to hit at the first tee. It's simple, practical and great advice. As for what you're doing wrong, let me ask you this: When at the range before playing, do you hit the same iron, wedge, wood in consecutive swings? If you do, then don't. Practice like you play. You hit a crap shot at the range, then hit the next ball as if you were playing that crappy shot. This is a way of getting better and getting prepared to actually play golf. I hope this helped.

I have the same problem MCFung! So I will be watching this post hoping for a magic answer - if that is possible.

My Tee shots go from hitting 60% of Fairways to 0 Fairways with tops, pulls etc. What I found helps is having "go to shots" that I know I can put in the Fairway if my confidence is really falling apart.

First I drop to my 3 wood. Now if I am really struggling I hit a punch three wood with a little draw (picture Tiger's stinger 2 iron with less distance, power and grace). I can hit it about 200 in the air and it rolls to 220-230. Nothing great but enough distance and accuracy to finish my round. Also a great shot to hit in Fall when the wind is blowing.

My poor advice: find an alternative when really struggling (rescue wood, 5 iron) and I am waiting till someone else can fix both of us.

Sincerely,

Hate losing so many strokes off of the tee in Philly

This is VERY similar to me. I warm up great but and even play the first few holes good but as the round progresses a hook creeps it's way into my wood and hybrid swing. I can't make it hook at all when on the range. I wonder if I get loose and lazy once I am warmed up?

This is exactly what I do at the range. If you know the course you are playing at well enough, try and play the holes in order but on the range. I am very familiar with my course so when I go to the range, I will "play" every hole at least once at the range. It helps me because it doesn't allow me just to get into a rhythm with one club and not being able to transfer that same rhythm to the next club. I'm not a pro by any means but it helps me.

None.

OK, to elaborate.... When you are on the range there is no pressure to make a good shot. Hit a bad 7 iron? No problem, hit another. Once you get on the course you have to ride the horse that got you there. By that I mean play the swing you brought that day. I know it seems way too simple, but try releasing all of the tension in your swing on the course. You can practice in LEARNING mode, but you have to play in TRUSTING mode. You'll get some more specific ideas on this thread, and something will click for you. But until it does just consider this idea as well... "Let things happen and be the ball"

Here's my problem with playing the swing I brought that day: that swing SUCKS. It is impossible to play a skulled 7 iron that goes 50 yards ahead, and 50 yards left (I am a lefty), especially when at the range I *JUST* hit a high 7 iron fade to about 150 yds. I literally cannot play the swing that I bring to the course, and can't fix it within the span of 18 holes. Essentially, I need to figure out: A) how to bring my range swing to the course and B) how to hit the mental 'reset button' once I make a bad swing on the course. I apologize if it sounds like I am ranting/whining, but this is really stressing me out.

This use to happen to me a lot and i realized it had a lot to do with mentality and rhythmn.

To resolve the mental aspect I made sure that whenever i took a shot at the range that I was always aiming at a target when practicing on a normal day and to really work on building a repeating swing. Rhythm is extremely important and what i have been doing when both warming up at the range and practicing at the range is developing a rhythm that is the same for all of my clubs from wedges to driver. When i warm up for both driving range practice and practice before a round I go through all of my clubs from pitching wedge to driver and make sure that I have a similar rhythm. That way it doesn't throw me off on the first tee when i have to use the driver for my tee shot and then go right to my 6 iron. I found that having a rhythm for all of my clubs was so important because usually whenever i practice at the driving range I will hit a bunch of shots with one club before moving on to the next one, and who ever really does that during a live round right? Worked for me, hope it works for you

We are the exact people who can help him out because pros don't have this problem or they wouldn't be pros. They were 4 years old when they had this kind of problem and at that age they didn't care becasuse they didn't know any better. Most anyone who plays golf has been through this and what I found with myself to get over it is:

