At the range

When your at the range, what clubs do you start hitting with after warming up or stretching? In what order do you usually hit your clubs?

I usually start with a GW or PW and hit about 10 shots to get things in order. Then I work my way up the set. My typical bucket might be GW, 6I, 3H, 3W, Driver then wrap up with some PW or GW.

If I really feel my swing is in good shape that day, I make it my primary focus to hit onto the various greens around the range. If my swing is off (fat/thin/slicing/etc), I'll take small targets out of the picture and just work on a specific flaw to straighten out my flight or make better contact.

i'll typically start with a pitching wedge, move up to a 7 iron, then to a 5 iron, 3 wood, and finally driver. after a few whacks with the driver, i'll get out my wedges and putter and go over to the practice green and work out over there for awhile, chipping a dozen or 20 balls onto it from various spots and then putting them out. after the practice green, i'll go back to the range and repeat the initial process starting with a wedge and working my way up to the driver. but if i'm hitting my driver badly, i'll put it back in the bag when i'm down to about 10 balls and hit them with a club i've got confidence in - usually my 7 iron. i refuse to walk away from the range after a spat of bad shots. i'm going to walk away with a good shot in my mind, not shaking my head wondering what went wrong.

I usually warm up with my 54 and then proceed to whatever displine or move i wanted to work on, whether that is pitching, chipping, fullshot, or whatever. I havent sequenitally moved through my bag hitting balls in quite a long time. When im practicing something in my swing, i just pick a club (7i usually) and work it out.

I am assuming you are talking about the practice range for practice and not warming up before a round.

The range used to get me in trouble because I would just go out there and hack away with driver and I started developing bad habits from trying to crush the ball too impress others.

So now I try to simulate a round as much as I can. For example
Each hole is 2-4 balls. I download a score card from a random course on the web and take it with me.
Par 3 - 2 balls (Iron to one of the target greens and wedge to a short target green)
par 4 - 3 balls (Driver or 3W, iron to a target green and wedge to short target green)
par 5 - 4 balls (Driver, 3w or Hybrid, iron to a target green wedge to short target green)
I never use the same iron or wedge on back to back to 'holes'

After about 50-60 balls, I play "hole in one" with the rest of the bucket where I try to drop the ball on one of the practice greens as close to the flag as possible. It really helps with accuracy and guageing the distance for my iron. I do this til I'm out of balls.

I know it sounds a little unorthodox but I get mutliple swings with every club in the bag and every swing has a purpose. Plus, I realized that in a round all the clubs in the bag are in play for so I try to practice that way.

Sometimes, after a round, I will notice that I may struggled in a particular area or with a particular shot. if that's the case, then I will go and practice to work only on the problem. Other than that, i stick to the above method.

Having played several organized sports I learned that I (and many others) play the same way they practice. When I was hacking on the range I would hack on a course. So now I focus and practice with a purpose and my rounds and score have seen a drastic improvment.

If it's before a round, I'll hit, in order...... 8 iron, 5 iron, gap wedge, hybrid, 3 wood, driver, and I finish with the iron I expect to hit into the green on the first hole.

Then I'll hit some bunker shots and move to the putting green. My goal is to warm up, not wear out. Hey, it's tough to get old and feeble!

If it's a practice session, I'll warm up with the 8 iron then move right into what ever I've planned for the session. I don't just go to the range to beat balls.

I practice from the green to tee; meaning, I practice putting first and then chipping and putting (as in getting up & down). Then I move to the bunkers for sand trap play. Next is 50 yds, 75 yds, and 100 yds to the flag. Finally, I head to the range - and hit odd and even irons every other day working my way up to the woods (3 wood and Driver) which I hit every day.

At my home course you get a free warmup bag with every 18 holes purchased. The bag always has 16 balls. After a little chipping back and forth with my SW I hit 4 balls each with my SW, 8 iron, 4 hybrid and driver in that order. This is enough warm up shots for me. If I get a chance, I do a little putting first or even between the 4 hybrid and driver. But since our first hole is a definate driver hole, I try to hit the driver right before starting.

I will start with my 3i for 2-4 balls, just to get the full smooth swing going, then switch to either a 7 or 9i. Work back down to my driver and finish off the last 10 or so ball with wedges.

I don't usually have a problem with my woods or long irons and have learned that a good short game and putting will save the day when everything else goes south. Also I once heard Jack Nicklaus say that he uses the range to find out where his swing is that day. I've found that to be pretty useful.

Lately I've changed things up a bit.

I stretch out a good bit more than I used to....cuts down on the post round Advil. Before a round (on the days that I show up early...rare as they are): I like to hit some smooth SW shots for a while....nice easy swings....light grip pressure....follow through.....balance. After a while and I'm feeling good with SW, I like to practice how I'm gonna play.....think about the first few holes.....tee up a driver and hit it.....next shot hit a mid iron.....next maybe another SW and feel that same groove I started the session with. I'll repeat this a few times: Driver, mid iron, SW....one shot each. Forces me to adjust positions and move around to get the clubs. I don't do so well standing in the same spot and beating balls. I like to slow down my intervals between shots....take time, aim....waggle....all the stuff I'd do on a "real" golf shot. A big key for me is to not let the pre-round practice overshadow my round. Once I'm finished and warmed up...it's time to forget any of the negative range shots/ results and wrap up with a feeling of being sucessfully warmed-up....loose...ready to swing freely. I like to spend a moment just cleaning my sticks off really well and then head over to the practice green where the real strokes can be saved.

I almost always start with 9 iron when warming up or at range. I use it because I can take 1/2 swings and 3/4 swings to 80 yards and 100 yards. It helps with rhythm. I always used to start with SW or PW, but the distance was just a little too short on 1/2 and 3/4 swings to get to practice targets. For pre-round warmup, after about 10 partial swings I hit a few shots with full 9, then go to 7 or 8 irons, then 6 iron, 4H, 3W and driver. I hit about 5-7 full shots with each club, then finish with PW, GW, SW for about 5 shots each, and finally hit 1 driver or 3W to match what I'll be using off the first tee. I try to hit the shot shape with that shot that I'll want to #1.

On the range, it depends on what my focus is for that session. After warming up with 9i, sometimes I primarily work on club subsets (woods, hybrids, irons, or wedges), with just a few minutes for each of other subsets. When I am just wanting to practice I will often 'play an imaginary round' based on a course I am familiar with (I've even go so far as to pull out an old scorecard and keep 'score' for this 'round'). I'll either play 9 holes or 18 using the clubs I would expect based on the hole shape and length and how good previous shot was. This kind of makes it fun, but also is good mental exercise. It sure beats those times of just pounding balls, although sometimes that good stress relief.

And I NEVER finish warmup or practice with a bad shot, even if that means I've got to pull a ball or 2 out of my bag.

I start with streching, then from gap wedge, 8, 6, 4, 3wood, driver.

Out of topic --> my favorite club is 3wood. If I hit it well in my warm up, I know I'll nail every club.

It depends on my mood, but normally I start off with either SW, 8i, 4i, 3w, D OR PW, 7i, 3i, 3w, D.

I start with my wedges and move up one club at a time. I move up after hitting three decent shots in a row (I have low standards for decent).

Sometimes I even get to my driver before I run out of balls. After the driver, I rotate between a heavy headed driver and my regular driver. End with some mid-irons. I like this because it makes me hit good shots with my irons before I get to smash my driver. Usually, have two large buckets when I do this. If I am in a hurry I just go everyother iron, hybrid or wood.

Before a round, I hit about 5 warm-up balls.....smooth, easy, just to get used to contact with my 8 or 7 iron....

I always like to aim at a pin.....will change clubs to fit distance to flag....
7 or 8, 5 balls
52 or 56, 5 balls
3 or 4, 5 balls
3w, 5 balls
D, 5 balls

Most small buckets are about that many, so that gets me ready to play.....I like to hit a few chips and putts as well....not enough to practice, just enough to make good contact and feel happy about speed/distance on the greens...

If practicing, I mix it up and do just about anything.....typically 45 mins on range, 30 on chipping green and 30 on putting green......about 2 hours including cleaning grooves at end.....

Saw a training video the other day, guy said to start with your driver, hitting 125 yarders, then 175 yarders, and then full....first time I ever heard that....

On the range, my main concern is alignment. I hit my 54, my 100-105 yard club. Then my 9 iron, 150 yard club. 6 iron, then a long iron. Then 4-5 drives to see what it is doing. This is pre-round and practice. Practice I might hit some more shots, and concentrate on one part of my swing. Then its on to short game and putting.

If I am warming up before a round I will start with chipping around the green. I feel that it get's me in the right rhythm for my next phase which is pitching with my wedges. I usually do some half and 3/4 shot before I move into my full swings. I try and go through my whole bag (using every other club), assuming I get there early enough to do so. My last club I use on the range is always the one I plan on using on the first tee, right before I head to the putting green.

I usually follow the same routine for the practice time except normally after going through the bag I will work on what I had planned on for that day; whether it being shots 120 yds and in, full shots, chipping/pitching or putting.

I feel this routine provides me with plenty of time to get the body warmed up and loose before my round. It also provides me with a good idea how the ball flight (or lack there of) is going to be that day.

This winter I have worked on my iron play, so when I get to the range I warm up and hit about 15 balls with my wedge. Then I hit about 30 - 50 with my 7 iron and finish up with my 4 & 5 irons.

It has helped me quite a bit since I finished last season unable to hit my 6 iron.

Staying behind the ball has greatly improved my ball striking, but has drastically flattened my ball flight.