1. Develop a routine that settles you down and gets you to focus on the shot and only the shot at hand. (For me it is a really deep breathe that is let out slowly until I feel my shoulders relax and sink so that I know that my upper body is passive) 2. On the range hit balls with a purpose to a specific target ( a yardage marker or a flag or even another golf ball on the range to really narrow your focus) 3. Pretend as if you are on the course and imagine you are in certain situations such as ( Bunker gaurding the front of the green and water left of the green so this shot needs to carry the 100 yard sign and left and short are dead. Then take into account the wind, select a club, and then do your routine and hit 3 or 4 balls and see if you can execute the shot. Pay attention to whether your shots get better or worse by the last ball. Your goal is to improve on each shot so that this is what you will come to expect on the course. If each shot gets worse then you are likely losing your focus and this is what likely happens to you on the course where your errors are compounded. 4. Pretend that you are in situations that on the course make you tense and tenative such as forced water carries or tight fairways and pratice them even on the range. Putting yourself in a stressful situation even when on the range will help you to focus away from it eventually on the course, and direct it to the target. Practice reacting MENTALLY to the bad shots and the good ones so that you embrace the good shots and forget the bad ones. 5. Do all your calculations in your preshot routine and during your club selection but once you are standing over the ball the only thing that matters is the target area that you are trying to land the ball in. Not even the flag matters if you are trying to land the ball left or right flag because of the wind or the slope of the green. Your concern is starting the ball on the correct line and then everything else is up to the elements just like a putt with break in it. Once you have noticed all the factors involved in the shot and you stand over the ball the ONLY thing that matters is the target. You notice the ball but don't try to HIT the ball or you will likely tense up because you are predicting impact. The ball simply gets in the way of your swing to your target (Pretend you are trying to take a practice swing even when you are actually hitting the ball to see if you can relax. (This took me a while to do but it can be done and it makes your timing and tempo smooth out.) The ball isn't gonna move, it's gonna wait for you! The main mistake I feel you are making is that you are putting more pressure on a shot hit on the course than one hit on the range when they are actually the same thing so long as you give yourself a target while on the range. You have to have sound fundamentals or you would hit the ball terrible on the range and on the course so you have to remember that. I'm not a pro but a pro can't tell you the last time they shot 90 so how can they know what an amatuer faces day in and day out. Pro's are given merit because they play the game exceptionally but that doesn't mean that they are the best teachers or advisors because they likely went through an ametuers daily problems when they were in kindergarten. Pro's swings are so engrained in muscle memory that they don't have to worry about 99 percent of the issues we face. You have to find a way to speed up the process and engrain those feeling and muscle memories and you have to learn to interpret the feedback that your body gives you on every shot you hit whether it is on the range or on the course. This is just my take and I welcome any comments. www.golfing-excellence.com is a great website you should check out

I think that the biggest problem with the range is there is no OB, no water, no hazards, none of that. When you hit a bad shot, what do you do? Reach over and hit another ball with the same club until you hit that perfect shot. And I suffered from the driving range pro to golf course idiot for a while, but my swing coach gave me a tip that I feel has helped a lot. He told me to either imagine that the range is a course, and hit different shots, to different targets, like you were on the course. Set the hole yardage, and then play the hole on the range. If you top it, and it goes 50 yards, and your "hole" is 350 yards, then now you have 300 left. Or if that doesn't work, do the opposite, while your playing, take all the pressure off all of your shots, and just imagine you are hitting at the range still, or putting on the practice green. No penalties, no pressure. Once I started doing this my handicap literally cut in half.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

A) The swing you brought that day, is the one you have on the range when you are hitting those high cuts. You said it yourself "I *JUST* hit a high 7 iron fade to about 150 yds." So you know you have it within your skill set to make the shot. If I gave one guess as to why you skull on the course, I'd only have to guess based on my experiences. Try to focus on staying in the shot with your spine angle and shoulders. On the range we aren't as anxious to see the results. We know that 7 iron is going to come down somewhere around 150. On the course we want to see if it came down in the bunker, on the green, on the fringe, skulled into the woods...etc. There is just more at stake.

B) The mental reset button is, I believe, the biggest aspect of the problem. It is what keeps you in that frustrated mode where no good shot can happen. There is so much more to scoring well than just making a good swing. You can score well even if you open with a couple bad holes. We as golfers have to have short memories. Once that ball has come to rest whether its after a nice high flight or a duffed 10 feet then accept the results and move on. I truely believe golf is as much about controlling your emotions as it is controlling the ball flight. Overanalyzing the swing just brings in more things for your mind to race about and more swing thoughts to cluter the flow of your swing.

wow, you sound like bruce lee. :)

I have this problem to an extent, I play off plus 5 on the range, I have actually been asked a couple of times if I'm a pro.

I think the key is to recognise your swing thoughts on the range and then trying to use the same swing thoughts on the course, when on the range you probably have 2 or less swing thoughts where as on the course there will most likely be numerous things going through your mind.

Pick the best swing thought for you, and use that swing thought solely for the round and see if this helps.

most of the pros see psychologists, so it seems that the demon affects all.

back to mark's original concerns,,,

1. in driving range, are you hitting off mats or real turf? unless it is real turf, that warm up is really not that pertinent when it comes to the feel at contact. when my kids play tournaments, unless i know for sure the tour site has real turf for warm up, we usually drive to another club first so that they get to play the real turf. they are becoming quite proficient golfers already, and still marvel at the diff between the two, that "good" shots on mats can be misleading--you really cannot chunk it too bad. on the course, you simply do not have the luxury to adjust fast enough if your senses are sold to the mat experience and yet you do not have enough playing experiences to jump out of it, or to really tell what is a good contact vs a ok contact on mat.

2. everything affects everything. on the driving range, you step onto the same spot and make it your home turf. on the course, every shot is different in terms of where you stand, your ball location, wind, light, physical conditioning, who you are playing with,,,,how they are playing. in other words, a bit like fish out of water because your brain is being bombarded with more things than you are even aware of.

3. develop a set of very simple, repeatable pre-shot routines and follow them religiously everywhere you go, driving range or course. we are creatures of habits and every time we jump out of that comfort zone, something may give.

4. learn to THINK about why you make certain bad shots (that 5 mins ago you do not have this problem). what fall short? one school of thoughts is to get going, think positive and prepare for the next shot. i am cool with that but at some level, as a student of this game which we all are, including the pros, we may need to develop some self awareness in order to improve. look at the ball flight and direction and think like your pro and figure out why and see if you can correct yourself along the way. check with your pros later before he says anything to see if your own reasoning is correct. god is the details. to me, that is why we pay them, to inspire us to self teach and allow them to share their perspectives. i am a believer that we feel the best when we do the best, not just simple, blind postive thinking.

i will stop here not knowing if what i perceive has any relevance to you.

Ah, I have this same issue. I was striking the ball well yesterday, walked out to the first tee and HUGE slice. I still ended my round with a 101 but I seriously thought it would be worse considering the terrible shots I had throughout the round.

Key for me is to just refocus and remember that for every bogey or par I can scramble to get will offset some of those 3 or 4 over par holes. I aim for bogey golf.

Warm up at home with stretches, light cardio of some sort and fluid air swings, (perhaps a weighted club) then just chip and putt at the range and go play. As you chip and putt put a hard focus on the hole and hitting to it. Hitting balls at the range prior to play is often not helpful to me. Use the range to practice on non play days hitting to a precise target alternating clubs and religiously backing away from each shot and using a preshot routine. Taking this time improves your play and help prevent poor practice becoming permanent. Remember, hitting balls on the range with the same club over and over with no break resembles no sport we play.

[QUOTE=golfdad;222941]most of the pros see psychologists, so it seems that the demon affects all.

back to mark's original concerns,,,

1. in driving range, are you hitting off mats or real turf?

Mats. I play a lot of munis and public courses, so I very rarely get the option of hitting off turf to warm up. I have heard some people make huge arguments on mats vs. turf, but I never really gave it much credibility. Does it make THAT much of a difference?

3. develop a set of very simple, repeatable pre-shot routines and follow them religiously everywhere you go, driving range or course.

I feel like my pre-shot routine is pretty repeatable. I stand behind the ball, lining it up to the target. Pick a spot 2-3 ft in front of the ball along the target line for alignment. Grip the club. Get into my stance. Double-check alignment. Pull the club back once or twice to make sure my takeaway is on plane, and let it rip. Once I get into my stance, I do tend to stand over the ball for a while, trying to get comfortable and clear my head. People always tell me I think about it too much, but if I just approach the ball and swing away, the result is almost always a bladed shot.

4. learn to THINK about why you make certain bad shots (that 5 mins ago you do not have this problem). what fall short?

I really tried to do this last round out. I analyzed the ball's flight path, determined I was coming way over the top by the ball flight and my divot pattern, and tried to tuck my rear elbow into my hip to help stay on plane. That didn't seem to work. So I tinkered with everything else over the course of the round, and nothing but awful shots ensued. The worst part was, I couldn't FEEL a difference in my swing between the awful shots and the good ones. Takeaway felt the same, but once I hit impact, I knew it was awful just by the feel.

ARGH!

I play at a local muni and as a result I get to play with a lot of different players. Many of them are pretty bad. The biggest fault I see is that those guys are trying to kill the ball. Really hit it with everything they've got. That is always a big mistake. The average golfer would see their game improve dramatically if they turned way down how hard they are trying to hit the ball and just try to make clean contact. A 100yd shot that stays in the fairway is better than a 200yd blast that is in the woods.

I'm not a big fan of the driving range either. As others have said it is too easy to think you're hitting the ball well on the range when in fact most of the shots you're hitting wouldn't stay in play on the course. Hitting shots at the range is just like hitting off the tee box, except that the fairway is a couple of hundred yards wide. Obviously the range can be beneficial, but you have to be methodical and careful about how you use it to improve your swing/game.

My swing thought these days is to just take a full swing at the ball and not try to hit it hard. The ball may not go very far, but I've got a much better chance that it'll stay in play. And when you do this I bet what you'll find is that the distance will come without all the effort and frustration.